Our only choices are tough ones - Disconnect on environment

There are ever-more strident warnings about environmental destruction and the inevitable consequences for all life on this planet. On Saturday, as conservationists marched in Fermoy to get Cork County Council to clear a safe passage for Blackwater salmon blocked at Fermoy weir, the inaugural World Curlew Day was held.

It concentrated on the collapse of the Irish population, down 96% in less than 40 years. The National Parks and Wildlife Service found numbers were far lower than believed, with fewer than 150 breeding pairs discovered. This means the curlew will be extinct as a breeding species in Ireland within a decade.