Robin McKie’s account of his 40 years as the Observer’s science editor is as deeply absorbing as it is a warning to humanity (“What I’ve learned after 40 years as the Observer’s science editor”, Focus). He takes us back nearly 50 years to British glaciologist John Mercer’s warning that continued use of fossil fuel could lead to a 2C temperature rise by the mid-21st century threatening, among other potential catastrophes, a 5m sea level rise.
His warnings, since echoed by swelling numbers of scientists, point out that climate change “threatens to displace hundreds of millions of people from their homelands”. Tragically, McKie reports, “large parts of society turn their heads and deliberately reject the truths that have been presented to them”. Our increasingly busy roads and airports illustrate this. His article needs to be read by government ministers, reported widely in the press and studied in schools.
Richard Vernon
Oxford
