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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Letters

A man used to leaving a mess for others to clear

Boris Johnson addresses the UN general assembly on 22 September.
Boris Johnson addresses world leaders about climate change at the UN general assembly on Wednesday. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

You quote our prime minister in his address at the UN on climate change (Report, 23 September) as saying: “We believe that someone else will clear up the mess we make, because that is what someone else has always done.” Is this based on his experiences as a member of the Oxford Bullingdon Club?
William Blake
Malmesbury, Wiltshire

• What a bitter irony that we are now hearing that a shortage of CO2 is jeopardising food supplies at the same time as an excess of CO2 in the atmosphere is endangering the planet (Report, 21 September). Would that it were possible to square that circle.
Raj Parkash
London

• There’s no shortage of fuel, insists the government (BP closes some petrol stations amid HGV driver shortage, 24 September). So should we take our buckets round to the refinery?
Jennifer Rees
Cardiff

• You have recently published a number of letters about amusingly placed books in libraries and bookshops (Letters, 22 September). As a former librarian, I rather suspect that the more comic placements mentioned are probably due to inadequately trained volunteer staff.
Jon Webster
Sleights, North Yorkshire

• I am looking forward to the return of imperial measures (Want to ‘level up’ the UK? Just give places the power and money they need, 19 September). Three grains of barley laid end to end used to equal 1 inch, until it was redefined as the length of Henry VIII’s nose. That overcame the problem of lengths fluctuating with the quality of the harvest, and explains why medieval houses always look wonky.
Dr Eric Goodyer
Craiglands, Birsay, Orkney

Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.

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