OCTOBER saw large areas of the UK under water and five people killed in the storms, this is proof positive of the effects of climate change long predicted by scientists and green campaigners.

Primarily climate change has happened because of our desire as consumers to burn fossil fuels. Can we do something about this?

Yes, we can, we can minimise burning of fossil fuels and start using alternatives that don't create havoc with the planet.

Our plight in the UK pales into insignificance when viewed against the impact of climate change in other parts of the world.

For example, the floods like the recent one in Bangladesh which left 15 million people homeless and the droughts which affected Burundi, Croatia, Kenya and Iran over recent months.

Christian Aid has estimated that by the year 2020, 75 per cent of the world's population will be at risk of drought or flood.

A recent Royal Commission into environmental pollution concluded that the world must reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050 in order to avert the worst consequences of global warming.

For this to be achieved the countries that create the worst pollution will need to cut emissions by up to 90 per cent.

Now are we going to achieve this in the UK with the Labour Government already having abandoned its general election pledge of traffic reduction indeed even adopting the Conservative policies of more road building?

The Liberal Democrats don't come out of this unscathed either now that they seem to be head-to-head with Labour as to who has the "greenest" policies.

Yet, with Labour, they seem intent on following policies that can only exacerbate climate change.

The primary flawed policy of the three main political parties in the UK is an expansion of air transport, which is by far biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions already.

The September fuel crisis, however well intentioned, was in my opinion orchestrated by a few selfish people and above all it clearly demonstrated our over-dependence on oil as a fuel.

Now that nature has given all of us the opportunity to see the effect of climate change can we please do something about it?

For a start tell retailers we don't want imported produce that's been flown halfway round the world and goods that have not been created or grown locally.

Geoff Brewer

Downlands Road

Devizes