I HAVE just had to walk away from the News At Ten after 15 minutes. So, halfway through the bulletin.
The major part of what I’ve just watched focused (quite rightly) on the way we can’t really tackle humanity’s headlong hurtling towards climate doom without the presence of India, China and Russia at the Cop summit.
Next up, the sepulchral tones of Orla Guerin (an incredibly brave journalist for whom I have the utmost admiration) on how deforestation is dooming us all.
"Yes but," is all I could say as I literally went from sitting room to kitchen with my fingers in my ears to save myself from further distress.
Yes but, what can we do about it?
There is nothing, despite the daily diet of hand-wringing fed to us by our TV sets, that we ordinary, relatively comfortable Western folk can do that will have the slightest effect on the really big causes of these problems.
Sure, as individuals we can eat less meat. We can recycle more. We can buy less tat. We can buy a packet of wildflower seeds and feel good about planting them.Yes, I do all that.
BUT
We don’t even have a planning system in the allegedly enlightened UK that can force developers to include climate-friendly measures such as solar panels, heat pumps, EV charging structure, on homes that are being built right now, despite everything we know about the damage we are inflicting on the planet.
Tell me why I shouldn’t despair.
The major part of what I’ve just watched focused (quite rightly) on the way we can’t really tackle humanity’s headlong hurtling towards climate doom without the presence of India, China and Russia at the Cop summit.
Next up, the sepulchral tones of Orla Guerin (an incredibly brave journalist for whom I have the utmost admiration) on how deforestation is dooming us all.
"Yes but," is all I could say as I literally went from sitting room to kitchen with my fingers in my ears to save myself from further distress.
Yes but, what can we do about it?
There is nothing, despite the daily diet of hand-wringing fed to us by our TV sets, that we ordinary, relatively comfortable Western folk can do that will have the slightest effect on the really big causes of these problems.
Sure, as individuals we can eat less meat. We can recycle more. We can buy less tat. We can buy a packet of wildflower seeds and feel good about planting them.Yes, I do all that.
BUT
We don’t even have a planning system in the allegedly enlightened UK that can force developers to include climate-friendly measures such as solar panels, heat pumps, EV charging structure, on homes that are being built right now, despite everything we know about the damage we are inflicting on the planet.
Tell me why I shouldn’t despair.
