MEN not useless after all...

All those horrible things I wrote about the Manchester Evening News? All those sneering "unconstructive" comments? All the petty side-swipes? I take them back.

WAY,FI? No I don't. I take back that taking back.

Dizzy yet? No, me neither; but I am chuffed that MEN printed my response to a letter they ran last Thursday, by a guy who signed himself as "Average Working Man". AVM said a) Climate Change might not be happening and if it is b) I can't do anything about it so c) I'm just going to eat drink and be merry.

Here's my letter as I sent it in, virtually identical to what the MEN published.)

I understand all too well the feelings of frustration and powerlessness that "Average Working Man" expresses in his letter ("I''ll be selfish", MEN 26 Feb). He writes of global warming (which IS happening, sad to say) "I cannot get personal about such matters, because governments are not going to take notice of my thoughts."
At the national and international level, I suspect he is right. At the local level, if he were to get together with other people, then he might (fingers crossed) be wrong.
Manchester City Council has recently released a climate report called "A Call to Action", and the head of the Green City team has publicly requested comments and suggestions on it and the Council's climate work. Although there are some good things in the report, a large and growing group of Mancunians think that it doesn't go far enough. They're getting together to write "A Real Call to Action." The next meeting of the group, which has a website www.calltorealaction.wordpress.com, is on Saturday 7th March, from 1.30 to 5pm, at the Central Hall, Oldham St. Average Working Man, and anyone else who thinks that climate change needs a strong response, is welcome to join us.