Protecting the environment: Too late again

It is to be welcomed that a taskforce has been set up to try to avert a looming environmental disaster in the Midlands.

However, it would be far, far better if we had not reached a point where 4m gallons of slurry may escape from a disused piggery in Longford with disastrous consequences for local waterways. Once again it seems that the relevant authorities intervene only after the horse has bolted.

The official response to this disaster, one that would hardly be tolerated in any civilised country, will hardly deter the next person inclined to behave in such a reckless, environmentally destructive way.

At the root of this issue is our ambivalence towards environmental protection. We shrug off the idea as if it were optional and unimportant. This attitude needs to change quickly as the end of milk quotas in the next few months has the potential to impact profoundly on our countryside.

We must end the mindset that assumes that protecting the environment is desireable only as long as it does not impact on the ability of an individual or firm to make a profit.