Warming now a local issue

THE world-famous philosopher, Peter Singer, recently proposed the following scenario; you are walking to work in your most expensive trainers past a shallow pond.

- John Urquhart, Gosforth

Suddenly, you hear a drowning child crying for help. What do you do? Obviously, you forget about your expensive trainers and dash in to save the child.

Now, said Singer, extend that scenario to the problem of a child on the other side of the planet who can be saved with relatively minor effort on your part. The perfect example of this appears to be net zero, i.e. by cycling to work or eating less meat, you reduce carbon dioxide and therefore not only save an unseen child on the other side of the planet but also the planet itself. This could be called effective altruism and you don't even need to make much effort.