Sir, – The Great Barrier Reef is a Unesco World Heritage Site which can be seen from space.

This coral complex is now threatened by climate change.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is found in the open ocean between California and Hawaii. Also a heritage site, but only because we’ve created it. Edwin Tupper (1907-1983) could not have foreseen what abominable consequences plastics would inflict upon our environment. I still use some Tupperware products and they remain as airtight as if new. And that’s the problem of course. They don’t degrade.

The human-made Pacific flotsam has become a marine habitat for plants and animals. And environmentalists fear that if some trash makes landfall, invasive species borne on plastic could play havoc with existing ecosystems.

What a mess we’re in. Let us tidy up our existence. Chase up rubbish that goes astray. Don’t leave it for someone else to pick up. Think about your future and the future of those unborn. Think of others elsewhere who are so poor they cannot pollute. Make that your Christmas.

Bill Maxwell, Mar Place, Keith.

Headline in P&J was incorrect

Sir, – Saturday’s P&J carried on the front page the heading “Fury over ‘far right’ oil remark” above a report on a comment by Patrick Harvie.

The use of quotation marks gave the impression that these were Mr Harvie’s words, which they were not.

Consequently, it seemed that Mr Harvie was accusing supporters of the Cambo oilfield of being on the far right.

In normal parlance the expression “far right” refers to fascists and neo-Nazis and its use is a gross misinterpretation of what Patrick Harvie said. As appears later in the article he used the phrase “hard right” by which one assumes he refers to people on the right of a right-wing party.

This might, for example, include dyed in the wool capitalists who see the world solely as an asset to be turned into money.

The headline is wrong and inaccurate and should be withdrawn.

Colin D Young.

P&J reply – Unfortunately, the headline did indeed wrongly quote Mr Harvie. We apologise to Mr Young and to any other readers who were caused similar concern or confusion by this error.

Senior citizens need to be heard

Sir, – Very sadly, apart from a few, it is obvious that our councillors don’t care about their senior citizens or the disabled of any age. Any consultations over the pedestrianisation of Union Street have been held “online”.

Very obviously they are not going to get all views when so many are unable to access internet. Is that your convenient way to ignore us?

As an Aberdonian I am well aware that Market Street, Guild Street and Bridge Street have always been three of the busiest roads in the centre of the city. Now they are a nightmare for traffic jams and fumes for pedestrians.

Poor bus drivers getting stuck there, often abused by very frustrated passengers stuck on a bus for a extra detour that can take 30 minutes at busy times.

I do wonder what will happen if there is a crash on any of these streets and police close off the crash area for some time.

What alternative route do the buses take?

I am not aware of one. Do you know?

Perhaps one of our councillors could let us know.

L Ford, Cults, Aberdeen.