Did you notice something unusual is happening to our climate? That the rhododendrons in Hong Kong are blooming earlier than usual, the mating calls of birds are heard in early March, and migratory birds are arriving earlier than they used to. These observations were made in a dialogue with a local weather expert and an atmospheric scientist. They warned that the ecosystem is out of sync. The temperature fluctuation sends false signals, confusing the cycles for pollination, mating, germination, breeding and migration. Early hatched babies have difficulty finding food because plant germination and micro-organism growth have been either advanced or postponed. As a result, there are gaps in the food chain and some species are starving. If major predators are endangered, 'naughty' insects and 'invasive' organisms will multiply. The danger of an epidemic exists. Climate history repeats itself again and again. The question is whether we have all woken up to the pending climate crisis. Are we prepared? World analyst Lester Brown warns that when the temperature reaches 34 degrees Celsius, photosynthesis will slow. It stops at 37 degrees. That is bad news for crop growers. Each one-degree rise above the optimal growth temperature signifies a 10 per cent reduction in productivity. What can we do? Restrict carbon emissions, which is a global warming factor. The Hong Kong government should cap these emissions from Hong Kong Electric and China Light and Power. Demand a 5 per cent renewable energy target in the Scheme of Control review that regulates the power suppliers' profits. Consumers should e-mail demands for renewable energy to those firms. Turn your air-conditioners up one degree. Remember to turn off air-cons and computers when not in use. Save water and food, as this will save energy used in their processing. Plant trees to absorb the emissions generated by your air travel. Imagine, 2.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted on a return trip from Hong Kong to London, and 0.27 tonnes from Hong Kong to Shanghai return. It is time to respond. We should not wait until the 'Day After Tomorrow'. MEI NG, director, Friends of the Earth (HK) Learn from West Rail The key issues in West Rail remain unresolved. Why are there fewer passengers than planned and built for? And how can such infrastructure planning failures be avoided in future? KCRC's baseline plan expected 300,000 passengers a day during the first year, whereas the actual number is about 100,000. The minimum plan assumed that parallel bus routes would be cut. I invite the government and the KCRC to identify the plan's author and the approval process, and to answer these questions: Was the original assumption to cut bus routes wrong and, if so, who is responsible for the project going ahead on a wrong plan? Was the assumption right and, if so, who is responsible for not following through with cutting the bus routes, and why? Did the KCRC and government ever review the assumptions and expectations during construction? Did anyone ever issue a warning of a significant shortfall? Did the KCRC or government revise West Rail estimates and plans subsequent to changes in the housing and bus route policies. If so, when? Transport failures should be dissected and the lessons learned implemented forthwith. Hong Kong must be able to amend projects, including after a decision to build. PAUL ZIMMERMAN, Mid-Levels Demigod lawmakers I am getting increasingly fed up with legislators who sit on Legco select committees on Sars and play demigods to the public health officers who won the Sars battle for us. Did these legislators do anything constructive in March and April last year when little was known about the source and transmission of the new and deadly disease, much less its cure? Many public health officers at the time were working desperately to understand Sars. Some lawmakers violated council rules by discussing the contents of Sars hearings on radio talk shows and leaking preliminary findings. And they did not have the courage to own up to their misdeeds. All in all, they should thank the health professionals. NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED Tobacco's real motives I refer to Rebecca Ng's letter headlined 'Co-operate on smoking' (June 7). I do not understand why the tobacco industry wants controls to succeed. It makes no sense for any company to hurt its business. The tobacco firms' true motives, as revealed in their internal documents ( www.tobaccodocuments.org ), are not that clean. The only sensible reason for them to promote co-operation is as a public relations exercise to regain goodwill and better their position to continue their business. I prefer to leave public good in the hands of those without commercial interests. Y. W. CHAN, Diamond Hill Target child abuse Is it so interesting to see people fighting over 200 patacas when they came with pockets loaded to gamble? (South China Morning Post, May 19). Later the Post told us about a two-year-old killed by her parents ('Girl told to obey as father beat her', June 5). Was this little angel not worth a front-page picture? Perhaps she was worth less than 200 patacas. I have just returned from Belgium, where the Dutroux trial is in session ('Dutroux's rape victims visit horror house', April 28). Across the border in France, paedophiles are on trial. Child abuse is a pattern in many countries and it will continue if we do not denounce it. We can make a difference if people start looking carefully at their neighbours, and if the press is brave enough to put human-related matters on the front page. SABINE WOLF-GILBERT, Clear Water Bay Don't glamorise war Now that the D-Day commemorations are over for another 10 years, and with them the tear-fest over the heroism of those who gave their lives for their country, or for 'freedom' or some such nebulous and nonsensical motive, could we look at the slaughter a little more sensibly? During the 10 years that I spent serving Queen and country, as it was so quaintly put, I never met a single serviceman who said he was there to save either his country or protect his sovereign. Most were conscripts so they had no option - it was either go along with it, or go to jail, or be held in such contempt by one's peers that life would become unbearable. Some, it is true, volunteered, drawn by clever propaganda that painted a picture of derring-do, glamour and adventure. While many were capable of great heroism, they were usually motivated by comradeship and concern at being thought less than courageous by their peers than by jingoism or patriotism. It is right to remember the dead. But to glamorise death not only challenges our intelligence, but risks making war attractive to young people who, if they fall for it, will give their lives as cannon fodder. TED THOMAS, Central Unhappy at airport Hong Kong International Airport has been voted No 1 in the world for the past few years, and we are very proud of it. But my experience on May 8 has changed my view. I was travelling to Bangkok at 2.10pm. While waiting to board at Gate 44, I went to the nearby toilet. The excellent image of our airport vanished after I discovered there was not a single piece of toilet paper available in the three toilet compartments that I entered. Fortunately, I found some in the fourth and avoided the embarrassment of being trapped in the toilet. Is this a step taken by the airport authority to solve our budget deficit or is it due to poor management? I ask that immediate measures be taken to prevent this happening again. DR THAM MIN HIN, Central
