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28 December 2022
From Peter Leach, Nercwys, Flintshire, UK
Lloyd Timberlake takes aim at the inability and unwillingness of politicians to take account of the impact on future generations of current policy decisions( Letters, 3 December ). In 2015, the government of Wales introduced the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 , which requires public bodies there to take the long-term impact of …
28 December 2022
From Roy Harrison, Verwood, Dorset, UK
If I lived in the US, I might be as pessimistic as Timberlake regarding climate change. However, I find solace in the ability of technological progress to reduce the sacrifices that need to be made. We should also remember the strategic vulnerability of societies dependent on fossil fuels and not assume that action must come …
28 December 2022
From Neil Shillito, Norwich, Norfolk, UK
Timberlake highlights the inertia and total absence of will of some governments to lead on climate change. Most governments know only too well that their shelf life is only about five years and therefore have no real incentive to act truly long term. However, individual politicians and governments aren't the same thing. Many politicians are …
28 December 2022
Astronomer Tycho Brahe wasDanish ( 26 November, p 44 ). Karl Flessa is a geologist( 26 November, p 40 in the UK,p 36 in the US ). In the answers to "A poopicture puzzle" (17/24December, p 77), the final lineof the snow leopard box wascut short. Apologies! It shouldhave read: "This showed theanimals' population densitywas …
4 January 2023
From S. Shaw, Kendal, Cumbria, UK
Amid talk of greater access to outer space, we must remember that space, like much of the sea, doesn't belong to any one country. As the number of launches soars, we need to firm up international agreements in relation to the use of space for both scientific and commercial purposes( Leader, 3 December 2022 ). …
4 January 2023
From Luce Gilmore, Cambridge, UK
In your report on the return of liquid mirror telescopes, you say that mercury would be too dense a material for building such an instrument on the moon( 10 December 2022, p 41 ). Why not use a sodium-potassium alloy, with a melting point of -4oC? These metals are cheap, very low density, won't tarnish …
4 January 2023
From Janet Gunn, Nokesville, Virginia, US
You mentioned that building a liquid mercury telescope was first attempted in the late 19th century, but didn't give any more details. I remember reading some time ago about a liquid mercury mirror telescope built in the 19th century by William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, at Birr Castle in Parsonstown, Ireland. It was reported …
4 January 2023
From Bryan Lovell, Chambéry, France
Amid pessimism that self-driving cars you can buy will ever truly come to pass, recall that today's autonomous car development has been orientated towards making them adapt to our environment. This has hampered progress( 17/24 December 2022, p 13 ). How much simpler it would be to adapt the environment to self-driving transport. What we …
4 January 2023
From Rhiannon Rual, Llanfwrog, Denbighshire, UK
Daniel Cossins wants to find out his true nature. Any existentialist would tell you that this is a fruitless exercise, as there is no essential you. Instead, you are free to embrace self-determination through your actions. As for letting others define who you are, I leave the response to Jean-Paul Sartre: " L'enfer, c'est les …
4 January 2023
A teenager called Alyssa was the first person to be treated with CRISPR base-editing for leukaemia ( 17/24 December 2022, p 8 ). Juicy Marbles, which produces plant-based "prime meat", is a Slovenian start-up ( 17/24 December 2022, p 55 ). Beth Pike is director of the Marine Protection Atlas at the Marine Conservation Institute …
