FOREST GREEN

'The forests are ringing beneath the axe; thousands of millions of trees are perishing; the habitats of animals and birds are being laid waste; rivers are dwindling and drying up; marvellous landscapes are vanishing beyond recall..... and with every passing day the earth becomes uglier and poorer....

'Forests moderate the harshness of the climate. And in countries with a gentle climate human beings spend less of their strength on the struggle with nature; they become gentler in their turn.

'In places like that people are lithe and beautiful, with quick responses, and well-turned speech, and graceful movements. Their arts and sciences flourish, their philosophy is never sombre, they treat women with grace and honour.....'

There you have it, the latest inspiring ecological thinking, combining an abrasive shot of reality with a vision of the profound effects that rational action might bring to the lives of us all. And who is speaking? Anton Chekhov, through the mouths of characters in Uncle Vanya, writing in the nineteenth century.

And what has happened in the course of over one hundred years? Nothing but more of the same, accelerated by slicker technology.

At long last there seems to be an awareness that a few tentative steps towards arresting the slide to disaster might just save something from the ruins. But it's only because those able to take action are by now thoroughly frightened by the alternative scenario that this is occurring. And will the Chinese abate their stampede towards more and more coal-fired power stations? Will the Americans ever pause to consider the consequences of their neurotic air-conditioning and their ridiculous over-heating of buildings? And will.......?