The public must look to themselves to manage a worldwide transition

Sir, – A recent letter in this publication is in need of positive comment.

It is Mr Gofton’s (June

6 – I have seen the impact of global warming on our planet).

The clear, fair, and balanced reporting of his experience augments our understanding and supports the direction of travel that COP26 strategised.

He correctly includes the other gases that are involved in affecting temperaturedriven climate change.

It is up to us, the general public, to continue to look to ourselves and what we do to manage our transition.

The current situation is becoming more complex, with increasing fossil fuel pricing seeming to force us to consider mass transport systems – bus or rail – as opposed to using our cars with average occupancy around 1.5 persons.

Rail recently has it own issues, which hopefully will be resolved with good relations being restored.

Holiday air travel will take several decades to convert to lower levels of pollution emissions, so it’s a take it or leave it.

Maybe we can view air travel holidays as they were in the 1970s, a once-a- year event for two weeks, and take fewer weekend or city breaks.

That may actually help air travel build back better, to use a weel-kent phrase.

Local travel can be considered, but has issues. Distance, weather, traffic, and confidence of the participant can impact uptake.

It is accepted that, due to individual situations, cars may be the only reasonable alternative.

However, it may be practical to encourage carsharing. An intelligent, soft right foot can also help.

Fossil fuels are the source materials for plastics industries.

I read recently that micro-plastics have been found in snow in Antarctica.

These plastics can be breathed in by humans and ingested by fish, and will therefore enter the human food chain.

Plastics can have toxic chemicals or heavy metals attached, albeit in small doses.

But they will build up through time in fish and animals, and eventually our bodies, causing poor health outcomes.

Transition is what we need – steady, consistent, and regular.

This will provide confidence to the producers to invest in new processes and encourage users (us) to pick up and adapt to the changes needed.