Do you agree with me that something strange is happening to our weather?  Things are certainly different then they were during my childhood.  Summers are far hotter; winters are milder; gales are more frequent and flash floods are becoming an almost common event.

For a while most people assumed that this state of affairs was just one of those things.  A quirk of nature and that, over time, it would return to normal.

But there is now a scientific consensus that climate change has been caused by human activity.  The way in which we lead our lives is causing global warming.  As a consequence we have experienced extreme weather conditions over the past few years.

Most people agree that things cannot continue as they are.  But this then begs the question as to what should be done in order to tackle global warming?

This is one of those policy areas which creates political problems for the simple reason that potentially unpopular action that needs to be taken now with the benefits not being felt for at least another ten years.   But for the future of our planet action must be taken.  Two things need to happen as a priority.  First, people need to be made aware as to exactly what is going on and that through their own actions we can make a real difference.

Secondly, there needs to be concerted international action.  The United Kingdom cannot solve this on our own.  All of the world’s nations need to be actively engaged.  This especially applies to the United States which is responsible for around a quarter of the world’s harmful greenhouse gas emissions. 

Under President Bush they have refused to sign up to the Kyoto agreement which is an international treaty under which individual countries agree to cut their own emissions.   However, the good news is that the leading contenders to take over from President Bush following the 2008 presidential election are all committed to take action to tackle global warming.

I just hope that by then it isn’t all just too late.