The moment is upon us to change tack on the climate
As Madeleine Cuff reports, 2023 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record: global warming is being exacerbated by El Ni帽o conditions and the temperature of the oceans is particularly alarming. The case for intervention is only growing (24 June, p 8).
Steuart Campbell’s letter (24 June) cites Stephen Salter’s idea of marine cloud brightening. This is a safe form of geoengineering using seawater sprayed from ships to brighten clouds. It could be turned off instantly and the effects would be gone in a few days.
You can judge Salter’s presentation to the UK’s Royal Meteorological Society for yourself, as it is under the title “Marine cloud brightening as an emergency brake on climate disaster”.
Evolved fear of heights fails when on a flight
You report work on brain circuits involved in the fear of being high off the ground, an evolved reaction almost everyone has (17 June, p 19).
There does seem to be an exception to this for a lot of people. I think I have an average fear of being on high structures, but being high in various aircraft doesn’t worry me. I have a couple of times been in a helicopter with the door removed, I have also been in hot air balloons and sat in the open cockpit of a Tiger Moth plane.
Masturbation isn't just a solo activity
Researcher Matilda Brindle is quoted as calling masturbation a seemingly “costly sexual behaviour that’s very much a solo activity”. Female masturbation doesn’t lead to ovulation so how can it be costly? Male masturbation does lead to loss of sperm, but males produce sperm continuously so the cost is trivial (17 June, p 14).
And it absolutely isn’t just a solo activity. Everything I have read about bonobos emphasises how mutual masturbation is vitally important in maintaining same-sex social bonding in their society.
No getting away from generational thinking
Elle Hunt, in discussing Jean Twenge’s book Generations, says the reason generational thinking persists, despite its downsides, is that it helps us articulate our own experience so that we might be understood by others (17 June, p 28).
I agree. Generational-ism has a simplistic appeal owing to identification, for good or bad, with common experiences. For example, the “silent generation”, born between 1925 and 1945, experienced global depression and war with conscription for millions. It is easy to understand and communicate with someone who has similar experiences and understands the consequences and importance of them.
On the reasons why farms continue to pollute rivers
Having worked decades ago for the UK’s then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, I can say that many agriculture-related river pollution problems stem from the fact that some farmers want a “quick fix” for their own issues (24 June, p 36).
Take the control of rushes with MCPA, an example you raised. This has long been used as a herbicide, but it is very soluble in water. Under wet conditions, it will soon end up in the local watercourse.
A much more effective, long-term solution would be to improve land drainage. This wouldn’t just get rid of the rushes permanently, but also improve productivity of the land and double its capacity to store water during extreme weather. Admittedly, the loss of grants to farmers has been a factor.
Quake lake may also offer an opportunity
If the dry lake in California is indeed delaying the rupture of the San Andreas fault 鈥� possibly leading to a worse eventual quake 鈥� perhaps Californians should flood the lake themselves (17 June, p 15).
This might release the strain before it builds up to an even more dire event. At least if they flooded Lake Cahuilla themselves they would have a good idea when the fault is going to let loose and could prepare for it.
Aliens will probably be just as flawed as we are (1)
Bob Denmark’s description of humankind as prone to violent conflict and conquest could equally apply to any alien we communicate with. Intelligence doesn’t rule out the predatory instinct, and in-species warring could be a lot more common in the galaxy than we anticipate (Letters, 17 June).
Having advanced technology doesn’t necessarily mean violent instincts will go away, a fear that .
Aliens will probably be just as flawed as we are (2)
We seem to always imagine alien civilisations will be homogenous, and hence unlike us. That is possibly because pretty much every sci-fi story I can think of, from H. G Wells and his Earth-invading Martians to the Dan Dare tales in the Eagle comic, portrays aliens as single planetary cultures.
Can worms turn coffee grounds into safe stuff?
James Wong describes the detrimental effects of caffeine on plants as a result of putting used coffee grounds on the soil of one’s garden. I place my used grounds on the compost heap and have noticed that, when I lift some of the decomposing vegetable matter and dig into the heap, there are sometimes dense clusters of worms where I had put the grounds. It is as if they are enjoying the coffee and perhaps being stimulated by the caffeine!
Is caffeine broken down by earthworms (and other creatures) in the process of composting? The grains have a texture that seems so beneficial for the soil and it seems a shame not to use it (17 June, p 44).
Ancient Egyptians tried 'new' cancer treatment
Fighting cancer with bacteria predates even William Coley’s work of the late 1800s. Around 2600 BC, Imhotep (an Ancient Egyptian polymath) noted that making incisions into tumours and applying a poultice to induce an infection (24 June, p 40).