Madam, - Your columnist Brendan McWilliams warns us of possible "unimagined and unanticipated woes" from global warming (Weather Eye, October 7th). This is based on a recent inaugural lecture given by Prof Peter Lynch of UCD.
Apparently the threshold for the formation of hurricanes is a sea temperature of 260C and this is being exceeded to an increasing extent because of global warming. Existing mathematical weather formulae do not necessarily hold for higher temperatures and thus global warming is introducing an increasingly unpredictable element to world weather. As Prof Lynch said, "dynamic systems like our atmosphere may cross a threshold".
We have known for some time that mankind interferes with the balance of nature at his peril. While we may think there is not a lot we in Ireland can do about global environmental woes, there is a lot we can do about local environmental woes. For example, we can ban drift-netting and halt our interference with the migration of salmon which is leading to falling stocks of salmon in our rivers.
While the US is in denial on global warming, our Government is in denial as to the effect of drift-net fishing on our salmon stocks and through our actions on the stocks of other European countries. We all need an environmental wake-up call. - Yours, etc,
DAVID DILLON, Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.