A climate change emergency was declared last week with MSPs and councillors urging everyone to do their bit to save the planet from disaster.
Students have called on St Andrews University to stand with others around the world to make a declaration to the United Nations amid dire warnings of the possible extinction of humankind.
And young children have been leading the way with protests aimed at drawing attention to the mounting crisis.
Work is ongoing to cut out single-use plastics and more of our energy is coming from solar and wind power, all of which is entirely laudable and should be encouraged.
Yet, at a time when travellers are being asked to ditch their gas-guzzling cars and switch to more environmentally-friendly public transport, Fifers have been warned they face another rail fares price hike this January.
Yes, weary commuters already enduring overcrowding on packed trains on a daily basis could be forced to pay more for the pleasure.
Labour MSP Alex Rowley last week called for a fares freeze until promised improvements on the Fife Circle route were made in the second half of next year but it’s not looking hopeful.
The Scottish Government, which is in charge of rail fares, agreed an increase would be unwelcome but said freezing fares would have an impact on the public purse.
The result? Many passengers who haven’t already done so are now talking about abandoning the train and taking to the roads.
How does this tally with addressing a climate emergency?
The answer is, it doesn’t.
Liberal Democrat councillor Tim Brett said at Thursday’s full Fife Council meeting: “This is the most serious issue that faces the world.
“It’s about all of us taking a look at ourselves and the way we live because otherwise there are going to be really serious consequences.”
There was no disagreement in the chamber but we have to ensure we are not saying one thing and doing another.
Putting people off using public transport at a time when the stakes have never been higher is a bad idea.
We need a good, reliable, reasonably-priced train service now more than ever and while additional carriages to meet demand have been promised in the latter part of next year, there’s a feeling of we’ve heard it all before.
People will not simply continue to accept paying more for a substandard service year on year just because politicians tell them to.
If we’re serious about cutting emissions, let’s see improvements on the railway sooner rather than later.
