IT appears to me that humanity, and the affluent minority of the rich world especially, are intent on a sleep walk into the future with dire consequences for generations to come in the not too distant future.

There is some hope if only more people in this country could wake up to the reality of what is happening and make the changes to their way of life that the crisis of resource repletion and climate change demand.

I can imagine Dr Who travelling to a time 300 years hence finding children in run-down schools learning a history bemoaning the fact that people of the 21st Century squandered apparently abundant fossil fuel reserves.

Will the £1 per litre minimum price of petrol start to make us wake up to reality? I have many times been accused of a lack of reality in challenging economic growth and for believing that people in this country might be willing to reduce their consumption.

However, I believe that I am among a growing number who believe that radical change is both essential and possible. We have the choice of making the needed changes now, or waiting until the ravages of harsh environmental changes or the depletion of fossil fuels, impose those changes upon us.

Small changes like recycling and saving water just will not do. Yes we must do the small things like that but much, much more.

Most of us must scrap our individual cars and abandon long distance travel, especially for holidays.

We will need to demonstrate by our actions and investment our support for renewable forms of energy coupled with a resistance to nuclear power. This means accepting economic decline while focusing more on the values of sharing and co-operation.

There are other disturbing developments taking place in Europe and the USA.

The rising support for the BNP for example, reflects the cowardly trend to blame the victims of injustice rather than attack the real causes of unemployment and other social ills.

I am trying to build up some practical suggestions for personal change on our website, www.fiohnet work.org, and would welcome any ideas.

M THOMAS.

UK co-ordinator.

The Future in Our Hands.

Swindon