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Are our governments taking the environmental crisis seriously?

Posted on 11th June 2014

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A couple of recent stories really do make me wonder whether our elected representatives have "lost the plot":

In the first story, there is upset that many ministers failed to attend the recent conference in Bonn on Global Warming, despite having previously committed to attending, despite the agenda warranting their attendance, and despite the fact that we have an environmental crisis. One of the nations which did not send a ministerial delegate was Britain.

The second story describes how grants designed to protect the countryside by providing habitats on farmland to support wild plants and animals have been controversially switched to pay England's farmers to grow beans and peas. Stephen Trotter, of The Wildlife Trusts, condemned the decision to allow grants to peas and beans: "Nitrogen-fixing crops improve the soil but don't help wildlife at all."

These two stories really do not show the kinds of government commitment and priorities that are needed. Wake up, you people, and trying being "representatives" of your electorate, rather than dictators!