Open fires

Press, 13 September 1982, Page 20

Open fires

Sir,—You say in' your editorial for September .11 that “The culpability of open fires for a large part of Christchurch’s air pollution is beyond doubt.” It is not beyond doubt as far as I am concerned, sir, and your own subscription to this unhappy belief comes about through reliance on “experts.” For 10 years after the war “experts" in the service of their various governments assured the world that it was perfectly safe to test nuclear weapons, in the atmosphere. More recently, "experts” have told us that sugar is a “white killer” but that if you eschew it for saccharine you will die of cancer, and that meat is a ~ valuable source of protein but that if you eat it you will die of a heart attack. A profound contempt for “expert” opinion is essential for a true perception of the issues involved in the attack oh the open fire. — Yours, etc., A: K.. GRANT. September 12, 1982. Sir, — Court jesters were perhaps brilliant men, unable to advance in medieval .society but well able to assess their master’s whims and to amuse the court. They were satirical, but often prepared to cringe, and wise enough to change , their style of wit if they saw .their masters were offended. A ' crude jester could make a butt of some minor element- of the court but the real nobility would not be pleased. There; are no statistics for casualties of carbon-monoxide poisoning from the great hall fires.. Some modern satirists still poke fun at the powerful, but are usually careful to back off. when they fear retaliation. A. K. Grant's remarks teasing the "wowsers and loonies of the clean air movement"-,are in bad taste. The. Irish say that to be judged . insane by a court jester is proof that, one is sane. — Yours, etc.,' • PATRICK NEARY. September 9, 1982.