driving habits should have stated: "It makes me sad to think the slow pace of Bermuda is disappearing and there aren't as many happy people. On such a beautiful island with every opportunity to enjoy a high standard of living, what caused the aggression?'', not...what caused the oppression?'' In search of... October 11, 1999 Dear Sir, Does any reader have the current address of: Geoffrey Lamacraft, Cyril Enoch or Maurice Standeven? If so, please phone it in to 295-2487 (the Museum at "Par-la-Ville'').

Thank you.

COLIN BENBOW Paget Having a bad road day October 9, 1999 Dear Sir, Thirty six years ago, when I first came to the Island, I never felt threatened or the need to lock my doors and it was sheer joy driving along the roads acknowledging friendly waves or cheerful faces.

I worked with children then as I do now, from every walk of life and background, constantly driving from one place to another, with what I consider due care and attention.

Recently, driving has become hazardous, mainly due to reckless drivers and I'm saddened by the increase in verbal abuse. Yesterday, I was continually shouted at by the driver of a Bermuda Aviation Services bus along Front Street because I wouldn't heed the honking of his horn and drive faster than 23 miles per hour.

Today, I approached the pedestrian crossing at the end of Laffan Street with caution and stopped for a child about to cross. The obscenities shouted at me from the driver of a truck behind was hard to believe.

I am at a loss to explain this behaviour to the children I care for -- could it be the culprits got out of bed the wrong side? Don't like their jobs? Having a bad day? Or simply ignorant! It makes me sad to think the slow pace of Bermuda is disappearing and there aren't as many happy people. On such a beautiful Island with every opportunity to enjoy a high standard of living, what caused the oppression? What shall I tell the children? DISILLUSIONED DRIVER Sandy's Parish Conserve Island resources October 8, 1999 Dear Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Friends of the Fish organisation for the conference that they organised in the Bermuda College on Thursday, September 23.

The conference was well attended and included speakers from Agriculture and Fisheries, The Bermuda Biological Station for Research, The Aquarium and the Water Sport Division of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce.

The presentations given covered a wide range of topics but mostly concentrated on the effects that Bermudian society is having on our marine environment in the forms of sewage, boat and ship traffic and especially fishing.

Of particular interest to me were several scientific articles handed out at the door that described the complete destruction of Caribbean reef systems through a combination of unregulated short-sighted fishing methods combined with natural disasters.

One of the articles, written by Amy Roberts and published in the journal Tradewinds, St. John, in February 1999 detailed a situation of the Southern side of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

It described how -- through identifying and harvesting the breeding grounds of the Nassau Grouper -- only 15 fishermen working 30 days a year drove the species to the point of extinction and possibly past the point of recovery in only three years. This gives a valuable lesson that the Minister of the Environment would be wise to learn. I have made inquiries with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and with the addition of the 16 new commercial fishing licenses recently awarded, the total number of commercial licenses currently in circulation has been brought up to 201.

I have serious doubts in the Bermudian ecosystem's ability to support that sort of sustained demand for any extended period of time. In addition to this, I have heard alarming rumours from a number of sources that the use of fish pots is going to be reintroduced after the previous government had gone through so much expense and trouble to do what was necessary and get rid of them.

At this point I would like to thank Ann Cartwright DeCouto for her part in that necessary action. It was one of the few times in my life that I can remember when a politician had the moral courage to defy the special interest groups and do what was right and necessary for all Bermudians. My hat is off to her! The overriding message from the experts in the conference was one of caution and conservation. Environmental disasters can happen through both long term gradual degradation and short term excesses and it is the job of our elected officials to prevent these occurrences.

If Government decision makers ignore the free advice of knowledgeable experts like those at the conference -- people who gain nothing by giving freely of their knowledge -- then they are ignoring the responsibilities of their position and that is nothing less than criminal.

One fact stated in the conference is that even with the fish pot ban still in place some species that are caught with hand lines are still declining due to fishing pressure.

Clearly now is the time for intelligent conservation and not political back-scratching. Study of past disasters in other parts of the world show that trying to restore a devastated system will take decades or even centuries, far longer than the events that first caused the disaster.

This is assuming it will be possible to repair the damage, which is doubtful.

The destruction of something as beautiful as our marine environment is not a legacy that the people of Bermuda should be willing to saddle their grandchildren with. It has happened elsewhere and can happen here! RICHARD D. KEMPE City of Hamilton