What struck me was the question of priorities . . . are our current priorities what they should be?In our blinkered obsession with the ramifications of Brexit, are we ignoring factors that are far more important?
Rather like the voyagers on the 'Titanic', are we concentrating on the collapsing deckchairs and ignoring the looming iceberg?
To show you what I mean, let's reflect on what's happened to our environment over the past few weeks.Paradise, a town in California, has been reduced to ashes by forest fires. Unprecedented dust-storms have created chaos in China.
In Australia, equally unprecedented bush fires in Queensland have caused thousands to evacuate their homes; whilst, after receiving its average monthly rainfall within an hour, Sydney has experienced critical flash flooding.
Nor have we escaped in Europe. Amongst many similar incidents elsewhere, Vienna, Rome and Paris have all experienced serious flooding, whilst storms have caused havoc on Sicily.Added to this, the UN has just announced that, after four years of steady decline, the levels of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere have risen significantly.
And what is this rise ascribed to?
In large part, it seems that we are to blame. Not just for our prolific use of fossil fuels, but also for our love of meat and dairy products
. . . every day, so we are told, the cattle on our farms emit six hundred litres of methane into the atmosphere.
But, take heart, there is also some good news to share. Namely, that there are many ways in which we can offset these critical problems.
Our actions have created this crisis, it's our actions that are needed to prevent it from getting worse.
Let's consider what can we do.
According to the European Commission, if global aviation was a country, it would rank in the top ten emitters, which is a sobering thought. However, in response to this announcement, two undaunted Swedish mothers took positive action. They have already persuaded ten thousand people to commit to taking no flights in the coming year, and called their initiative 'No-fly 2019'.
Perhaps we could follow their example?
Then there's the question of our diet . . . what we eat is paramount to saving the environment.
Our excessive consumption of meat is the prime factor. If this can be dramatically reduced, and we can ensure that the other components of our diet are grown locally, or have traveled a relatively short distance, this would make a substantial difference.Out of curiosity, when preparing the vegetables for lunch today, I looked at the details on the packaging.
It came as a shock to discover that the asparagus was from Peru, the broccoli from Kenya, and the beans from Guatemala . . . only the mushrooms were British.
I'm sure I don't need to add that, in order to reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, we must seize every opportunity to plant trees, encourage the installation of solar panels, and support the vigorous campaign against fracking.
And breakthroughs are occurring all the time. A recent encouraging discovery has shown that, by mixing powdered rock into the soil, the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the plants growing in that soil is markedly increased.
This coming Monday, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet in Poland. The delegates will have much to consider before circulating their conclusions to the waiting world.
But, let's take heart.
As we've outlined, we can curb our flights . . . change our diet . . . plant trees . . . install solar panels . . . oppose fracking . . . mix powdered rock into the soil . . . and face up to the reality of the situation that confronts us.
And, yes, you're right . . . we haven't even mentioned our plastic-strewn oceans, or the planet's endangered wildlife.
It certainly puts Brexit into perspective.
