Be very scared

The Maya's ruined temples reveal a frightening message for us all, says archaeologist Ronald Wright.

As I cycle through London, dodging those ridiculously large Mercedes (why are they allowed to manufacture cars too wide for an ordinary lane!), Range Rovers, and even one night a Hummer! (which nearly took my shoulder off - the driver obviously had no idea of its real size) I wonder what the people who buy and use these vehicles can be thinking of.

The ice cap is melting, the polar bears are doomed, Australia is looking at a year-round bushfire season, and still they drive on.

What we need to do is redevelop charivaris ("rough music"), shaming rituals, to show them their behaviour is just not acceptable. (That's failing the government banning all of these, which of course it won't have the guts to do.)

(Via Scribbling Woman)

Sorry, I've had a depressing morning, but increasingly I've concluded that we are right on the environmental tipping point, and once we've gone past that, there's no going back.