There is several inches of snow lying outside and it was apparently colder in Scotland than in the Arctic last night. Still though, Radio Scotland feels able to have a phone-in for people to whine about the impact of the weather. Apparently, “something should be done” and councils should get their act together and buy more gritting lorries and ploughs. This is according to phone-in experts from across Scotland. I’m fairly sure this is all meant to happen without putting Council Tax up or paying any overtime.

All of the coverage of the cold weather recently has had the same theme. Somehow, it is supposed to be possible for local authorities to magically get every road and pavement clear in time for us all to get to wherever we are going. Similarly, airlines should also be capable of landing planes on sheet ice and flying them through blizzards.

Funny though, that I was the only person in the street who managed to get to the grit box and clear my path.

People have developed the idea that we can be in control of the environment . In the same way that callers to Radio Scotland think the snow can be overcome, Los Angeles residents truly believe that the relevant authorities should protect their home from wildfires – or at least re-build it in exactly the same place when it burns.

The recent and disappointing Copenhagen summit showed that we have still not got hold of the uncomfortable truth that nature is actually a more powerful force than humans. Until we do, we are bound to spend far more energy decrying those who are meant to fix things for us rather than doing anything about it ourselves.