Fuming over heater rates
I READ with dismay the article by Tom Skotnicki (''Wood heaters put gas on backburner'', April 26) in which he reports wood sales for home heating are growing every year in Canberra and only 214 homes since 2007 have taken up the $600 subsidy to switch to cleaner home heating. Canberrans should also be concerned because wood smoke is harmful. It contains tiny particles which escape the filtering action of the nose and penetrate deep into the lungs where they cause irritation of the bronchial tubes and the air sacs, especially in those people with pre-existing lung disease.
Wood smoke can cause nuisance symptoms such as coughs, to flare-ups of asthma, admissions to hospital and even death in those people with more severe lung or heart disease. Wood smoke air pollution is similar to tobacco smoking.
They have similar health effects, there is no safe threshold level and they affect all people exposed whether or not they are burning the wood or smoking the tobacco.
The regions most affected by wood smoke are populated inland valleys where, in the winter, smoke is trapped close to the ground by temperature inversions. Canberra has been identified as a hot spot for wood smoke in Australia. In Launceston the number of high pollution days per winter has fallen from 50 to 0 over the past 12 years.
This has been achieved because the number of homes using wood heaters has fallen from an estimated 20,000 to less than 5000 since 1990. There has been a switch to cleaner forms of home heating. This change has been achieved with the support of governments and by extensive education of the community to advise of the hazards of wood smoke.
I would encourage all Canberrans who burn wood to switch to cleaner energy alternatives for home heating. This will help all residents breathe more safely in winter, particularly those who have asthma or other chronic lung illness.
The slogan of the Australian Lung Foundation has an important message in relation to air pollution:
''When you can't breathe ... nothing else matters.''
Dr James Markos, Respiratory physician, Chairman, Tasmania Branch
Pacifism questionable
CRISPIN HULL'S preference for pacifism raised hoary old issues (''Our military madness makes us less secure and more of a target'', May 2, Forum p15). But it's like living in Duffy without home insurance. You can ignore the modest threat and save money.
But is it good policy?
Sure, we could kick-start Hull's recommended global-niceness-revolution, in which context our move to unilateral disarmament would be a calming gesture. But against a background of poverty-increasing global recession and climate change, China's a massively-armed totalitarian state; Pakistan's heading towards civil war and making India nervous; Indonesia's a radical-Islamist breeding-ground, religiously repelled by democracy; etc.
Hull better be sure he's right.
And it's no use having some tiny, cheap defence force here. It buys time for the US cavalry to arrive, or it doesn't.
Tom Waring, Ainslie
Expensive waste
THE GOVERNMENT'S pledge to spend millions setting up a domestic violence hotline (''Rudd vows to 'end silence' on violence'', April 30, p7) seems to be a waste of money.
Placing a stronger onus of proof on allegations of domestic violence would do more good and is cheaper to implement.
By all means punish offenders, but deal equally with those people who are rorting the system. This includes lawyers.
Bernie Provan, Nicholls
Anti-polluter reward call
LIKE many others, I have just received my quarterly gas bill from ActewAGL. I consumed exactly one unit of gas, at a total cost of $50, and, according to ACTEWAGL, I produced nil greenhouse gas emissions. In the previous quarter I consumed two units, at a total cost of $51 and produced 30kg of GHG.
In the previous quarter to that (the winter '08 quarter) I consumed 565 units (no surprise), at a total cost of $415 and produced 244kg of GHG. From these figures, it is apparent the more gas I use (and, therefore, the more GHG I produce) the cheaper it is for me to do it. Surely this cannot be in accord with the environmental policies of the Government, as frequently articulated by ministers Garrett and Wong? Surely the structure of the gas pricing regime is wrong 180 degrees wrong?
Surely the incremental cost of producing pollution should increase with increased production of it a none-too-subtle hint to curb one's GHG production? And should there also not be a rebate/reward/incentive for not producing any GHG in a billing period?
Or is all the talk about environmental conservation just a large volume of hot (GHG) air?
Paul E.Bowler, Holder
On the wrong track
MAKES sense, Shane Marsh (''Walking cycles'', May 1), for the walker to walk on the right-hand side of the path, except the cyclist has to assume he will step off to the right. On the other hand, if he walks on the left, the cyclist makes the decision and passes on the right.
The cyclist should decide because he is coming faster and has less room for error.
All the walker has to do is walk as far to the left as he can and in single file.
June Laszlo, Weston
Home should shut
A QUEENSLAND Government-run nursing home being investigated after two elderly residents were bitten by mice ''could'' face temporary closure. One of the men is an 89-year-old bedridden war veteran, who was found on Anzac Day with bloody ears, hands, face and neck. How does this happen in Australia in 2009? This is not a Third World country and there is no excuse whatsoever for this incident, this happens only through filthy conditions. Nothing less and these subhumans who allowed this to take place need to be jailed. Not just ''could'' be faced with temporary closure; we are supposedly a humane society and these things take place all too often.
We Australians should be appalled at such behaviour; all too often our elderly are left in filthy, degrading conditions, because of laziness, lack of common decency, and all Australians with any semblance of guts will let our governments know enough is enough and if they wish to continue earning their exorbitant salaries, to get off their fat, collective arses and make bloody sure these issues will not be tolerated. As for these vermin who run that particular ancillary, shut them down immediately and have them criminally charged collectively.
Don Davey, Launceston, Tasmania
Bureaucrats' city
THOSE WORTHIES might wonder and ask, ''where are the water taxis plying from the 'Woolshed Creek Canal' to swank inns at Causeway and on Springbank Island and in Yarralumla'' and so on.
Attending Floriade they might ask, ''why no Eiffel Tower so's we can see the festivities properly from above''. They might enthuse about a ''floating Floriade'', why not, and look for a big paddler to while away the wee hours on?
But, ''sorry this is Canberra, the bureaucrats' masterpiece by golly and damnation ... to hell with imagination''. They may see a demolition program as essential to their scheme.
Stuart J.McIntosh, Isabella
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