We paved over paradise, now turn it over to trees
The frequent discussions about converting land to forests in order to sequester carbon are missing something if they merely focus on using animal pasture to do so (19 February, p 20).
In the UK, large chunks of land sitting unproductively under concrete could be used for new woodlands: car parks, both public and private, and the wide spaces devoted to stationary cars in town centre streets. These huge areas are subsidised by all of us for the benefit of individual private car owners. It is undeniable that they cause flooding, habitat loss and carbon emissions, as well as creating grim, depressing urban environments and leading to the release of lifespan-reducing pollutants.
Extensive research dating back to the 1970s in countries like the Netherlands indicates that when people are given safe, pleasant alternatives to driving, they choose them. Doing so in the UK would cut demand for these spaces overall. It would also improve public health due to the cleaner air, the additional light exercise and the immense psychological benefits that living and working in an area filled with trees, rather than the current concrete hellscapes, would provide.
Sitting up and taking notice of bad posture (1)
Alison George makes some good points about the long-term effects of poor posture on the body (19 February, p 42). As she says, one problem is our increasingly sedentary lifestyle, slouched on settees or hunched over our computers.
But many of the problems are caused by poor furniture design. Sitting on a conventional chair results in the pelvis rocking backwards, flattening the lumbar curvature of the spine and causing the trunk to collapse into an unhealthy C-shape. Correcting this takes muscular effort that can’t be maintained without fatigue. Chairs can be improved by adding a sacral support to the backrest or designing them with forward-sloping or saddle-type seating, all of which help the pelvis to remain in a neutral or forward-tilted position, making it easier to sit with an upright posture.
Tilting the chair back slightly to reduce the effect of gravity on the trunk can also help. However, for most people, if it comes to a choice between comfort and good posture, comfort usually wins.
Sitting up and taking notice of bad posture (2)
I firmly believe that anxiety and stress lead to the inability to relax that can result in muscle and joint pain, not so-called bad posture. I have been an archer for 50 years, and the only shoulder and neck pain I experienced usually came from lack of practice, over-practice or bad technique and faulty shooting posture 鈥� always occurring the day after shooting, and easing off within 24 hours.
The only time I developed really debilitating neck and shoulder pain wasn’t because of this, but in the aftermath of organising a county championship. It was a really stressful three-day period.
Sitting up and taking notice of bad posture (3)
As someone who has suffered with chronic pain and repetitive strain in my 30s and 40s, I read “Are you sitting comfortably?” with great interest. However, can I question the usefulness of the main trial quoted in the article? This was done with 17 to 22-year-olds. Surely such a young, fit and flexible population isn’t the right one to use for studies on chronic pain and posture?
Vaccine success mustn't sideline smear tests
As a sixth-form student, I was struck by your report that routine cervical swabs can also identify ovarian cancer and potentially also individuals at risk of developing this serious disease (12 February, p 23).
Due to the early success of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, there has been a fall in the incidence of cervical cancer. However, it is imperative that the long-term value of cervical screening is reinforced through education in the younger population in order to harness the wider benefits for current and future generations.
Perhaps some of that mining waste has a use
I was interested to see mining waste included in the “lost” category in your chart of total resources entering the global economy (12 February, p 38). The 7.4 gigatonne figure presumably consists mostly of waste rock, or “overburden”, excavated to allow access to the target ore. This isn’t really lost in the sense that domestic rubbish is, as it has been moved from one place to another, leaving a hole and making a hill nearby.
Including mine waste in the “lost” category suggests an interesting question: could it be used rather than dumped? Due to the remote locations of many mines, it might often cost more to move it than it is worth.
But “red mud” residue from bauxite (aluminium ore) mining does have a potential use. Because of its high pH, it could be used to neutralise acid drainage from the waste rock dumps of other mines.
Science has a broader imagination problem
Regarding Hannah Cloke’s look at the problems of communicating some vital science, I would say “failure of imagination” remains an issue more generally in Western science (26 February, p 25).
Philosopher Henri Bergson and psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist recognised two profoundly different ways of knowing: the method of analysis and the way of intuition. The first is about differentiation, classification, modus operandi, of getting things systematised, and gives rise to the sciences and society. The second is about integration, holism, empathy, of trying to get to the essence of something, and gives rise to the arts and culture.
Schools, universities and other institutions should embrace these two perspectives, not letting logic subjugate imagination, creating a bias against creation and the birth of new ideas.
On the global issue of rising waters
Claims by climate scientists that a 5-metre rise in sea level by 2150 would be “an unimaginable disaster” seem an exaggeration (26 February, p 44). The Day After Tomorrow managed to imagine something far worse. And I don’t see why sea level rise should cause a “massive refugee crisis” either. We are talking about a process that takes generations, giving time to prepare.