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Fred Pearce reports how lawsuits over climate change might bring justice along the lines of "polluter pays" ( 18 August, p 38 ). But from where might the payee raise the fines? From taxes or from energy charges, no doubt. There is thus a risk of sending money in circles, unless the fines are all …

Ilkka Savolainen points to the importance of reducing methane emissions to combat climate change (Letters, 18 August ). I have good and bad news. Much methane is emitted by ruminant livestock. The good news is the success of tests on the methane-reducing effect of adding the seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis to livestock food (Letters, 18 November …

Being wrong should be on the curriculum: what holds people back is fear of it Kate Shaw MA, MS, PsyD responds to a report that we can train ourselves to better know when we are wrong ( 1 September, p 14 ) .

Whatever value Earth Overshoot Day may have as a measure of the rate at which we are thrashing the planet, Mathis Wackernagel is on the money in describing typical economic activity as the largest "Ponzi scheme" ( 4 August, p 20 ). The dominant global economic paradigm in the developed world is neoliberal capitalism. It …

Our society determines actions based on cost-effectiveness and profit potential at all scales, from the household up to government level. This should work, but these actions are based on an economic system that draws down capital assets and counts them as profits. It assumes that continual growth is possible in a finite system and takes …

Hugh Boyd complains that farming is blamed for wildlife woes and mentions that domestic cats kill vast numbers of birds (Letters, 4 August ). In some areas of Australia there are curfews for cats, in contrast to the strange UK policy of allowing them to roam anywhere at any time. Aboriginal communities have found that …

While the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) has declared that we are still in the Holocene epoch ( 28 July, p 24 ), I believe the "Anthropocene" is functionally and stratigraphically different to the Holocene. But when did it start and what evidence is appropriate to distinguish the two? The idea of a layer …

Your article on rules that robots should follow contains the platitude "We must be careful it isn't only employers that benefit from robots" ( 4 August, p 38 ). As one of many whose profession has already been digitally destroyed, I am tired of this feeble plea. For 30 years I painted backdrops for theatre. …

• Paul Jackson was not involved with the refurbishment of the bridge that collapsed in Genoa ( 25 August, p 4 ).

You report that an "opt-out" system for organ donation could reduce transplant rates, as relatives are less confident their late family member agreed and so may be more likely to veto donation ( 25 August, p 16 ). I have always wondered why families are permitted to veto an individual's decision about organ donation. They …