Readers have written about many matters that they see as threats or social problems.
Tauranga City Council's shortcomings, the aspirations of some Maori people, the earth's climate, and war and political mayhem in many countries.

But the one matter, which poses a life or death threat to every one of us, has been totally ignored. Today, the threat is the massive arsenals of nuclear weapons, with more nations trying hard to add to the stockpiles. There are also many nuclear-fuelled power stations scattered over the surface of our planet.

The dispersion of any of these materials carries the very real possibility of wiping out all human life on earth; not over years, but in a matter of a few weeks.

We should forget our lesser problems and all of us should do what we can to have these real, and immediate, threats removed. Our lives , and that of our children, depend on it.

J Mills, Mount Maunganui.