How very courageous, Minister

We can be trapped by our habits, stuck in the way we have always done things. It's what works - until we find ourselves in a hole.

 

Now, alas, all of us are in a colossal crater. We must cut CO2 emissions produced by almost every act in our daily lives, in order to save future life on the planet.

 

Governments, like our own in Scotland, have pledged ambitious net zero targets, and are now thinking how on earth to achieve them.

 

We need to find new ways to do the same old things, like getting from A to B.

 

When survival is at stake, surely it is better our leaders think big and bold when trying to dig us out of a deep hole - perhaps through a tunnel to Mull, Barra or Harris?

 

The Scottish Government is testing the ground for tunnels as a replacement for ferries in a quarter century, when the next generation is in charge.

 

On the one hand, the idea sounds laughable. It will cost £10 million per km, and go over budget, and be late, as it nearly always is.

 

On the other hand, it's the kind of revolutionary thinking that could get us out of this mess.

 

We all know there's a lot of other problems to sort first, but at least Transport Scotland is giving the biggest one a crack, so there may be light at the end of the tunnel.