Dear Sir,

The Prince of Wales did not say, as your headline suggests, that the recent storms are man's fault, but PERHAPS (Storms are Man's fault, says Prince, 7 November 2000). The extent to which a particular period of bad weather is the result of global warming is unknowable. Most people - including Prince Charles - are well aware of this.

What is certain, however, as shown by your science correspondent in the last edition of the Sunday Telegraph (Are we to blame for this? 5 November 2000), is man's "arrogant disregard" for the delicate balance of nature.

"In the end, it hardly matters" he writes, "whether last week's floods were the result of man-made pollution, an overheating Sun or just the vagaries of the British climate. The real challenge facing scientists and politicians lies in doing what humans have always done: using their ingenuity to find ways of enjoying the advantages of a changing climate, while ducking its disadvantages."

It is this kind of frivolous and irresponsible attitude that is threatening to turn "beneficial advances in technology [. . . into] the agents of our own destruction".

Prince Charles is a godsend who one day will be appreciated for the wisdom that he speaks.

Hopefully by then it will not be too late!