In response to the historic deal rescuing the Kyoto Protocol I should like to quote a few lines from Lord Byron:

"There is a pleasure in the pathless wood,/ There is a rapture on the lonely shore,/ There is society, where none intrudes..."

The greatest threat to "society, where none intrudes" is climate change. Unless we act now, Byron's pathless woods and lonely shores won't be enjoyed by those who follow us.

Aled Jones,

Mount Crescent,

Bridlington.

...While welcoming the fact that 180 countries have agreed to take action to tackle climate change, we have to remember that governments have only agreed to measures to cut carbon dioxide emissions by one to three per cent.

By contrast, scientists say we need cuts of 60 to 80 per cent if we are to avoid dangerous climate change.

We can't afford to wait and leave it up to politicians to solve the problem. We have to take responsibility and do something ourselves.

The decision to designate York as an Energy City is a welcome move and, hopefully, this will encourage people to think about what they can do to help tackle this issue.

There will be a public meeting on Climate Change on Wednesday, August 1, at Priory Street Community Centre, Priory Street, York at 7.30pm.

At the meeting, arranged jointly by York Friends Of The Earth and the Green Party, Professor Phil Ineson (Professor of Global Change Ecology) will outline the science of climate change and how it may affect people in the city.

Other speakers will talk about the politics of climate change and the need for government, businesses and individuals to take urgent action.

There will also be displays from a wide variety of organisations demonstrating some of the many ways we can help to prevent serious climate change.

Guy Wallbanks, Coordinator,

York & Ryedale Friends Of The Earth,

Kingsway West, York.

...If you had just filled up with petrol and were told that because it was a full moon the price had doubled, I'm sure you would be miffed.

Yet that is the feeling I get every time I travel by public transport. Take one bus or train full of passengers and analyse what each have paid for their ticket for the same destination.

The price variation could be as much as double. Student, Rover, Family, Away-Day, 'Back-Late-OOPs' and 'Full Moon' discount tickets are but a few that spring to mind.

Why do we need such confusing lists? To be confronted by that menu every time I want to travel is a daunting prospect and puts me off travelling by public transport.

We desperately need a clear viable alternative to the 'jump in the car let's go' mentality if we are, in the words of The European Union's Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, to "look our children in the eye".

She said this at the Kyoto Summit recently, as a deal was struck to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gases.

All I - and others like me - want is to leave my polluting car behind and enjoy stress-free cheap public transport.

Yet I feel that this is an impossible dream.

Why do I feel that until such simple problems as these are resolved, the Kyoto Summit and all it stands for is yet another impossible dream?

Phil Shepherdson,

Chantry Close, York.

Updated: 10:24 Thursday, July 26, 2001