By Jonathan Power

There’s a lot of end-of-the-world hyperbole around on climate change, as every mass flooding is matched by outrageous wildfires. So there should be. But it blankets out other important causes that are even more imminently important—wiping out malaria, sleeping sickness and introducing pure water supplies, sewerage systems and education for girls—all of which would save many more people than those likely to be hurt by global warming, at least this side of twenty-five years. Global warming, although very much apparent, is happening relatively slowly. Indeed, I feel like coining a slogan: “Kill mosquitoes today, save the icebergs tomorrow”.

In fact, the world has the resources to do both—a small portion of the money spent on arms would do it. It’s strange that only a handful of years ago governments were telling us there was little money in the kitty to do the “worthwhile” things that many of us were advocating. But then along comes an unnecessary war and the coffers are opened unbelievably wide.

Fading ever more into the background as an important issue is the possession of nuclear weapons. Last week the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to an organisation supporting Hiroshima victims who most people have forgotten about. Once upon a time in the 1960s there........

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