28 | New Scientist | 6 March 2021
Editor’s pick
Saving nature is down
to every single one of us
20 February, p 34
From John Cantellow, Derby, UK
Thank you for your comprehensive
article “A rescue plan for nature”.
The focus was biodiversity loss,
but it could equally have been on
climate change or pollution. These
are all symptoms of the problem of
our consumption, compounded by
a growing population.
While the focus remains on the
symptoms and we wait for others,
such as governments, scientists
and economists, to solve them, we
shall continue to pour fuel on the
problem. Only the poorest limit their
consumption to their needs, while
the rest of us enjoy satisfying our
wants. It isn’t someone else’s
problem to solve, it is my problem
and it is your problem too – it is our
problem to solve. And solve it we
must, before we destroy the only
planet capable of sustaining us.I applaud UK’s approach
to coronavirus vaccines
6 February, p 12
From Dave Ketteridge,
Hatfield, South Yorkshire, UK
Despite calls to put global interests
above national interests when
it comes to coronavirus vaccines,
we should wave a flag for the
UK’s approach.
While it is well ahead in terms
of vaccine supply compared with
many countries thanks to its
bilateral deals, it is giving £548
million to the COVAX programme
to assist lower-income countries.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Oxford/
AstraZeneca consortium is
providing doses of its vaccine
on a not-for-profit basis until
the pandemic is under control.
The UK’s early orders for
vaccines enormously helped
producers to have the confidence
to expand their programmes, even
though products weren’t approved
at the time – quite a gamble by the
UK. No doubt any spare doses will
go to other parts of the globe.Don’t eat fish on the
grounds of suffering
13 February, p 36
From John Theophilus,
Milkwall, Gloucestershire, UK
Graham Lawton wrote a typically
interesting analysis of the
environmental and sustainability
issues around his decision to
abstain from eating animals
and birds but eat fish (largely for
minimum environmental impact).
I also aim to minimise
damaging the planet while trying
to lead a fairly normal life. I, too,
haven’t gone down the path of
veganism, preferring a smidgen
of animal protein in my diet. But
I have abandoned fish on animal
husbandry grounds.
There is a long-standing cultural
belief that sentience and ability to
suffer decline in the order fur,
feather, fin. Standard “acceptable”
harvesting processes have evolved
to suit. I keep reading of research
indicating that fish are at least as
sentient as birds and as liable to
distress and pain. Viewed through
this lens, “normal” fishing
practices look barbaric.
I wouldn’t eat chickens that had
been killed by being swept up in a
net and left hanging there until
they suffocated. I suspect most
people wouldn’t either.
I get animal protein from tiny
portions of animals and birds
humanely and sustainably farmed
and killed. I use these to flavour
much larger portions of
vegetables. Bon appetite!From Marc Smith-Evans,
Bagabag, Philippines
Lawton’s article paints a dire
picture, but offers few solutions.
The contents section of the
following issue shows a photo
of an offshore wind farm above
that of a fishmongers display.
The connection betweenthose two images is notable.
In the 1990s, I spent three years
investigating the regeneration of
fisheries by placing artificial reefs
in areas where fishing is banned.
The general conclusion was that
this would generate fish stocks
that migrate into fishing areas.
It seems a no-brainer to not only
make offshore wind farms no-take
areas, but to deploy artificial reefs
there to provide structures that
allow fish to feed, breed and thrive.Just one planet will do for
an alien megastructure
Letters, 20 February
From Robin Pratt, Glasgow, UK
Craig Hutton writes that to build a
Dyson sphere, a civilisation would
have to raid a vast number of star
systems for materials.
However, according to my
rudimentary maths, just one small
planet may do the job. Mercury is
almost entirely made of metal. If
you flattened it into a sheet and
then made it into a sphere around
our sun at Mercury’s orbital
distance, then the resulting foil
would be around 85 times as thick
as the foil in my kitchen.
I wonder what any civilisation
would do with such a vast power
source. If you tap a star’s entire
output, it is enough to move whole
planets. Two possibilities come to
mind: a game of intergalactic
snooker or... a death star.Electric vehicles are a gain
even without a green grid
Letters, 6 February
From Hazel Russman, London, UK
Nick Baker makes a good point
about the carbon footprint of
electric vehicles in the absence
of sufficient renewable electricity.
However, anything that reduces
carbon emissions can be
considered green(ish).Steam-powered electricity
generators are far more efficient
converters of chemical energy
into mechanical energy than
the internal combustion engine,
so the switch to batteries in cars
reduces emissions even when the
energy to charge them is produced
by gas-fired power stations. It also
eliminates non-carbon exhaust
emissions, such as NOx and
particulates. The efficiency
becomes even greater if waste heat
from the power station is used for
district heating, thus reducing
emissions from domestic boilers.
If carbon capture and storage
ever becomes widespread, it will
work on power stations, not cars.Could conflict explain the
mystery of Stonehenge?
20 February, p 16
From Martin Jenkins, London, UK
It is suggested that Stonehenge
may be a Welsh stone circle that
was transferred to Salisbury plain.
However, the researchers overlook
one explanation for why this may
have happened: that the Salisbury
plain people were successful in a
war with the people of the Preseli
hills in Wales and decided to mark
their victory by stealing the Preseli
ritual centre. This would also
explain why Preseli people were
interred at Stonehenge: they were
forced by the victors to do the
work of moving the stone circle,
and in some cases this killed them.Try two swats if you
really want to get a fly
Letters, 13 February
From James Goding,
Melbourne, Australia
Following up on readers’ tips for
beating pesky flies. If you swat a fly
simultaneously from two different
directions, its on-board computer
experiences data overload and the
fly remains fixed to the spot.For the record
❚ Researcher Haruka Osaki at
Kyushu University in Japan is
female (20 February, p 17).Views You r le t te r s
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