The east coast of East Anglia being lost to the sea is nothing to do with man made global warming. Global warming yes...i.e. the end of the ice age 12,000 years ago. When the UK had a mile high glacier pressing down on it for 100,000 years, where the glacier was the land was depressed. Where it wasn't it was raised. When due to various reason unconnected with humans (shape of the earth's orbit around the earth, sunspot activity, the angle of the earth's orbit etc) the planet warmed and the glaciers melted, then that part of the land under the glacier rose ...and that not under the glacier depressed...hence 10,000 years of coastal erosion and the loss of Dunwich 500 years ago and Happisburgh ongoing.

Think of 10 people sitting on one side of a mattress. Where they are sitting is depressed, the other side is raised. When they stand up where they were sitting bounces up, and the other side of the mattress goes down.

As for telling off the Brazilians. A bit rich from us considering we have spent 6,000 years chopping down most of our trees!

Quite! I was appalled when I visited Eastern Europe in the early 1990s by the palpable pollutants in the atmosphere, the 6 foot high gas pipes above ground, tower blocks in country villages etc. Looking forward to Extinction Rebellion demonstrating in Caracas, Moscow and Beijing!

See the Sunday Times 18th August 2019 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/greta-thunberg...

See the Sunday Times 18th August 2019 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/greta-thunberg...

I was somewhat angry by the statement about "fairy tales of economic growth". What GT (and her eco backers/exploiters) are saying is that poor people in the 1st and 3rd world should not have comfortable lives. Somewhat hypocritical coming from the 1st world upper and middle classes with comfortable warm homes, freedom to travel, education and job security, plenty of food, modern healthcare etc. The rest of us in the 1st world should regress to the life of a medieval peasant. Those in the 1st world should not even aspire to the life of a medieval peasant.

So no aspiration for the poor in Africa, South America and Asia to have central heating, air conditioning, be able to travel over a distance for work and to see their far flung family, to have sanitation, clean running water etc. They should be happy to scratch a living as subsistence farmers and see half their children die before adulthood.

There is a railway bridge which leads into Glasgow Central Station. It is known as the 'Hieland Man's Umbrella'. Why? Because back in the mid 19th century, crofters would abandon their smallholdings and come to the city to seek a better life in the environmentally unfriendly factories and ship yards. On getting off the train they would shelter under this bridge. The bottom line is that for hundreds of years economic growth and industrialisation has brought a better life for billions of people in the 1st world. We need it now in the 3rd world. I wonder what the representatives from China, Africa, India were thinking when GT lectured them at the UN?

The trick is to ensure economic growth in a more environmental sustainable way, which modern technology will provide. Of course much of the Extinction Rebellion agenda is anti capitalist. I note they are not demonstrating in communist countries with poor environmental standards.

Either Greta Thurnberg is in control of her life or she is a vulnerable child with learning and mental health difficulties. If the first she cannot expect to lecture the entire world on their wickedness and then complain that people criticise her arguments and her motives, If the second, then she is being exploited by her parents, the green movement and green businesses in Sweden hoping to make a financial killing in the west. So no need to be ashamed. I am happy to regard her as an exploited person, who means well, but is overly simplistic and is been used by others.

Let make Greta happy. Ministers can address conference by big screen and Skype. Ditto MPs at fringe meetings. The greenest conference ever!

I meant to say of course a major 'cause' of his troubles. Predictive text, eh!

Actually as a journalist he made a fair comment. From memory he was saying "just because you may think a women wearing a burkha looks like a letterbox that does not mean the burkha should be banned". A very liberal point of view even if expressed indelicately.

However a stupid thing to say for a politician.

I agree. I have never had any problem with BJ's colourful language and expressions as journalist. He is following in a long line of satire and invective, starting with Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe in the 17th century through to Rod Liddle, Jeremey Clarkson, Julie Burchill and Piers Morgan in current times. HOWEVER as a senior politician (or senior civil servant, diplomat, quangocrat, judge etc) you do have to be more measured and diplomatic in your language. BJ has never been able to separate his journalist from his politicians life which is a major course of his troubles.

Yes the Remainer faction have been horrid, but we Brexiteers should try and hold the moral high ground and not sink to their level.