Madam, - Richard Waghorne (December 15th) claims that the Kyoto Protocol is a costly exercise in combating global warming - a phenomenon which he states "may well not exist". He bases his opinion on research conducted in 1974 that predicted a fall in global temperatures.
It is now 2004 and science has come a long way in gaining a better understanding of the causes and nature of global warming.
The research to which he refers looked at patterns in ice ages over thousands of years and predicted that the earth was due to enter another cooling phase.
The research did not look at current global conditions and so failed to take into account the large amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that have been pumped into the air at an exponential rate since the industrial revolution. These man-made alterations to the global atmosphere have overridden the natural patterns in the earth's cooling and warming.
The Kyoto Protocol is the truly international attempt to combat the effects of global warming. It is certainly not intended as a final solution but it is a crucial first step that I sincerely hope the world will take together.
Mr Waghorne reminds me of Oscar Wilde's definition of a cynic - "a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing". He should recognise that there is real value in the Kyoto Protocol and that there will be a serious price to pay if we ignore the changes we are making to this planet on a truly global scale. - Yours etc.,
ODHRÁN Ó SÚILEABHÁIN, Sheffield, England.