Comment.

Ledbury now has its own branch of Extinction Rebellion, and this comes as the town council, in keeping with councils all over the UK, has declared a climate emergency.

There is a climate emergency, of course. Even as recently as the 1980s or 1990s, few weather forecasts could cause anxiety over rain levels and potential floods. These days, however, amber alerts are almost commonplace.

Something needs to be done; but it could well be that human resilience – or stubbornness – is the enemy of change. It all comes down to what we are willing to put up with. For instance, if flooding is viewed as a possible but still occasional nuisance, does that make it more or less acceptable?

Older members of the community will remember the remarkable hum from insect life, whenever one went into the countryside, during the warmer months. But perhaps we are willing to put up with almost silent springs and the mass death of insects?

However, are we willing to put up the loss of street lighting at night? This is one suggestion from Extinction Rebellion Ledbury, and motorists are sure to gripe about road safety, despite car headlamps; and householders will gripe about security.

But light pollution hampers nocturnal pollination, from insects such as moths, and with bees dying en masse, will we feel secure in a world where more and more plants become extinct?

And are not street lamps at night, in any case, a terribly wasteful use of energy? Big changes certainly need to happen, and they need to happen soon.