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Canberra Today 14°/19° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Letters / Bitten by dogs five times!

Letter writer DAVID HOBSON, of Spence, runs or walks most days in his local nature reserves and parks and reckons he’s been bitten at least five times by unleashed dogs.

I WOULD like to put a contrary view to letter writer John Miller (“Violating dogs’ rights”, CN, September 12) and congratulate the rangers for enforcing our very sensible dog control legislation!

quillAs someone who runs or walks most days in our nature reserves and parks I have been bitten at least five times by unleashed dogs (and harassed countless times) with the common response being “he/she doesn’t usually bite people” or “he’s only a puppy” (as if that’s an excuse). 

On top of that I am tired of having to clean very smelly fresh dog poo off my shoes before I can even get into my home. Perhaps John might like to come over and do that very unpleasant task for me?

 David Hobson, Spence

Still a place for home phones

IN relation to the article (“Disconnecting you now: goodbye home phones”, CN, September 12) about home phone connections halving since 2001, many may not know that they can still plug a corded style landline into an appropriate modem with the new NBN setup.

Further, too few appreciate the risks to health and well-being from radio-frequency (RF) radiation emitted by mobile phones and cordless DECT phones and other wireless devices.

The available research evidence suggests current risk factors are being incorrectly downplayed. More than ever, people who use phones for long periods at ear level need to change their habits. The at-risk group are those who do this for more than 30 minutes a day – a lot of people today, including some children and adolescents.  

The risk for malignant brain tumours, for example, increases with cumulative hours of use and is particularly significant after 10 years of use.

Speakerphone use and texting is safer than a phone to the head. Where possible keep mobile phones away from the body, eg in a purse or bag, or on a mounted hands-free accessory in motor vehicles. 

Women carrying mobile phones in their bras for long hours each day risk breast cancer. Men who keep mobile phones in their trouser pockets have significantly lower sperm counts and significantly impaired sperm motility, including DNA damage.

A  web article on “Appleinsider” (August 23, 2019) reports that two days after a “Chicago Tribune” investigation found many mobile phones, including late-model iPhones, do not comply with radio frequency emissions standards. Apple and Samsung are being sued over alleged damages and problems related to RF exposure.

 Murray May, Cook

More rebates on the renewables

MICHAEL Moore stated in his column “Democracy falters with cash in the bag” (CN, September 5) that government contributed more to coal mining than it does to renewable energy. This is factually incorrect. 

It is well documented with government information, both state and Federal, that subsidies, rebates and other incentives amounting to multi-billions of dollars are directed to renewable energy sources and by far exceed any dollar value outlay in support of coal mining. 

Further, the tax revenue derived from coal mining by far exceeds the tax revenue obtained from renewable energy sources.

Eric Noll, via email

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