Only one lifetime
As I write we are alert for the birth of our first great-grandchild due tomorrow. What an exiting event. This child will be born into a family which will be welcoming and caring and excited to share his or her life. All four great grandparents have reached the eighties, so there is a good chance this child will too. Amid the sense of joy, I have been reading a great deal about the threat to the planet with global warming. Frequently it speaks of “by the end of this century”. That always seemed a long way off, but now I realise our great grandchild will likely live to then. Somehow it seems closer. This means that in this one child’s lifetime unless much more drastic action is taken by our world’s leaders the planet will experience increasing flood and fires, the disappearance of some Pacific islands and some coastal cities, the loss of the Great Barrier Reef and perhaps 8o% of all coral reefs, displacement of millions due to the rising sea levels, greater poverty, and loss of a