• 2004: GLOBAL WARMING

    Letter to Enfield Gazette, 8 July 2004

    Councillor Terry Neville should really do a little bit of reading about global warming before promoting his inane ideas about creating a “café society” in Enfield (Gazette, July 1).

    Global warming is a very complex process and it is impossible to predict its effects. One very plausible scenario suggests that warming could divert the Gulf Stream and thus make Britain a much colder place, so it would be unwise to spend too much money on providing tables on our pavements.

    What is fairly certain is that coming decades will see extensive flooding and famine throughout the world, which will undoubtedly lead to social upheavals, population movements and wars.

    It is highly unlikely that Britain will be able to remain aloof from such events so that we can sit sipping pastis while millions die elsewhere.

    Really smart investors might consider buying up houses in Harrow-on-the-Hill and converting them into boarding houses with “Seaview” painted on the front. Some authorities predict that by the end of the century, this will be the only bit of London not covered by water.

    Ian Birchall