Madam, - Is it time to replace the cosy term "global warming" with something more explicit, such as "global storming"?
The recent gales, downpours and floods should remind us that a warmer, more energetic atmosphere means more wind, more evaporation, more humidity and more rain. It does not mean, as so many of us fondly choose to believe, more sunshine, more fine weather or better summers. For Ireland, it might mean milder winters - but that is scant compensation for (even) worse summers.
When leading Greens can talk wistfully of vineyards on the Wicklow hills, it is clear that the potential impact of climate change has not been grasped. The reality is that large-scale monoculture farmers won't know what to grow because the weather will be so unpredictable. Smaller operators might survive by diversifying. However, worldwide food output could easily decrease and we will all feel the effects.
Ireland has shown it can occasionally lead the way in environmental issues, for example on plastic bags and smoking. Could we be the first nation to abandon a dangerously misleading euphemism, "global warming"? - Yours, etc,
Dr DUNCAN J. MARTIN,
Townsfield,
Cloughjordan,
Co Tipperary.