NOW that we have had a recent taste of the type of temperatures that Middle Eastern and southern European countries have become familiar with, can it be possible that there is anyone who still doubts that global warming is horrific and it’s here!
The main question is, do our governments and we ourselves have the courage to face this new reality and really do something about it?
Can we for a few minutes consider the following purely fictional scenario?
Scientists have recently discovered that the foods we have always enjoyed, eg beef, bread and eggs, have developed toxins which are harmful to everyone.
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If we continue to eat these products then we will certainly all suffer illness and many of us will die. These effects will take only a few years to show themselves.
The good news is that foods have been developed which do not have these highly undesirable effects. Unfortunately these foods are a good bit more expensive and will certainly not be to everyone’s taste. The delicious flavour of well-cooked fish and chips will be a thing of the past!!
However, faced with illness and possible death, it is likely that these new foods would be adopted swiftly and willingly by world populations.
Now back to real life.
With global warming we are probably talking about a few decades rather than simply years for the worst effects to be with us.
When this happens, however, everyone will certainly suffer to some extent and many people will die prematurely from population pressures, heat, drought, flood and hunger.
The big question here is do we have the courage and wherewithal to do anything meaningful about it? It’s going to be a bit more significant than things like banning plastic drinking straws.
The sorts of changes that will be required could include, for example, restricted use of private transport (do we really need as many cars as we have?) and restricted use of air travel for all but the most urgent needs – and this would not include jetting off to exotic holiday destinations. They could also include changes in domestic energy use. For example, with modern technology it would certainly be possible to programme washing machines NOT to operate during periods when energy generation from renewable sources is not possible (when the wind doesn’t blow, wind turbines don’t generate electricity).
However we deal with the problem, it is most certainly going to change the way that we currently live our lives and use global resources.
Do we have the courage required to change, or are we simply going to continue to ignore the problem and hope that nothing bad will happen? It’s great for governments to set targets, but we also have to meet them!
Future generations require action from us – now!
Alex Leggett
Edinburgh
ONCE again we see animals paying the price for human’s incompetence (A fifth of Scotland’s deer to be culled, July 21). All I can say is that I hope these marksmen are good shots, because these animals should not have to face a slow, painful death.
The fact of the matter is that apex predators should have been introduced to Scotland many years ago. The wolf and the lynx have a role to play in good wildlife management and the idea that people should be concerned about possible attacks is ridiculous. Indeed you would be lucky if you ever saw any of these animals as they go about their business.
I would ask your readers to acquaint themselves with authors like Jim Crumley and Benedict McDonald, both of whom have written extensively about the need for these animals to be part of our ecosystems. What people don’t understand is that the wolf and lynx take out the old and unhealthy, which leads to a healthier stock of animals. They also keep the deer on the move, thereby helping to protect young saplings. And all for nothing.
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I have to say too that I am also very suspicious of this idea of making money from these culls. Maybe it’s just my unease about human intervention which has caused this issue in the first place. This mess and other intrusions by our species is very much of our making and we need people with vision to reverse not only climate change, but irreversible damage to our environment and the creatures that rely on it.
Let wildlife take care of itself. They have been doing it successfully for millennia. They don’t need our help!
Keith Taylor
via email
ONE can only assume over the extreme secrecy surrounding the Duke of Edinburgh’s will and the fact that even ninety years from now it can only be opened in private, that the amounts left and where they have come from could only be so colossal as to put the whole future of the monarchy at risk!
We need an insider with integrity to out this will for the public interest. If there’s nothing to hide then why the secrecy?
Steve Cunningham
Aberdeen
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