PEOPLE keep wishing me a good morning and telling me how wonderful this unseasonably warm weather is.

It is not. It should be seen as a wakeup call.

Lord Ridley is seeking permission for two new opencast coal mines in Northumberland and Durham, the Government is hellbent on fracking, there has been a major new oil find in the North Sea, there is a major fire on Saddleworth Moor, now, in February; we are facing growing drought conditions in Southern England, soil fertility is falling, biodiversity is collapsing, we are witnessing the 6th Great Extinction and unless we are very careful we will be part of it.

The local paper tells me someone has signed up for a wing walk, carnival floats are getting brighter, louder and more polluting; single use plastic is everywhere, cars are getting bigger and people fatter.

This may be jolly, it is not helpful.

Good new comes in very small bites, Glastonbury is banning plastic bottles, the green Scythe Fair imposes environmental standards and our councils are all signing up to the Climate Emergency.

Sign away, councils, it will make no difference if you don’t do something.

Divest from fossil fuels, move landfill sites off the levels, rebuild our public transport, introduce electric car clubs, expand renewable energy. Now. Get on with it. Why are you waiting?

And not just the councils - us too. Everyone has to act. The sun may be shining and it may be nice and warm but it’s not good. It spells danger. Get on with it.

And while we are at it, Mr Editor, does your office run on renewable energy? Is it properly insulated? Does it has solar panels and a wind turbine outside? Is it carbon neutral? Are your company cars electric? Do you have electric charging points?

There is an awful lot to do and little time left. Enjoy the sun.

PETER LANSDOWN

Ilminster