Madam, - The biggest issue facing mankind is the environment since it is the sine qua non of everything else in the world.
Our country, because it is an island and not densely populated, is relatively advantaged - although the Celtic Tiger is contributing increasingly to greenhouse gases.
As the problems increase in the world and we approach the point of no return for an increasing number of species and plants, we hope we will be able to say we played our part and do not have the finger pointed at us.
In this context one aspect of nature which we can do something about - the wild salmon which visits our shores and rivers each year - is being destroyed before our very eyes by drift-nets. As your excellent Editorial of April 4th tells us, the Minister is determined to continue with drift-nets. We can only hold our head in shame until Pat "The Cope" Gallagher changes his mind and comes to realise that is approach may not even win him votes.
Meanwhile, how shameful on us all that the drift-net slaughter of wild salmon continues. - Yours, etc.,
DAVID DILLON, Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.