READING Paul Morley's letter on the merits of scaling back green pledges in the face of climate change, not to mention the next election (Craven Herald, 'About time we scaled back green pledges', September 28), it is difficult to decide on the best characterisation of the assertions made.
Firstly there is the proverbial ostrich which, seeing a serious threat, put its head in the sand - out of sight is 'sorted'. Then there is the much-loved policy of one of those rather numerous Tory former PMs, cakeism - wishing for the impossible, having your cake and eating it. Where else but in politics?
May I suggest to Mr Morley that he, along with the rest of us, has a choice to make between science and the salesmanship of politicians, business management and the likes.
As is now quite widely known, having recognised risks as early as the 1950s, in the 1970s Exxon management tasked a group of its scientists to investigate the effects of fossil fuel use on the planet's climate. The results? The predictions of the Exxon scientists are "uncannily" close to what has been observed since. The management reaction? It spent decades rubbishing its own science 'for the good of itself and the company'. Consequently, as of April 2023, Exxon et al. faced "numerous" state and local governments in the US courts.
To conclude, I suggest that 'being measured' in the face of climate change is a mug's game. The very notion of compromise in the face of an existential threat is as grotesque as it is ill-advised.
Richard Sykes
Skipton
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