Âé¶¹´«Ã½

Letters archive

Join the conversation in Âé¶¹´«Ã½'s Letters section, where readers can share their thoughts and opinions on articles and see responses from experts and enthusiasts across a range of science topics. To submit a letter, please see our terms and email letters@newscientist.com


3 March 2021

Don't eat fish on the grounds of suffering (1)

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) ( 13 February, p 36 ). I also aim to minimise damaging the planet while trying to lead a fairly normal life. I, too, …

3 March 2021

Don't eat fish on the grounds of suffering (2)

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 between those two images is notable. In the 1990s, I spent three years investigating the regeneration of fisheries by placing artificial reefs …

3 March 2021

Electric vehicles are a gain even without a green grid

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 Letters, 6 February . 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 …

3 March 2021

Could conflict explain the mystery of Stonehenge?

From Martin Jenkins, London, UK

It is suggested that Stonehenge may be a Welsh stone circle that was transferred to Salisbury plain 20 February, p 16 . 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 …

3 March 2021

For the record

Researcher Haruka Osaki at Kyushu University in Japan is female ( 20 February, p 17 ).

10 March 2021

The answer to the trillion-dollar question is ... (1)

From David Purchase, Bristol, UK

Of the three trillion-dollar projects described by Rowan Hooper, only one seems sensible 27 February, p 38 . It is impossible to eradicate world poverty because there will always be the bottom 10 per cent and those people will be defined as "in poverty". Curing all disease is pie in the sky: everyone has to …

10 March 2021

The answer to the trillion-dollar question is ... (2)

From Darryl Mead, Cambridge, UK

Your recent leader ( 27 February, p 5 ) supports Hooper's model of spending a trillion dollars to solve the world's biggest problems, but concludes that this is limited by the availability of cash. This is an obvious but unnecessary blockage. All money is imaginary. It is created out of nothing and can be spent …

10 March 2021

Online gaming raises a question of trust too

From David Frankland, Perth, Western Australia

Gambling is a worry on many fronts, including how to trust online games 13 February, p 23 . Visit a physical casino and you can see the cards being dealt, the dice being thrown and the roulette wheels spun. Online, fraudsters can set up a realistic-looking gambling site and write code to make sure certain …

10 March 2021

No pain, no gain for this new breed of wearables

From Sam Edge, Ringwood, Hampshire, UK

You report on a backpack that, as it moves, converts some of the bag's kinetic energy into 118 microjoules of electrical energy 13 February, p 20 . In terms of electrical power (a better indicator of its usefulness), it probably amounts to very little, as is the case with any biomechanical energy-harvesting device that doesn't …

10 March 2021

Memories of these early humans may last and last

From Stephen Gooder, Bristol, UK

Alan Jowett wonders if Denisovans inspired tales of the Yeti Letters, 20 February . In Channel 4's documentary Yeti: Myth, man or beast? , I and my TV colleagues asked the same thing. One crucial point was whether folk memories could survive for so long sustained by nothing more than the oral tradition. It seemed …

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with Âé¶¹´«Ã½ events and special offers.

Sign up
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop