'Environment destroyed while a shouting match goes on'

Instead of “Hello, how are you?”, it seems the popular December greeting is “Hello, are you ready for Christmas?”

We know Christmas is coming, it comes every year at the same time without fail and yet…. we’re not ready.

Is this a little bit like that awful B word? We knew it was coming but no one’s ready!

Our climate is changing, becoming more intense, more severe. We knew that was coming and we were warned what we had to do… but we’re not prepared.

The oceans are suffering the effects of plastic pollution, yet we knew that was coming because Prince Charles warned us in the 1970s and yet it happened because we did nothing about it until now (thank you David Attenborough and Blue Planet II).

Television and radio interviews are full of shouty people talking over each other and not listening.

So, for Christmas this year, could we ask for some listening and some hearing?

It’s not rocket science. It’s just about listening to people and hearing what they say and then thinking about it.

For, while this shouting is going on, our oceans, countryside, biodiversity and heritage are slowly but surely being degraded and destroyed.

Maybe, just maybe, this year Father Christmas, as you fly around delivering your wonderful gifts to the fortunate, could you just sprinkle some magic dust on the world to make everyone a little happier, more caring, less greedy, more thoughtful and more considerate?

It really would make the world a happier place for everyone and then we could get on with making this country a better place for all. In our case, that means campaigning to keep the countryside alive and breathing, protecting our heritage and making sure that we get the affordable homes we need in the right place, at the right time, for the right reasons.

Jules Marley, CPRE