Many thanks to Gordon James for permission to post this letter of his, which has just been published in the Western Mail. He makes such important points – and, thank goodness, the newspaper did not edit his text so its full force has been retained.
Dear Editor,
Your 12th August report about drought conditions in Wales is just one example of the frightening impacts that climate change is already having on our country and our planet. The extremes of drought, soaring high temperatures, torrential downpours and flooding, all of which carry a huge economic and human cost, are becoming commonplace.
What is unfolding before our eyes has been predicted by climate scientists for many years as the relatively stable climate that has allowed civilisations to flourish since the last ice age is being unravelled by man-made emissions. Scientists have also offered a raft of solutions that would enable us to reap the huge economic, environmental and health benefits of a low-carbon economy.
But, as I watch my one-year-old granddaughter discover the new world around her with endless fascination, I dread the future that we are creating for her and children everywhere because we are failing to implement these solutions on a sufficient scale.
And when I read in your letters column (12th August) that yesterday’s men (L Jenkins and I Richard) continue to write letters to your paper opposing wind power, one of the cheapest forms of low carbon energy available to us, I doubt whether our children and grandchildren will forgive them.
Yours sincerely
Gordon James