Letters to the Editor: 'Nature will present us with a bill and we will have to pay'

'Nature will present us with a bill and we will have to pay'. Stock image

Letters to the Editor

Climate change wrapped up in a nutshell...

I was having coffee in a bar last week with a friend of mine from Italy.

This man, while his English is perfect, speaks with a strong Italian accent and a Mediterranean flair. Our conversation rambled on a while and eventually came around to climate change.

When I remarked that President Trump doesn’t even believe human activity has anything to do with climate change, my Italian friend threw his arms up in the air, and wrapped up climate change in a nutshell.

“People are saying that this planet is going to die, this planet is not going to die, we are going to die and this planet will go on without us.

“Let me tell you this my friend, some day nature is going to present us with a bill, and if we cannot pay, we will have to get off.”

What do you think of that nugget?

Name and address with editor

Leadership needed now to avoid climate breakdown

Former President Mary Robinson minces no words when it comes to the ineptitude of aged and pathetic politics in solving the colossal challenge of climate injustice. Climate breakdown sounds an overwhelmingly desperate topic.

Political leadership and will are lacking in the midst of grim forecasts.

We cannot sit on our hands and merely leave future generations grappling with the dismal repercussions of climate change in this critical period in time.

It is no exaggeration to state that winds, heatwaves, extreme rainfall offer us an unprecedented opportunity to create a fairer, cleaner, healthier and more inclusive renewable energy schemes that are aligned with the 21st century.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob

London, UK

Human investment will help prisoners break their chains

Pondering on the state of prison services in Ireland – and Australia – one evening last week, I remarked to my wife Helen: “To become a doctor, a nurse, an educator, etc., one has to go to university.”

Yet, in prison services that have to deal with young and not so young in trying conditions for all involved, the average training for a prison officer is 12 weeks.

Alas, there are no votes to be won in

prisons per se, so the neglect by successive governments is not unusual.

There are some who can change their lives by a stint in prison, and there are some who will never accept an opportunity for change.

But the latter is no reason to neglect your fellow human being.

To reduce re-offending, a serious attitude is required by the Government.

Declan Foley

Berwick, Australia

Academics appeal for help in probation service research

We are currently undertaking a research project about the Irish Probation Service from the 1960s to present day.

The project is the first of its kind to examine the history of the service in Ireland from the unique perspective of its core stakeholders, particularly former and current probation clients.

Our study involves making contact with people who were involved in any way with probation services and interviewing them about their experiences.

Though we have managed to track down and interview former probation officers, we need your help in contacting people who were under probation supervision (eg, on a probation order, community service order  or supervision after release from prison)  at any stage over the last 50 years.

We would be very grateful if you would publish this letter in your letters page, inviting anyone interested in the study – and especially anyone who is or was on probation – to contact me by phone (01 474 7208), email (Louise.Kennefick@mu.ie) or letter (New House, South Campus, Maynooth University, Maynooth, County Kildare).

Louise Kennefick, PhD

Maynooth University

Deirdre Healy, PhD

University College Dublin

Dáil rat isn’t first to have door slammed in its face

The Dáil rat incident reminded me of a biblical quote: “He came unto his own and his own received him not.”

Pat O’Mahony

Dalkey, Co Dublin

Coveney and Varadkar need to change their backstop tune

The dogs in the street know Brexit and a backstop are mutually incompatible.

When will rappers Coveney and Varadkar change their tune?

Nick Crawford

Dalkey, Co Dublin