So it was a great relief to be part of a webinar with Peter Newman, professor of sustainability at Curtin University in Perth, who said the costs of light rail could be cut from $18 million to $4 million a kilometre by installing special markings on the road - rather than rails - to allow for "trackless trams".

Indeed, he has written an article in The Conversation explaining all ("Why trackless trams are ready to replace light rail", September 26). The cost per kilometre even includes a station and the markings can be done over two days to minimise disruption.

This is ground-breaking. We must install trackless trams on the main corridors between Canberra's town centres and not necessarily through Civic, for instance, along Drakeford Drive and Tuggeranong Parkway connecting Tuggeranong and Belconnen directly.

I see the Chief Minister has called for Canberra's ratepayers to help Canberra's economic recovery by spending big. Maybe if he did not increase costs (especially rates each year) and ditch that eyesore called the tram and channel the money towards helping ordinary people and small business survive and create jobs, plus actually spend money on health and education instead of creating false promises, he might stand a chance. A good holiday interstate looks a better idea.

What a surprise to hear Scott Morrison put a characteristically duplicitous spin on the NSW ICAC inquiry, to nip self-servingly in the bud any prospect of federal government ever being held up to proper scrutiny by a similarly effective watchdog.

And how most unreassuring to be reminded now that it is Attorney-General Michaelia Cash who is drawing up the blueprint for a federal "lapdog" acceptable to her scandal-plagued government.

Already known to be without independent or retrospective investigative powers, its concoction by someone adept at hiding behind whiteboards is very telling.

Chemistry and sub-categories biochemistry and even biology use precise languages couched in well defined terms.

I was therefore quite confused by Bernard McMinns' cryptic expose of the chlorophyll molecule (Letters, October 4) following an astronomy pHD student's discussion of the same molecule in a different context.

The term "evolve" simply means "to gradually come into being" without any need to specify how that actually occurs or what the precursors were.

Mr McMinns does not believe chlorophyll evolved, yet it clearly did. He believes living things evolve by mutation, which had nothing to do with the question at hand.

Mutation has a specific meaning and is just one of a myriad of chemical processes involved in the chemistry/biochemistry underlying nature's synthesis of molecules important to life processes, chlorophyll being just one. Does Bernard believe living things and non-living things (e.g. chlorophyll) are fundamentally different? Even DNA strands are non-living, yet clearly important to life.

His letter suggests the things he talks about are molecules, or, in bio-systems that involve life, large complex collections of molecules; the outstanding unknown is how they combine in multistep reactions to produce life as we know it.

Thus, how life begets life remains a wonderful yet extraordinary mystery, one that has also inspired a multitude of religious beliefs.

Your editorial comments on the federal Nationals' intransigence on net zero emissions targets are right on the money ("Nats under pressure to back net zero", canberratimes.com.au, October 12).

It's great to see some leadership on this issue by the NSW government, which is now looking to slash carbon emissions by 50 per cent before 2030.

There is still a lot of work to be done in transitioning away from coal and gas to a renewable economy in NSW, but targets are a good start. Meanwhile, the Morrison government continues to drag the chain with the Nationals blocking the way forward even to a net zero by 2050 target.

What will it take for the federal Coalition to stop bickering and take decisive action to reduce our carbon footprint?

Re John Sandilands's nonsensical letter (October 11) on the new submarines. We should not be alarmed we may never see a new submarine in our lifetime. Their crews have only recently been born.

He can be sure the design of new submarines to be built in Australia will not be approved by the current government (or perhaps the next one or two).

Further that a government, with any sense, would not be able to predict their cost with any degree of accuracy until the design and its logistic implications have been developed and assessed by a nuclear shipbuilder, a circumstance at least five to 10 years away.

As to being alert and not alarmed, I would urge Mr Sandilands, for the benefit of his good health and his concerns about the competence of the current government, to let the experts set about this project in a professional manner, an element of which will be what they have learnt from the French.

Letters discussing what has to be done to minimise global warming forget "the bull in the China shop"; population growth.

It matters little what is proposed at Glasgow as global warming is caused by population growth and by 2050 it is estimated there will be three billion more of us on the planet.

Many of these three billion will be in developing countries not subject to the Paris Agreement so carbon emissions will keep rising no matter what the developed world does about it. The extra population will be trying to improve their "lot" by moving to expanding cities, cutting forests for farming, more cattle producing methane, more concrete, steel, and so on all of which will push the global warming target out of the window.

What we need is a real pandemic that will knock off two billion of us. It will happen eventually but not in my lifetime. Evolution has a habit of resolving issues whether we like the solution or not.

I am a very conservative practising Catholic and a long-standing member of the Liberal Party. I am strongly opposed to abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage.

I am absolutely disgusted with the Liberal members of the ACT Legislative Assembly for supporting the legalisation of euthanasia [voluntary assisted dying].

This might mean that in time palliative care could be scrapped.

I believe that even now palliative care is more costly than euthanasia. This is very unfair for low income people.

Unless this matter is turned around I won't be campaigning for any of the ACT Liberal Party members, but instead will be giving all my campaigning time to Senator Zed Seselja.

A few months ago a spokesman for the ACT government told us millions of dollars were going to be spent restoring the beautiful heritage Sydney and Melbourne buildings.

The Melbourne building does not need any money spent on its exterior. It is in excellent condition with beautiful boutiques shops, cafes and arts events.

In contrast, the Sydney building is in the most appalling state of neglect, degradation and empty shops. How did this happen? What kind of contract was set up between shop owners and the ACT government? When is the ACT government going to keep their promise to restore the Sydney building?

In the meantime could the government paint the dismal concrete walls containing the beautiful tulips the same cream as the Melbourne building?

I refer to Peter Churchill's concerns about the quality of the subjects honoured in The Canberra Times daily birthdays' list. (Letters, Sunday 11) as I have a concern with the same list that is even more earth-shaking.

Celebrating one of my rapidly disappearing birthdays on a Sunday recently I was despondent to note The Sunday Times doesn't even publish a birthday list, leaving me unable to compare my year-wiser self with history's date-sharing role models.

Now I have to wait another year before I can take them on, right at a time in my life when years are becoming harder to find!

I commend birthdays for Sundays to you.

JobKeeper was the right scheme to protect needy enterprises when COVID-19 broke out. But much of it went to enterprises which didn't need that protection. The government should collect it back. Dr Andrew Leigh has been campaigning hard on it. Thanks Andrew.

Shouldn't an "ardent" and self-proclaimed pedant (Letters, October 8) know the term is not a badge of honour? The Macquarie Dictionary defines it as someone who makes an excessive or tedious show of learning ... possesses mere book-learning without practical wisdom; or displays a slavish attention to rules.

Congratulations to Woolworths and Aldi for employing security guards to ensure COVID-19 check in at their supermarkets. They are protecting us in the ACT.

The PM says it's an "incredible opportunity" that Australia is going to build a moon rover. Let's hope his government's deeply negative attitude towards universities hasn't killed off the vital scientific knowledge, and lost us the scientists needed to help Australia achieve this.

Anyone who thinks the Chinese government is going to try to achieve world domination militarily is still living in the 20th century. China is doing quite well by other means, but don't get too paranoid about it or buy too many submarines with a 20-year delivery date.

We can be thankful that the Morrison government's electoral conspiracy to depict China as the enemy is countered by the ABC's Stan Grant's determination to show the Chinese people in all their humanity.

Actually, the Godfather didn't say "It's not personal, it's strictly business" in the movie - his son, Michael Corleone, did (Letters, October 13). And, oddly enough, Michael said the opposite in the book.

Governments that open up without significant coverage of their whole population will do so at their peril. Unless they have made serious efforts to vaccinate everyone, it would be irresponsible to lock down those parts of the state or territory from time to time because of outbreaks there.

With regard to Premier Perrottet accepting that there will be more COVID-19 deaths now NSW has opened up. Don't forget that Scott Morrison said "they'll have funerals, but people will be able to attend them". How good is that.

Gee, R J Wenholz (Letters, October 14), I thought my father-in-law was hard to please. There was nothing boring about Winx. Maybe if you had backed her more often you wouldn't be a small punter.