Stephen Blease

Last updated 14:08, Thursday, 03 July 2008

One of the most worrying sides to the environmental debate is that so many people are not worried about it.

An opinion poll carried out by Ipsos Mori has found that 60 per cent of Britons don’t think humans are responsible for global warming. And 40 per cent believe scientists are exaggerating the dangers.

Maybe they are right. It would be great if they were.

It would certainly come as a relief to the parents of small children concerned about what the next 50 or 100 years could mean for our climate, sea levels, transport and energy.

But the trouble is that they could be wrong – just as those who maintained that the earth was flat and was the centre of the universe also turned out to be wrong.

So isn’t it worth trying to be green just to be on the safe side – just in case they are wrong again?

Surely it is always wise to err on the side of caution?

I can’t help feeling that these global warming deniers are partly motivated by laziness. To many people it seems too much like hard work to walk rather than drive short distances, to switch off lights when you leave work, to recycle the News & Star once you’ve finished reading it, and to bring carrier bags with you when you go shopping.

So it’s easier to persuade yourself that humans aren’t responsible for climate change, and the risks are exaggerated.

Even if all the fears about the environment were imaginary, eco-friendly measures would still be worth taking, if only to save money and save resources.

It may already be too late to stop the polar ice caps melting, the sea levels rising and large swathes of Britain becoming submerged under the waves.

But if so, then let it happen because we can’t prevent it.

Don’t let it happen because we can prevent it – but are too lazy or apathetic to go green.