Sir, – This summer the world was given its starkest warning yet regarding the limited time we have to enact change to save our planet for future generations.
These past few weeks, parents up and down the country have placed orders for their children’s school workbooks that should now go the way of the dinosaur. They are unnecessary and certainly not environmentally friendly. The materials and chemicals used to print them mean they cannot be recycled. The irony is that these same workbooks are used to teach children about the environment and climate issues.
Learning content is now being provided by digital means. And what is wrong with textbooks that can be used for a few academic years and good old copybooks? At least the copybooks are printed using recycled paper.
I hope both the Ministers for Education and the Environment are acting on this. Let’s see the benefit by next summer of some inter-departmental joined-up thinking. – Yours, etc,
ORLA MAGORRIAN,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.