Letters: Mass extinctions

Time is short to avoid a new mass extinction of species

Sir: The Red List of threatened species is sad reading (report, 13 September), but it uses only named species for which enough information is available. The vast majority of species in the world are unknown.

Wild species aren't evenly distributed, and about 70 per cent of the land-dwelling ones are concentrated in 34 "biodiversity hotspots". These once occupied about 15.7 per cent of the planet's land area. But 86 per cent of this habitat has already been destroyed, mostly since 1950, and the remnants now occupy only 2.3 per cent of the Earth's land surface.

It isn't possible to slash and burn 86 per cent of the habitats of tens of millions of species without at least half of them going extinct. Not necessarily at once, but committed to extinction they will be, because of the reduction and fragmentation of their populations and habitats, and factors like the deaths of partner species, such as their pollinators and seed-dispersers. This process seems set to peak in the period 2000-2025, when half of the world's species are likely to be lost, at a rate of about a million a year. The continuing growth in demand for farmland, timber and minerals is a major factor, but another is climate change. This is being caused partly by ecosystem damage that releases vast clouds of greenhouse gases, and partly by the burning of fossil fuels, which does the same even faster.

The extreme rate at which species are dying out now will appear in the fossil record of the future as a mass extinction. This will be clearly understood, if a successor species exists that's able to understand at all, as having had a completely new cause: humanity. There'll be an extremely thin layer of rock dividing deeper levels full of diverse fossils from shallower levels with hardly any. The marker layer will contain abundant plastic polymer molecules, radioactive decay products from artificial nuclear fusion, and distinctive concentrations of metals.

To change this outcome will require much more determined action than we've been able to muster so far.

Dr Julian Caldecott

Bath

The UK's best hopes lie with Europe

Sir: We are writing on the day Labour Party conference discusses Britain's foreign policy, to urge all who believe in progressive politics to back the European Reform Treaty. The Reform Treaty is not the defunct constitution. A referendum was envisaged on the Constitution precisely because it would have replaced all the existing treaties with a new constitution. Eurosceptics may regret not being able to have a referendum on the constitution, but it no longer exists.

The Reform Treaty contains a number of pragmatic changes designed to deal with an EU of 27 countries which wishes to enlarge further and tackle future challenges such as climate change, energy security and humanitarian crises. The Tory-UKIP-Daily Telegraph coalition want a referendum without saying what changes would make the Treaty acceptable. The answer is there are none because the referendum campaign is about unleashing anti-European forces in order to nudge Britain closer to withdrawal from the EU.

One new clause in the Treaty gives powers to national parliaments to oppose EU legislation. It is strange that in the first EU treaty which gives Westminster such powers there is a campaign to by-pass parliament. Britain has never ratified an international treaty through a referendum. Our tradition is as a parliamentary democracy. Like previous treaties, the Reform Treaty should be scrutinised, debated and voted on in the Houses of Parliament. Only then will our country be able to move on from the misinformation surrounding Britain's EU membership to the substantive benefits which membership brings – membership which has allowed hundreds of thousands of UK citizens to live and work abroad, brought high standards and low prices for consumers, and peace between nations for the past 60 years.

Mary Creagh MP

(Chair Labour Movement for Europe) Chris Bryant MP (Vice-Chair LME) Richard Corbett MEP (Vice-Chair LME) Kerry McCarthy MP(Vice-Chair LME) House of Commons London SW1

Sir: When will someone point out the relevance of the EU to the issue of immigrant labour in the UK? Has it escaped the notice of the anti-European xenophobes and ranters against "foreign labour" that one of the purposes of the EU is to help the newest entrants – the poorer eastern European countries – develop to a level where their citizens do not have to leave their families to work abroad? In this way they will be able to take an equal place in a community of nations instead of being trapped between the competitive scrabble of British companies for cheap labour and the hostility of British workers who shun the peanut pay for transient labour

Anne Shaw

Westerham, kent

Regional theatre is vital and thriving

Sir: Philip Hensher is absolutely correct in his observation that each regional theatre has its own unique flavour, history and place in the community. Which makes it all the more difficult to follow the logic of his argument (18 September) conflating several theatres, including my own, into a generic state of "unimaginative, short-sighted panic".

The theatre managements in Hull, in Leicester, in Liverpool and in Sheffield to name just four (very different) cities have (very different) plans, but all are motivated by an imperative to radically alter theatre buildings if the needs of artists and audiences are to be met into the future. In some cases, such as Sheffield's Crucible, the original dilemma: to close or be closed (because of safety issues) has been transformed into a positive move which will preserve the Crucible's treasured thrust stage while creating a more flexible building. Sheffield's planning has been painstaking, to the extent that when Sam West was appointed as Artistic Director it was on a fixed-term contract precisely because the Board (and Sam) knew that the Crucible would be closing at the end of that period.

As for the business and educational strands that so upset Mr Hensher's " alarmed actor friend", there is no statutory obligation for local authorities to fund theatres. Inevitably, then, revenue funding from this source tends to be attached to work that meets the political agendas such as health, social inclusion and community cohesion. It's the strand that enables long-established, professionally excellent companies such as Nottingham Playhouse's Roundabout Theatre to introduce thousands of young people, their families and communities to live performance each year. It's the strand under which Sheffield's Handful of Henna, devised with young Muslim women and their mothers, sold out at the Crucible. Is this chasing money, dampening creativity and turning off audiences? No. It's doing that "unique place in the community" thing that Hensher claims to espouse.

Angela Galvin

Chief Executive, Sheffield Theatres Trust

Zimbabwean refugees' plight

Sir: Gordon Brown has taken a clear position on the situation in Zimbabwe which acknowledges the terrible plight of people in the country and the violations of human rights ("It's him or me, says Brown", 20 September). However, the plight of Zimbabweans in this country cannot be ignored.

Over the past few years Zimbabweans have sought refuge in the UK, but in many cases their applications have been refused because their experiences of rape and beatings have not been believed. There are a number who are destitute with no means of support except through their community, or through the black economy to which they turn in desperation. They are not allowed to work or study in higher education and many have refused to accept Section 4 funding for which they would have to agree to be returned.

In recent years the Home Office and the Immigration Legal Department have spent untold amounts of public money arguing through the legal system that Zimbabwe is a safe country to which to return people.

Should change be possible in Zimbabwe, surely this is an opportunity to help those people who are here to develop the skills to rebuild their country. There are many who want to be in Higher Education. There are many who are professionals who cannot use those qualifications.

A stance in relation to the regime in Zimbabwe needs to be linked with a change in our treatment of the refugees who are here – a change from treatment which can be dehumanising and humiliating to a position which looks to Zimbabwe's future needs.

Gill Martin

York

Give Cameron a chance

Sir: Give him a chance! Colin Bower (Letters, 22 September) says that Cameron must start acting like a Tory. Is that not exactly the way that previous Tory leaders have behaved since 1997, and to what avail? Is it not worth waiting to see the full result of the policy reviews instigated by Mr Cameron? Is his stand on Europe not exactly what your reader was advocating? Should his preparedness to look outside traditional party thinking be applauded?

Most people I speak to in the south of England think he needs to be given a chance. Who else is there? Maybe we should stop bashing Mr Cameron and wait for his manifesto.

Garth Matley

ANDOVER, Hampshire

Sir: I did so enjoy Colin Bower's splendid spoof letter depicting True Conservative values as barely progressed beyond Feudalism. A wonderful joke, suggesting that a return to the values of somewhere in the mid-14th century will restore to them the power so cruelly, democratically and temporarily denied them. I would tug my forelock to you, Sir, if I had one.

John Wood

St Austell, Cornwall

More recycling of plastic water bottles

Sir: Cahal Milmo's article "Bottled drinks companies under pressure to boost recycling rates" (18 September) demonstrated the commitment of soft-drinks and bottled-water companies to deal with the ecological impact of "wasted" plastic bottles, particularly PET (polyethylene terephthalate).

PET plastic is one of the best materials for transporting and retailing soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. Its manufacturing process is ideal for on-site production, with the final bottle being exceptionally strong, flexible and lightweight. It meets the needs of producers and distributors, as well as the consumer, being safe in the home and convenient to carry; and it can be recycled.

What is wrong is that few governments are able to deliver effective recycling systems. The UK's landfill treatment of waste is disastrous. PET has a "long life", which is not good news in a landfill but it can now be recycled to "food grade" standard with more efficiency than glass. Already some UK and European bottled-water brands incorporate recycled PET in their new bottle production. The UK lags behind, largely because our plastics waste is not efficiently "streamed" so there is a shortage of "clean" UK PET waste for recycling. However, now the UK's first PET recycling plant has started operations supply should improve.

Ian Hall

Former Chairman, the Natural Mineral Water Association,London N10

Not very equitable

Sir: While I sympathise with Richard Heron (Letters, 20 September), it was not the government regulators that damaged his pension, and the public owes him nothing. Some fellow policy-holders wanted more than their share, three court cases had different decisions and the final one totally overlooked the interests of the majority of the policy-holders. If it were not for that, the Equitable policy-holders would almost certainly be enjoying the same successful outcomes as before.

Frank Ward

Ryde, Isle of Wight

Bill for paying the bill

Sir: Like your correspondent Paul Frew (Letters, 22 September) I received a demand from BT for money to pay for the cost of processing my cheque. I then sent a cheque for the cost of their legitimate services, with a note indicating that the additional £4.50 did not form a part of my contract with them.

As an alternative, Mr Frew could always "give in" by taking out the direct-debit arrangement but legitimately invoicing BT for a similar sum to cover the cost he would incur in processing it and regularly checking his bank statements for accuracy. If they won't pay, there is no reason why he should.

Roger Iredale

West Coker, somerset

Fighting room only

Sir: In "Making A Killing" (21 September) you report on " privately owned Apache helicopters" delivering elite soldiers in Afghanistan. I believe there have been privately owned helicopters delivering troops in such a conflicted place, but it wasn't Apache helicopters. Apaches have no compartment by which to transport troops; they are very narrow gun/missile ships in which the pilot and weapons officer sit in tandem in tight quarters. I see these helicopters frequently here in my part of the world, having lived not far from where they are manufactured.

David McElroy

Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA

Heirs to John Peel

Sir: Perhaps Richard Ingrams (22 September) would be better placed to comment on BBC 6 Music if he bothered to listen to it. 6 Music, like BBC4, Radio 3 and 4, is a fine example of the BBC fulfilling a broad remit, in this case by giving air time to a wide range of music that would otherwise remain unheard. It is the finest music station around and the true heir to the spirit of John Peel. I know more people who listen to 6 Music than read Richard Ingrams; does this mean we should be closing him down for some minor offence?

Chris Pollard

Nantwich

Paddington's problem

Sir: Of course, the answer to this sticky problem ("Paddington Bear 'compromised by Marmite ad' ", 20 September) is to do as my husband has done for the past 35 years – spread your toast with Marmite and marmalade. He assures me the savoury and sweet flavours are delicious together.

Julia Ford

West Lavington, Wiltshire