When it comes to us Earthlings possibly allowing the planet to die during our watch, I’m genetically inclined to be upbeat, clinging to a live-long-and-prosper attitude. I vow that we, as a global whole, will rescue our suffering skies, though likely as an 11th-hour achievement. Life can then brightly shine on, providing we don’t then go on to annihilate the whole kit and caboodle with, say, Z-bombs. Yep, they’re alphabetically that much worse than A-bombs. Hey, my upbeat genes can only carry that prosper-long thing just so far.

I’m a big-bombaphobe. I just can’t shake those A-bomb days of my youth – and the regular survival exercises in grammar…