I TAKE my hat off to our young people and the way they are tackling climate change head-on. One of the things I’m most encouraged by is their recognition of the way we’ve all been manipulated into consumer lifestyles designed to profit the few, not the many, with callous disregard for the damage to the planet.
No-one ever asked for excessive plastic wrapping, fast fashion or single-use cups and they certainly haven’t been sold to us for the sake of our well-being. We would have been perfectly happy with the way things were before, when you bought your fruit and veg in a paper bag, cups were usually made of pottery that could be washed and re-used hundreds of times and our clothes were made to last.
READ MORE: Scottish Government ups climate target to reduce emissions
These unsustainable trends were a way to turn a profit, to keep the rich getting richer, and we have been sucked in either because we did not realise the harm it was doing, or it was easier, or because effectively there was no other choice.
Our young people are showing the way to make a difference, and I for one stand ready to make personal changes because I want this beautiful planet to still be beautiful for future generations. To slightly mis-quote Martin Luther King, as an individual I might not be able to great things, but I can do small things in the greatest way I can to make a difference. So can we all.
It’s also stands out that those who have the biggest stake in the future seem to have seen through the manipulations that are part and parcel of the Brexit debacle. The empty words used to drive on a project likely to bring nothing but harm have been largely rejected, and many are committed Remain supporters. Still more have viewed the way we are currently being forced out of Europe against the expressed will of our people and see a way forward for Scotland as an independent nation in Europe.
One thing is abundantly clear: the nations taking a lead in promoting planet-friendly living tend to be small and independent. Look at Denmark, a European nation of similar size to Scotland, working to achieve carbon-neutral status and developing what is needed to make it happen. Scotland is gifted with resources that would enable us to take a similar proactive stance, and I believe we have the collective will to do all this and more. The only thing holding us back is that we continue to be tied to a Union that doesn’t work for 21st-century Scotland and never really did. A Union set up to benefit the rich and enable profiteering at Scotland’s expense. A union that continues to deny us the democratic right to make choices about our future; choices that can make it possible for us to move beyond unsustainable consumption and embrace our potential as a green, outward-looking, independent European nation. So keep on marching, and keep the pressure on. The future will be worth it.
Iain Lappin
Blairgowrie
IN the early days of climate change the BBC used to find it necessary to “balance” scientific evidence with non-scientific nonsense from a climate-change denier, often ex-chancellor Nigel Lawson. This policy was abandoned when the truth of climate change become self-evident. Yet you allow Michael Fry (A culture war is coming – prepare for your steakhouse to be picketed, September 24) a column of ridiculous climate-change denial with no disclaimer of editorial belief. What were you thinking of when you accepted this article for publication? A blot on The National’s history that will be hard to erase.
Dr Andrew Orr
Edinburgh
READ MORE: Michael Fry: A culture war is coming ... prepare for your steakhouse to be picketed
I FEEL greatly relieved that Michael Fry, merely by looking out of his window at the weather, is able to reassure me that global warming is a myth. His sage advice that meat-eating is good for all, that meat production is on the rise, that the green agenda can cause environmental problems (er, I thought he said there were no environmental problems), and that there are more trees than in 1982 mean there is no need for any change in anyone’s lifestyle.
Wonderful, I can go on driving my car and exploiting the world’s resources indefinitely. Sadly, he’s talking rubbish and justifies his comments by naming those who are concerned about global warning as “climate zealots” to belittle them.
The overwhelming scientific evidence points to the fact that we are polluting the planet and causing the world temperature to rise. Since this is an exponential event, by the time it becomes really uncomfortable for us it will be too late to rectify the situation. By making snide jokes about this subject he belittles no-one except himself.
Tony Perridge
Inverness
YOUNG people showed everyone else that they were sincere in their anxieties about global warming. Could these committed young people now show leadership in our towns and cities by always binning their litter? Glasgow has provided large new bins.
Margaret Pennycook
Glasgow
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