Sustainable uses for the Amazon

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/24/sustainable-uses-for-the-amazon-letters

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There are ways to profit from the rainforest, if only we could put greed to one side

Lamentable though rainforest destruction is, countries such as Brazil cannot be blamed for wanting western lifestyles for their people and the jobs to afford them (“Battle for the Amazon”, Special report). Douglas Adams noted in The Salmon of Doubt that attempts by wealthy countries to stop poorer ones wrecking their natural resources in the way we’ve already ruined ours are a little hypocritical. Fortunately, this can be overcome.

Harvard biologist EO Wilson’s The Diversity of Life noted the huge potential for carefully using rainforests without wrecking them; he even calculated the economic benefits, and such an approach works in other areas eg restocking fisheries, silviculture and restoring US agri-deserts to grassland with bison grazing it. Tribal peoples have shown for thousands of years that conservation can be combined with careful use; we can’t all live like that but the lesson is still valid. The problem is money: everybody wants something done, provided their wallet, convenience and choice are not affected.Iain ClimieWhitchurch, Hants

Your special report is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand what has happened and is happening in the Amazon rainforest and why it matters. Land-grabbers are destroying the habitats of birds and animals and robbing indigenous tribes of their homes and livelihoods. The Amazon contains the biggest rainforest on the planet. As your excellent report says: “Rainforests... should be put at the heart of discussions at the United Nations climate talks that will be held in Madrid next month.”Penelope MaclachlanLondon W7

How to get the young to vote

While I was heartened to read that the “Youth vote is key to ousting Johnson from his own seat” (News), by Tuesday I was dismayed to learn that one in three young people aged 18-24 have not yet registered to vote according to the Electoral Commission. The boomer generation has repeatedly been accused of betraying the young, as if we are all Leavers and they are all Remainers. Everyone who attended People’s Vote rallies or last month’s Let Us Be Heard march in London will know that all generations were well represented.

If 3,000 voters have turned 18 in Boris Johnson’s constituency since the June 2017 election, how many have done so since June 2016? How many older voters have become incapacitated in the same period? Will the 13m who didn’t vote in the referendum have a strong preference now that we have a better idea of what Brexit entails?

Johnson’s one-year time limit for negotiating detailed agreements with the EU makes a no-deal Brexit very likely. Although there may be a majority for this outcome no one voted for it, so a confirmatory vote is essential. The young who wish to have their say can only do so by registering to vote by Tuesday and subsequently voting tactically in the general election. Do aim to at least double your generation’s poor 40% turnout in the EU referendum rather than bemoan the fact that other groups are more motivated. Graham RexSwansea

Russian-occupied Crimea?

The curious expression “Russian-occupied Crimea” was used in your story about Russian billionaire businessman Evgeny Lebedev (“Revealed: ex-KGB agent did meet Boris Johnson at Italian party”, News). This makes about as much sense as “British-occupied Channel Islands” or “English-occupied Scotland”. There’s no particular oddity about Lebedev being a “critic of Putin” and believing Crimea should be part of Russia again; plenty of Russians, for better or worse, think similarly.Professor Robin Milner-GullandWashington, West Sussex

In praise of righteous anger

Further to Bernie Evans’s comment on George Osborne’s toxic legacy, “most certainly history will not forgive Osborne” (Letters): for all politicians who make decisions that cause lasting hardship to the people they should be serving, righteous anger is often the only way to hold them to account. People such as Osborne, with private wealth, job security and status, are beyond the reach of the electorate. Only by maintaining permanent righteous indignation against them and widely broadcasting the harmful consequences of their actions will history know and remember these people for who they really are.Steve BarkerNewtown St Boswells, Scottish Borders

I’ll show you real stoicism

“In 1966, the monarch’s apparent stoicism served as a model for the people of Aberfan” (“How filming the agony of Aberfan revealed a village still in trauma”, News). Stoicism, like coal dust, was already in the veins of people from the Valleys long before the Queen graced them with her reluctant presence.

While I am sure Her Majesty has had need to remain stoic, not least as her son makes news digging himself into a hole, it can hardly compare with trying to dig your child from under thousands of tons of coal slag with your bare hands. Dick PerryWoollard, Pensford, Somerset

The Victorians had a point

Sarah Ditum notes that, because of “extra-paternity events”, some fathers may have cared for children who were not actually theirs (“Who’s the daddy? Difficult to say in Victorian times”, Comment). It’s worth adding that in Victorian times, and possibly even today, it was not unknown for neither partner in the marriage to be the parent of “their” child.

Sometimes, when an older unmarried daughter became pregnant, to avoid the shame of her having the child out of wedlock, and the child’s as it grew up, she was sent away for a few months to have the baby in secret. She then returned home to share in the congratulations being showered on her mother for the birth of another child that was very unexpected, as its siblings were all much older.

The child was brought up thinking its real mother was its older sister and often such family secrets were carried to the grave. Even in the age of DNA, when such things, if not proved, can be at least disproved, I think it’s safer to treat birth certificates as a guide to parentage rather than a statement of fact.Peter BarnettOxted, Surrey

The wrong priorities

How ironic that the Home Office is outsourcing its visa processing services to French and Saudi Arabian companies at a time when the government claims that Brexit and having more controls on immigration will open up opportunities for UK nationals and UK companies (“Migrants forced to wait months for UK visa despite paying £800 for priority”, Business). This is clearly an opportunity for non-UK companies to make some serious money, while at the same time depriving the UK economy of sorely needed skills.Ian HankinsonCleethorpes, Lincolnshire

Weather report is skin deep

Last week’s weather report included news of “a spotty shower in central parts of the UK”. Would that include ’ackney, by any chance?Michael LibbyLondon N2