Dear Sir/Madam,

The comment by Mark Hart in last Wednesday's Times was typical of someone in complete denial of what we are doing to our planet ("I confess. I believe in free trade", 16 February 05).

He is not the only one, of course. When the Club of Rome published “The Limits of Growth” back in the early 1970's, instead of facing up to the difficult truths it contained, and under massive pressure from financial and economic interests (right across the social spectrum), we went into collective denial about the fact that we are quite literally plundering our planet.

Slowly, some people at least, are starting to come out of denial and realise that an "oversized ecological footprint" is nothing to be made fun of, but a very serious problem; in fact, a terrible threat to our children and coming generations (you cannot get much more serious than that).

It is a problem that should be of concern to EVERYONE, but particularly to those of a religious bent, since essentially it is a moral problem, i.e. one of acceptable human behaviour.

Everyone has heard about "the straw that broke the camel's back " - and perhaps wondered, "whose straw was to blame?"

Paradoxically the answer is, "no one's and everyone's".

 

That is assuming, of course, that each person placed just a single, or the same number of straws on the camel's back. The answer is rather different if some people place more straws on its back than others.

 

Now, let the camel represent Earth's finite carrying capacity, on which each of us has to place a certain number of straws in order to live. Although we do not know exactly how many it can carry, we can be sure that there is a limit - which will be exceeded if increasing numbers of people continue to pile on more and more straws.

 

Insanely, this is exactly what we are doing. Everyone can pile as many straws onto the camel's back as they have - or can borrow - the money to pay for, and are encouraged to do so, not just by their natural inclinations, but also by a growth-dependent economy and multibillion dollar credit and advertising industries.

 

It is high time that Mr Hart (and most other people) came out of denial and faced up to the situation aboard Spaceship Earth. Our children's and grandchildren's future depends on it.