Our environmental future

Global warming is real. And it is happening now. If present trends continue over the next 20 years, temperatures will go up by 1.2 degrees Celsius -- double the rise over the last 130 years.

The world population is growing too fast: by 2010, one billion more people will be living on our planet.

This is the conclusion of a report drawn up by Sir Robert May, the government's chief adviser. And it is this report which has been handed to the prime minister.

It is rumored that Tony Blair wants to make the May report the centerpiece of his speech tomorrow to the Labor Conference. And well he might; without an environmental future, there is no economic, political, or social future worth speaking of.

We all known in our heart of hearts that we are in a desperately serious situation. What we need is action, now.

This week, Tony Blair must make a start while the political climate is right.

-- Daily Express, London