WITHIN the green movement it is a frequent cry that “They just don't get it”.

Who are ‘they’? Most politicians, media editors and members of the general public. What is it that ‘they’ do not get? Lots of things but here are some of the most important.

GLOBAL warming causes LOCAL climate change.

Global warming is a huge and urgent crisis. So far, the global temperature has risen about 0.80C. Already this has caused the Arctic to rise in temperature by about 60C and lots of countries are experiencing very serious climate change – sometimes droughts, sometimes floods. Locally, we have seen the jet stream, which has helped to keep the UK warm, be diverted causing our local weather to become wetter and more variable.

Because of the large inertia of the Earth system there is also almost no chance of keeping the global temperature rise to less than the recommended “safe” limit of 20C. This so called “safe” limit is in any case going to cause more enormous and serious changes. Further, if we continue on our present course there is a real threat that global warming will run away out of control causing complete and unimaginable catastrophes.

For these reasons (and there are many others), we should be doing everything we can to change course, but instead we quibble about even small changes because they are perceived as making our lives more inconvenient ignoring the disasters we are heading towards with the speed of an express train.

TONY HAMILTON, Acting Chairman of Poole Agenda 21, Ridgeway, Broadstone, Poole