IoS letters, emails and online postings (10 January 2016)

In response to “Let nature, the great sponge, do its job” (3 January), could I point out that the Pickering scheme won a major award from Civic Voice last year? The judges felt that the nature-inspired flood defence scheme has huge potential to be replicated in other areas. It was clever and locally supported. And deserved wide recognition.

We should all applaud the Pickering community for demonstrating that local people are best placed to help shape and inform local design and infrastructure. But this sort of work is replicated all over Britain. That’s what Civic Voice represents.

The Civic Voice Design Awards will be running again in 2016, and I urge community groups, residents’ associations and anyone who cares about where they live to nominate developments that you think make your community a better place. We will have better development only if enough of us stand up and say we deserve better development.

If you want to see other staggering achievements supported by the awards go to civicvoice.org.uk.

Griff Rhys Jones

President Civic Voice, Liverpool

Hydrologists, geomorphologists and agronomists have, for nigh on a century, been assessing the impacts on soil structure of both overgrazing and soil “poaching” by trampling and continuous arable farming.

This loss of soil structure decreases soil permeability and encourages surface run-off. The lack of fallow on arable fields reduces earthworm populations and leaves intact impermeable plough pans, both of which encourage water to pond on the surface and, thence, move rapidly towards the river network. We scientists know all this and can quantify it.

The same goes for deforestation of upland water catchments, and the benefits of re-planting trees. But, policymakers seem never to take into account information in the public domain. This leaves scientists frustrated that messages fall on deaf ears. We’ll be interested to see if this winter’s floods, together with those of 2013 and 2007, cause the policymakers to take note of the information we’ve spent decades amassing.

Ian Reid

Loughborough University, Leicestershire

Geoffrey Lean writes, “some environmentalists want to slash support for farmers” blaming them in part for practices which make the countryside more vulnerable to floods. But there is a better solution. Plant trees that give a food crop, replacing lamb with walnuts, chestnuts and hazelnuts. Give subsidies for these crops.

The trees can be interspersed with timber crops for winter canopy cover. Pay for this by cancelling Trident, HS2, and putting 2p on income tax, I’m sure we’d all pay to stop seeing fellow humans in distress. Include dams and spillways, and use them for mini hydro-electricity and leisure schemes. Job done!

Sally Penton

via email

The main reason why David Cameron is silent about the human rights violations of Saudi Arabia is that there might be serious economic consequences if he spoke out.

Our government could work with America, France and other allies who sell arms to Saudi Arabia and take a united, robust stand on human rights, probably with little fear of retribution. Saudi Arabia must be at least as dependent on America as America is on it.

Brendan O’Brien

London N21

I think Steve Connor is being over-generous to Richard Branson (“Our space planes will help to save the planet” 3 January).

In 2006, Branson met Al Gore and estimated he would spend $3bn over the next decade developing biofuels and other carbon-saving technologies for the airline business.

Nine years later, Branson has invested less than a fifth of that, and there is no sign of any viable alternative to fossil fuels. Branson seems to have added significantly to carbon emissions by expanding his business, putting 160 more planes into service, and offering seats at nil cost. A study of fuel efficiency among 15 US airlines placed Virgin America ninth.

Dr Robin Russell-Jones

Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire