Like MJ Coughtrey, (Letters, August 17) I am past my “best by” date; also, at 88, probably past any reasonable DoB (dispose of before) date.

Like him, I am an old man, though I do try hard not to be a grumpy one.

I don’t worry unduly about changes in the view from Clacton’s prom.

I have seen many worse changes.

I am saddened, though, by recurring news of loss of life and of homes from typhoons, hurricanes and forest fires; from devastating and prolonged droughts in some parts of the world and equally devastating floods in others.

I worry about the shrinkage of the polar ice caps and of the Alpine glaciers, and the elimination of island communities by rising sea levels.

All of these are caused by accelerating climate change brought about, or at the very least exacerbated, by human activities.

Britain is affected too, though, so far, rather less spectacularly.

To me, therefore, the “backdrop of a clutter of untidy wind turbines directly in line with the pier” is not an eyesore, but a tiny glimmer of hope; an indication that humankind is beginning to fight back in a small way against its biggest and deadliest enemy.

We need to make use of every possible source of renewable energy – the sun, the wind, the tides and the waves – if our grandchildren and great grandchildren are to inherit a world fit for humans to live in.

Ernest Hall