How to save the planet

UNDOUBTEDLY, reducing the number of children we have will do more than anything else to tackle climate change (Mail).

After all, it is not much use reducing our carbon footprints if we keep on increasing the number of feet.

However, this alone won’t save the planet. This is because 7.6 billion of us are consuming natural resources as if we have 1.6 planets instead of just the one. So, while reducing birth rates is important, reducing the per capita consumption of resources comes a close second.

The U.S. has only 5 per cent of the world’s population, but consumes 25 per cent of the world’s resources. Clearly rich countries need to cut their consumption as dramatically as their family size.

BILL DoWLING, Sandhurst, Berks.