RECENT media interest in the decline in male fertility reveals how conceited mankind has become.

We do not stand at the summit of the evolutionary mountain. Nor are we the most successful species; the vast complexity of the universe does not exist solely for our benefit.

We are not adaptable, for we force our surroundings to change instead of changing according to our situation, and a species unable to adapt is doomed.

We have plundered and poisoned a world that has existed for millions of years, in a dew decades of arrogance and short-sightedness. A world that saw the dinosaurs come and go will not miss humanity.

Our importance is less than that of the dodo or passenger pigeon. We are a species out of control because we have tried to control Nature, and we must accept Nature's attempts to limit our numbers.

JOHN TAYLOR, Derby Street, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.