Decades ago we enjoyed the satirical Tom Lehrer and responded to his songs as funny and relevant. We missed the seriousness of the content because he was so engaging. "Always predict the worst and you'll be hailed as a prophet." a friend told him He was born in 1928 which puts more birthdays into the 90s - and after retiring from performing, he went back to teach mathematics. But now both environmental and faith based groups have to deal with the following outcomes of one of his best known songs:

Air pollution
Freshwater pollution
Land and soil pollution
Marine and coastal pollution
Chemical pollution
Waste pollution
Online data pollution

We were quick to accept the reality of the words even then. But it didn’t move us toward action. Satire is just one of the art forms that points to realities and the changes we must make. The current messages on climate change are often deadly serious and lead to denial or despair. I wonder if we can still respond to Lehrer - and not just laugh but do something about it. But it’s not quite as funny as it was in the past. Jonathan Swift, the writer of Gulliver’s Travels, would agree.