Ed,

Once again, we have a report on an Australian animal species which is highly endangered. There are only 1000 Plains Wanderers left. Twenty-seven more Australian species have been reported as being endangered.

I would therefore respectfully ask all those who do not want to dwell on the mess the world is in; who find it easier to trust history, or politicians, or God or money to protect us, to think again.

It is very stressful, and for some almost impossible, to change a belief system and values that have been tightly held. Obviously the older you are, the harder it is to adapt to new discoveries that challenge those beliefs, so conservative voters do tend to be older.

The accumulation of money has, for a very long time in the West, been the cornerstone of “success”, of progress, of status, of insurance to insulate oneself against bad things that might happen.

To see that that is no longer the case, takes a massive change in outlook. What point is there in being the richest man in the graveyard? What point is it in bequeathing your grandchildren all your money if you also bequeath them poor health, flooded (or burned) homes and destroyed businesses?

It is hard to change lifelong beliefs but think of the mighty oak and bamboo. The mighty oak may have taken a hundred years to grow to its present stature, but it only takes one big storm to break it. The bamboo sways and adapts to the changing conditions and survives.

Sticking firmly and stubbornly to the old ways is acting like an oak tree.

Adaptation may be difficult, and flexibility of thinking brings uncertainty and stress, but the world has changed irrevocably, and we must find the intelligence and adaptability to negotiate the new world. Think of your grandchildren when you vote.

We must all now be entrepreneurs and flexible enough to embrace new discoveries, for we, too, are an endangered species.

Jocelyn Wrench, Iluka