In response to: ‘Give us Wings’-Brendan O’Neil, Guardian Unlimited 8/07

Has to be said, Brendan, you have a point. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of an accelerating plane and the sudden jolt as it lifts off the runway and begins to gracefully rise as the world gets smaller and smaller around you. Not to mention the miracle of setting into the cabin and stepping off on the other side of the World just a few hours later.

However, your article, whilst cute in its childlike simplicity and descriptive verve, is a bit of a distraction.

It’s a bit like complaining about the rationing of petrol or the blackout of our cities back in 1939 as we stood a good chance of being inundated by one of the nastiest regimes in history. Yes, those steps, like the imperative to dramatically cut flying, represent a step backward. They represent a rejection of the many joys and benefits brought by human progress, which, as you point out, should rightly be celebrated.

But your article is also worrying in its lack of reference to science. Are you suggesting the liberation experienced by some through flight outweighs the oppressive drought, flooding, food shortages and mass migration which climate change will inevitably bring? Or, do you dispute the science, and on what basis? I’m not a scientist, and I don’t believe you are, Mr. O’Neil. I don’t pretend to fully understand the complexities of the global climate any more than you do. However, what I do know is that there are 300 scientists from across the world, from a huge array of disciplines and backgrounds, who not only agree we’re in trouble, but are 90% sure of it. I also know that kind of agreement is unprecedented. Are you saying you know better than those guys?

The fact of the matter is, we’ve reached the stage where attention will begin to shift from climate change, to its possible implications. Those implications constitute the most severe and direct threat to Britain since 1939. I expect that, when it comes down to it, similarly drastic measures will be necessary to deal with the mass migration of the entire Mediterranean region, the disruption and stretching of global food supplies, the wars as the superpowers carve up the dwindling resources for themselves. That’s not scaremongering or disaster movie fodder, those are the predictions of the IPCC, and are already happening to some extent, albeit on a limited basis.

So stop whining like a little boy who wants to be allowed to play with his toys whilst sitting on the edge of a cliff. The human ingenuity you wax lyrical about is responsible for this mess, there’s no doubt about it. However, this is not a call to crawl back into our cave.

Those of us with sufficient vision, not to mention true, rather than romanticised faith in humanity don’t waste our time bemoaning necessary sacrifices. Instead, if you wish to celebrate the liberation of human progress and its benefits, instead explore, believe in, and celebrate the role human ingenuity has to play in getting us out of this mess.