More than a thousand people flocked to Dorset to see a rare Monarch butterfly when it was swept 3,500 miles across the Atlantic by Hurricane Isaac.

The fact that the greenhouse gas CO2 is impacting on the feeding habits of these beautiful butterflies means that in some parts of the USA the Monarch butterfly population has dropped by as much as 90 per cent.

If the proposed waste incinerator is built on Portland it will release into the air one ton of CO2 for every ton of the 202,000 tons of waste burnt annually.

As we all know, Portland is known for the variety and sheer number of butterflies (including rare species).

A recent UK scientific report has similarly highlighted the disturbing effect air pollution is having on our own butterfly population. Given the increase in diesel-fuelled HGVs required to service the proposed waste incinerator on Portland, coupled with the unknown quantity of the particulate matter pollutant PM2.5-PM1 that will be released daily in the plume of steam from the incinerator, the report gives cause for concern.

The report states that air pollution is causing reduced levels of pollination in bees and butterflies of up to 31 per cent.

Apparently, air pollution is subtly changing the scent of flowers and the study, published in the journal Science Direct, found there were up to 70 per cent less pollinators in areas where levels of common air pollutants increased.

Surely this should be yet another reason for not siting the incinerator on Portland? Or anywhere else, for that matter.

Our abundance of wild flowers and plants are an ideal habitat for butterflies and over half of the British Isles’ 57 butterfly species can be seen on Portland. For example, the rare Silver-studded Blue, a small and exquisite butterfly, can still be found on the disused limestone quarries. The Large Tortoiseshell butterfly, thought to be extinct, has been spotted on the island.

If we pollute the air without thought for the delicate balance of nature, we will learn to our cost. Burning more waste than we recycle is a national disgrace and the result of our obsession with over-consumerism.

But we are not helpless victims. We can change our ways and as we did during the pandemic, we can listen to the science and learn from the research available to us.

Pollination is vital to the health of both our own and the global food system.

The gradual absence of bees, butterflies and other pollinators would eventually wipe out coffee, apples, almonds, tomatoes and cocoa to name just a few of the crops that rely on pollination.

Less, not more, air pollution is the answer.

Sylvia Barker

Portland