Look to yourself

I wonder if any of the so-called Extinction Rebellion protesters realise that the mobile phones, internet and TV to which they are so addicted are probably the main drivers of world and even outer space pollution, including greenhouse gases.

Does that claim appear silly? I am not thinking just of the extraction of materials, manufacture, marketing,use and disposal of these devices and associated networks and space satellites which, of course, is in its collective self a huge enterprise.

A more serious consequence is their role in encouraging consumerism directly, which is the root cause of the global warming crisis against which they are protesting with the usual demand, not that “we” should do something about it but that “they” need to fix things so that “we” can carry on as before with a clear conscience.

There is no painless and effective way of reducing pollution. In spite of the mindboggling expenditure on this over the past 20 years pollution, including greenhouse gases, is actually increasing, the major cause being the understandable universal desire to achieve a western style of living, and the world population is rapidly growing; it is expected to reach circa 10 billion by 2050.

Greenhouse gas emissions by domestic animals has been much discussed of late. Human metabolism also releases CO2. Years ago in Scotsman Letters I, partly tongue-in-cheek, pointed out that the breathing alone of a 2 billion population increase would be equivalent to ten times Scotland’s total rate of CO2 production. This is just one indicator of the intractability of the problem.

A MCCORMICK

Kirkland Road, Terregles, Dumfries