We've been having some pretty quirky weather lately - unseasonably high temperatures and unreasonably large amounts of rain.

Are these the by-products of global warming? Well, they most certainly are. And there are many other signs too.

The sceptics will inevitably say that it's Mother Nature being her usual, unpredictable
self. But the scientists know different.

We are sailing close to the proverbial wind and before is blows out and leaves us high and dry on the sandbank of no return, we must all take steps to help stem the effects of burgeoning carbon emissions which are stifling the planet.

Since the mid 1970s when scientists first noticed the ozone layer's hole plus the significant rise in world temperatures, we have lost 30per cent of our wildlife species and we are now using the eco-system of three planets.

The polar caps are melting and so, too, is the permafrost in Alaska where houses are slowly collapsing because their foundations are giving way. As sea levels rise in the Pacific Ocean the Tuvalu atolls are disappearing under the surface and the inhabitants are having to build new lives in Australia or elsewhere.

In China vast dust storms are turning large lakeland areas in new deserts and the Yellow River has reduced to a sluggish, brown ooze. Elsewhere in the world other dramatic changes are taking place not least of all the accelerated increase in Britain's coastal erosion and the growing incidence of major flooding of our many rivers than even 20 years ago.

Helping to contain global warming and control our planet's ecosystems for posterity is something we can all do at work and at home. It's not painful and it can pay positive dividends too.

For instance if every household and business in the UK simply turned off the stand-by lights on their various electrical gadgets it could provide the entire lighting for a small city. Also when installing a new central heating system at home or in the office, making sure it incorporates good controls and the latest high tech boiler, can greatly reduce CO2 emissions as well as saving on running costs.

When you are next purchasing a new car, go for less of a gas guzzler and more of an economic runner. It'll get you there just a quickly and for a lot less cost.

If we all do our bit - however big or small - Earth will have more to offer future generations than a legacy of doubt and despondency.

[ENDS]

Andrew Leech, Cross Reference Tel: 01753 884216