THE horrific heat wave events of the past few weeks must have made the majority of people realise that global warming is with us – now!

We will all have heard that due to global warming, the human race is under an existential threat. The human race’s very existence is in danger. I had better repeat that – our very existence is under threat!!

The Green MP Caroline Lucas has said “slow progress is the same as no progress”. That being the case we have to act, and we have to act NOW, and even then we are leaving things late!

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Doing little things is pretty close to no good. I have heard of a fast-food restaurant chain saying proudly that the plastic toys which it gives to the children of its customers are now made entirely from recycled plastic. Taking pride in such small achievements does nothing more than make some consumers feel good.

If anyone thinks that any effective steps that we take to reverse, or even slow down, global warming can be done without making major changes to our lives and our leisure our employment opportunities, I’d suggest THINK AGAIN.

Jobs in certain sectors will indeed be lost if global warming problems are to be seriously addressed, but our politicians must be aware that the skills which we have developed are not lost. It should be possible, for example, to develop our North Sea design and oil extraction skills towards the production of renewable energy projects such as wave power.

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Thinking of the single area of transport, these are the sort of ideas that our government might consider to fully play their part in addressing the global crisis. They are not likely to win politicians any electoral popularity prizes!

  •  Low emission zones, which apparently played a significant part in the Tories holding onto Boris Johnson's old seat. In order to greatly reduce the use of private cars in our towns and cities these might have to be transformed into zones where only certain types of vehicles are allowed. For example, medical, emergency or certain delivery vehicles. The issue here of course is that public transport must be improved greatly to cope with the great increase in passenger numbers.
  •  Aeroplanes, which contribute significantly to carbon emissions, must be used in a much more considered and reduced fashion. This could mean that individuals are rationed as to the amount of air miles that they can use. It might mean, for example, that you could only travel to Spain, say, every two years and not annually. These air miles, of course, could not be transferred from the less well-off to the more wealthy. You would not be entitled to buy someone else's air miles.
  •  The use of private cars could also be rationed. Could we cope with a ruling of only one private car per family unit, and that car being limited to, say, 6000 miles per year?

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  •  I am very fond of being able to enjoy fruits such as raspberries and strawberries all year round. My guess is that air transport is sometimes used to make this possible. Is this essential?! The consumption of food which cannot be grown in our country or be transported by sea should be greatly restricted.
  •  Road repairs are certainly needed! Initially priority could be given to getting bus lanes, cycle lanes, and pavements in good order. The public is much less likely to use public transport if there is a risk of being shaken half to death every time it is used!

It would take a bold politician to propose ideas such as these and an electorate which fully understands the climate threat to accept them. The poet TS Elliot apparently said the electorate can only bear so much reality. If that is the case, we only have to look at the wildfires in Greece at the moment. That is the new reality!

That might be a lot for the citizens of the world to take in, but we should be continually exhorted to revisit the meaning of the word “existential” and think of our perhaps yet unborn grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Alex Leggatt
Edinburgh