PLAYTIME planet is about to take off again. Several recent letters to The National point out the impact on the Highlands for locals and the wildlife alike. Open-top semi-racing cars and swarms of motorbikes with noisy exhaust pipes will soon be roaring round the North Coast 500. This is merely a small example of a major mindset problem for those with the means.

Until global political systems, mega wealth creators and the money market move from accumulation for power and gratification to putting an internationally accountable monetary value on the environment, then planetary degradation will continue.

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Mark Carney is in favour of a re-valuation of world finances. Will COP26 pick up the theme? The concept seems beyond the thinking powers of a football referee or a product of Eton? An independent Scotland free to set its own taxation arrangements and financial priorities should lead. Make protecting world ecosystems the profit motive.

Iain R Thomson
Strathglass