Madam, - Your Editorial of November 10th, "Peak oil meets climate change", highlights two frightening trends which could cause havoc and terrible pain throughout the world in a matter of a few years. Because of a lack of leadership from politicians and economists, people are totally unprepared for the catastrophe which could be just down the road.
It is important that we recognise that neither climate change nor peak oil are high on the agenda of people in Europe, especially in Ireland. A Mori poll in Britain in July found that 65 per cent of those surveyed did not believe the predictions of scientists or politicians about the gravity of climate change.
Three events in recent weeks convince me that the percentage in this country is probably much higher. Fewer than 40 people attended a well publicised RTÉ Radio 1 discussion programme on "Ethics and Climate Change" at a venue in the north-west. Just over a week later, about 70 people turned up at a presentation on climate change in a third-level college in the north-west. That same week, about 100 people came to a similar event in a West Cork town. The organisers were disappointed that more people did not attend.
Dr Jeremy Leggett is right when he says that we need to mobilise as though for war to avoid terrible suffering. But this will not happen without a massive Government-led education campaign aimed at every sector of society. One-off editorials, though commendable, are not sufficient. - Yours, etc,
Fr SEÁN McDONAGH, St Columban's, Dalgan Park, Navan, Co. Meath.