What would you do...

...if you woke up one morning to find a demolition gang outside your house swinging the ball and chain to start demolishing your home? How would you react? How much force would you feel entitled to use?

• Well here's one wake-up call: North Pole Summer Ice Cover
• And here's another: Hurricane Watch

If you read those two links and reflect on what is going on in our world then prepare to be very scared, and to ACT NOW

Now look at the North Pole where the summer melting is (or should be) coming to an end. As of 4th September there is a full 20% less sea ice area around the pole than there was at the minimum in the worst year on record so far - and that was 2005. What is more there is at least another two weeks of melting to come.

Prior to this year the long term trend was for a 6.5% decline each year -worrying enough in itself. In the last three years the rate has increased and is currently a staggering 33.1% decline year-on-year. If it looks that much like a tipping point being passed it very probably is.

If inflation suddenly shot up from a cosy 3% to over 20% per year we would expect the government to institute emergency measures to deal with the 'crisis'. Well that is what be have now in environmental terms, and it is real, visible, happening, here and now.

Enough of messing around trying to work out how to encourage people to consume a little less whilst allowing the economy and population to grow. Enough of politicians who are too scared of offending the middle ground to act decisively and offer leadership that we so desparately need.

Our home is being demolished around us and it is ourselves who are doing it.

The governement has control of the nation, it can control the ports and pipelines, the mines and depots. The government has the power to say today that from here on every month we will make available (through production and import) 10% less fossil fuel than was used in the corresponding month in the previous year - they have this data, and they can exercise this control.

That will start to produce to a genuine 10% per year cut in carbon emissions - if we don't produce or import the fuel than we can not burn it. Simple and effective.

Of course this will hurt - but the hurt will be less than the hurt of finding ourselves homeless in space. And we elect a government to look after us and deal with threats to our security. If we are that threat then we must be dealt with. And it is the job of government to deal with the social and economic consequences of the need to burn less fuel - once we have taken the first step we can see what those consequences are and work out how best to deal with them.

It is not difficult, it has been done before. In the 80's we became aware of the holes in the Ozone layer that we were causing. The government didn't ask us politely to use less CFCs, or offer us a CFC trading scheme - it went right ahead and banned their production and use, and we adapted.

In the 90's when the Russian Empire collapsed the people of Cuba suddenly found that they had to make an overnight transition from an industrialised oil based economy to a very low carbon economy. It was tough, but they survived - and in many ways are the better for the experience.

We demand that our Government takes these kind of emergency measures. They cannot afford to pussyfoot around waiting for international agreement, or whinging that whatever we do millions of Chinese will undo. What the government can do is govern our country, and they can start right away by putting our own house in order.

Once our government has done that then it can approach the others who are still weilding sledgehammers and destroying our collective home to persuade, or force, them to stop.

When push comes to shove how far are YOU prepared to go to defend your home - they question with which I started, and one which we may soon be forced to confront.