Your letters on climate change, TikTok and politics
Here are the letters published in the Tuesday Lynn News of April 18, 2023.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Get involved in the fight back if you wish us well
Oddly enough, most humans would prefer to avoid extinction however caused.
Nature is not a moral agent and there have been huge past extinctions due to environmental change (the unconcerned point by Mr Mudge). But we didn’t exist then.
The present climate change is quite certain. Research in the 1800s proved the mechanism (extra CO2 formed by burning carbon fuels), with evidence throughout the 1900s of rapidly increasing consequences.
Of course there are tiny numbers of iffy ‘experts’ (perhaps 1%, often linked to petrochemicals or the politics of big business and private wealth) who cast doubt, and perhaps somewhere in the world are places as yet unchanged (anecdotes for Mr Fleming).
The good news is that action will also bring many benefits. We can care for the environments we are so closely adapted to, and quickly stop adding harm (cut combustion, waste, consumption, pollution). We can ultimately rebalance the atmosphere (by CO2 capture). There is an urgent need to restrain the accelerating processes of damage, but that too is possible by reflecting back (albedo change) a tiny fraction of the daily heat of sunlight.
If you have children or simply wish humankind well, get involved.
Edwin Salter
Lynn
SOCIAL MEDIA
Life is for more than watching a smart phone
Although we are decades apart in terms of age (I turned 23 in September 1979) the observations and views of your reporter Kris Johnston in his “From the Newsroom” piece in Tuesday Lynn News completely put us on the “same page”.
It’s great to see someone in a high profile position of the current generation speaking out about the dangers of addiction to smart phones and the often toxic and harmful content that certain sites contain.
Not to mention, as Kris pointed out, a potential “lost childhood”.
We need more considered observations from people like Kris to help the young children today to realise life is far more than watching a smart phone or TV screen for hours on end. Seemingly many of their parents don’t seem to grasp their responsibility as primary educators and guardians of their child’s future.
George Wood
Congham
POLITICS
Lost faith due to politicians’ attitudes
You don’t have to look far in the media to see just how many voters have lost faith in our ‘first past the post’ electoral system.
Frankly, I’d go further and suggest even more have lost faith in our politicians and their disrespectful attitudes towards us and each other.
Truth, dignity, and integrity have also taken a back seat in UK politics and the latest disgusting personal attacks on Rishi Sunak by Labour have triggered a backlash inside Labour from those uncomfortable with their party adopting ‘Tory style’ tactics.
Sir Kier Starmer has stated he’s supporting this personalised and clearly divisive ‘child abuse’ campaign but many believe he’s in danger of sacrificing the one ace he had up his sleeve... his common decency.
If he keeps this up, I’m going to have trouble deciding which ‘nasty party’ to vote for at the next election.
Playing the Tories at their own game is a mistake and while this debacle provides some material for a bit of debate, further long-term damage to the electorate’s faith in all politicians and the iniquitous voting system is inevitable.
Someone should explain to Labour about the pig wrestling conundrum.
They say you should avoid wrestling with pigs in the dirt.. the pigs enjoy it too much and you both end up covered in mud.
The Tories are furiously digging their own political graves locally and nationally and there’s absolutely no need for Starmer to encourage Labour to jump in the hole with them.
Steve Mackinder
Denver
MPs should get proportionate incomes
Nick Vinehill’s letter in Viewpoint 11th April about MPs double jobbing is understandable and will carry the support of a lot of Lynn News readers, but this practice has been in place for decades.
Parliament used to sit from afternoons into the evening to accommodate the legal profession as a high proportion of members were lawyers with AM work being in court or taking instructions in their offices, but the Commons sits all day now.
There is an anomaly of consultancies, a very lucrative supplement to salaries, and the Register of Parliamentary Interests is testament to numerous gravy trains.
Nick, there is an alternative to MPs raking it in to the neglect of their constituents!
They should be paid a proportionate income, performance related like the private sector, but debarred from taking second jobs, a rule which applies to civil servants in the main.
David Fleming
Downham
CHARITY
Wear a Forget Me Not badge this May
As an Ambassador of Alzheimer’s Society, I have felt inspired to do whatever I can to raise awareness of the devastating impact of dementia.
This May, Alzheimer’s Society is asking people across Norfolk to wear a Forget Me Not badge, in honour of someone special and to help people living with dementia get the life-changing support they need.
By wearing a badge and supporting the Forget Me Not Appeal, we’re showing people affected by dementia that we understand and stand with them.
And by getting it in time for Dementia Action Week (15-21 May) you’ll also be supporting Alzheimer’s Society’s campaign to improve diagnosis rates which are at a five-year low.
There are more than 16,700 people estimated to be living with dementia in Norfolk, and too many are facing it alone.
Alzheimer’s Society’s services are a lifeline and have been used over four and a half million times in the last year.
The charity supports people living with dementia through some of the hardest and most frightening times.
Help Alzheimer’s Society be there for more people by donating to their Forget Me Not Appeal. To find out more or to buy a badge, visit alzheimers.org.uk/forgetmenot
This little blue flower is a symbol of solidarity – I’ll be wearing mine in memory of my mum. Who will you wear yours for?
Suranne Jones
Actor and Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador
Take part in Royal Rainbow Bake for kids
The event of a lifetime is just around corner with the coronation date of Charles III firmly marked in our diaries.
Many of us will be celebrating with street parties or gatherings with family and friends to celebrate this momentous occasion so what better reason to get your baking kits out to create some colourful rainbow bakes and take part in our Royal Rainbow Bake and raise funds to support families caring for a seriously ill child?
At Rainbow Trust we understand the importance of spending time with family and friends and how vital these connections are when you are faced with the daily reality of looking after a child with an often-terminal illness.
By pairing families with one of our expert family support workers we can help to alleviate the immense pressure many families are under by providing practical and emotional support, whenever they need it, for as long as is needed.
This spring, I am asking you to please help us boost our funds by taking part in our Royal Rainbow Bake.
Sign up here https://www.rainbowtrust.org.uk/get-involved/fundraise/royal-rainbow-bake and we will provide you with everything you need to make your Royal Rainbow Bake a success.
Yvonne Barron
Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity
