IT WAS amazing that a hump back whale was in the River Thames, sadly the creature died but I believe that conservationists can learn from mankind’s dealings with whales.

Whales have a particular affection in the human psyche because for many years they were hunted almost to extinction, their oil being used for heating and light.

Scientists discovered natural oil and whale oil was no longer needed.

Now thankfully they are a protected species in most civilised countries and people will do anything to try and save them. This could be a lesson for the Extinction Rebellion protesters at present protesting in London. I firmly believe that when the time is right human ingenuity finds a way to overcome any adversity and saving the planet will be dealt with in due course as we now do with whales, instead of killing them we save them.

The next revolution will be solar power which will eventually negate the need to burn fossil fuel to make energy and if mankind survives long enough we will farm the planets of the solar system.

They are swirling around the heavens as far as we can tell devoid of human life but crammed full of the building blocks of civilisation.

Look how far mankind has come since the Norman conquest, to a Norman, America would have seemed as Mars does to us - a fabled land spoken of in dreams but dream mankind did and America became the new world. In terms of evolution mankind as the Christmas song says has only just begun.

The dinosaurs reigned for over 150 million years against our two million. It would be a foolish man to bet against the conquest of space. We are a violent but compassionate and brilliant species, everything you need to tame whatever comes our way in the future to come.

Paddy Maxwell

Southampton