I am not an environmentalist, and cannot make any claims to having mastered being green. If I'm really honest, I'm happy to engage in conversations about global warming, but my mind is likely to meander away from the plight of the polar ice caps to what I'm having for dinner that evening. And while the latest on Kate Moss's m?ge-?eaven-knows-how-many never fails to capture my undivided attention, news items about rising sea levels don't have quite the same impact on my life. That said, I'm not completely oblivious to what is going on - I don't know how anyone could have failed to notice that this October seems ridiculously warm compared with the cold and frosty ones of two decades ago - and I like to think I'm doing my bit.I dutifully put all glass into a recycling bin that the council kindly plonked outside my back door; I decline carrier bags at my local Best One store, and march home with my groceries tucked under my arm; and I've finally, I'm proud to say, broken my habit of turning off the television with the remote and started turning it off at the switch. Surely it should be 5/11 rather than Bonfire Night?DAVID HASELLTHAMES DITTON SURREY. I've found that the question "Blue Peter or Magpie?" provides for an entertaining discussion.P RENNIEFOLKESTONE KENT Guy Fawkes, terrorist? Sir: Surely anyone complaining about the burning of Guy Fawkes in effigy (Letters, 14 October) on the grounds of inciting religious hatred would automatically be guilty of glorifying terrorism.PETER EVANSWALTON ON THAMES SURREYSir: Gordon Elliot (letter, 14 October) refers to Guy Fawkes and religious hatred. Among the middle classes, television was only tolerated in its BBC2 version ITV was very often banned. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannise their teachers." (Socrates, 469-399BC)STAN HARPERSTRATFORD-UPON-AVON WARWICKSHIRE Viewing restrictions Sir: The recent recollections of the snobbish social prescriptions of the 1960s should extend to television viewing.

The selfishness of the few causes constant conflict in families, schools, communities and within and between societies. However, if these selfish individuals are created by selfish parents seeking only instant gratification, the following quote offers little hope of the chain ever being broken: "Children nowadays are tyrants. I just need one clarification: could some kind theologian please advise me exactly how true a lie has to be before it gains "flawed truth" status?DANNY WRIGHTGLASGOW Chelsea tractors Sir: You say that the popularity of the 4x4 in London is a puzzle ("Urban tractors", Editorial, 15 October). Do you think that the poor condition of the capital's roads has anything to do with it?DAVID CULVERLONDON SE9 Tyrannical youth Sir: Selfishness and lack of empathy are the root causes of every problem in the world today. It really is an ill wind that blows nobody any good.JEREMY WALKERLONDON SW17 Imperfect truth Sir: I was intrigued to learn that Sian Lacey Taylder (Letters, 14 October) suspects the vast majority of Catholics "would persevere with a flawed truth rather than flit chameleon-like through a world in constant flux". I feel there is a lesson to be learned from this, which I expect will serve me well in countless difficult situations.

He should put his energy into creating a fairer society for future generations, who more often than not, are left to the care and responsibility of women.MARY HONEYBALL MEP(LABOUR, LONDON) LONDON W9 A puff of smoke Sir: If David Cameron did smoke cannabis and this proves to be his political undoing, at least he can console himself with the the results of scientific research suggesting a link to "hippocampal neurogenesis" with a resultant boost in brain power (report, 14 October). That means campaigning for as many things as we campaign against - putting forward specific, credible solutions, engaging with governments and corporations where we can find common ground.STEPHEN TINDALEEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GREENPEACE UK Unequal pay for women in the EU Sir: Can I suggest to Godfrey Bloom, UKIP MEP, that instead of saying women should clean behind fridges and posing with porn magazines (Pandora, 14 October) that he try and do something about the real problems that he is elected to solve?This week, the European Parliament heard that 30 years after equal pay legislation, the wage gap between men and women across Europe is still between 16 per cent and 33 per cent, and in 17 European Union countries, the risk of extreme poverty for women greatly exceeds the risk for men.Might Mr Bloom, instead of fooling himself into thinking that women are "sneering" at him because he is male, wake up to the fact that real politicians are trying to redress the gender balance. Would John object to saving rent on an office in order to expand our presence in Beijing?Over the past 30 years we have evolved from an organisation committed solely to protest to one which continues to confront wrongs, and continues to take non-violent direct action in support of our beliefs, but which also promotes a positive vision of a green and peaceful world. We couldn't agree more.He claims there are no longer any free-thinkers or philosophers, and more bizarrely, no drinkers within Greenpeace In fact there are plenty. That's why we moved our headquarters from a canal-side site in central Amsterdam to "a soulless block in a particularly boring suburb".