Well, the debate still rages on. Are we humans destabilizing the planet's weather systems by pumping out too much CO2 and harmful pollutants? Do we only have less than 100 years before the ice-caps melt and cities and low-lying areas around the world are flooded? Or is this alarmist nonsense? In any case, will we find technological solutions and cleaner fuels that will help correct any problems? The truth is, of course, we are not certain. Where there is uncertainty and an absence of real proof, opinion takes its place. A natural extension to opinion is the need to persuade others, and so we end up with propaganda as a replacement to hard facts.

Politics fall into the same category. By now surely most of us have realized that there are no absolutes in politics. On the basis that you can't please all of the people all of the time, there is no single correct way to run a country, there are degrees on the scale between right and wrong, and most politicians are trying to be more right than wrong. In the eyes of the media they are often wrong, but I think politicians should be given credit for their efforts (this statement may be unpopular with many, I guess!). Because there are no absolutes in politics, once again the void is taken up by opinion, leading to propaganda.

Another area where there are no hard and fast rules is bringing up children. If we could all read a book or go on a course that give us definite rules on how to raise our kids, then that would be great. Trouble is, although there are some obvious dos and don'ts, there are many more grey areas. I guarantee there it would be impossible to write such a book and get everyone to agree with its contents. Bringing up kids is another area where opinion and propaganda replace facts and definitive practice.

Some, like myself, welcome these uncertainties. If there was one right way to do these things, then surely all countries would be run the same way and in time all people would be brought up the same way. We would all turn into clones. Not only that, where some people avoid the above subjects for fear of causing an argument, I - and I am sure many others - enjoy a good debate.

The one area where I wish there were more hard facts is with regards to the environment. Surely scientists can do better than they have been doing lately. We really do need to get our act together and decide what is going on with our world climate and what we need to do (if anything) to put things right. This is one area where we surely do need a definitive set of facts and where opinion and propaganda should be left to one side.

Of course where there are definitive facts then there is no debate. Arkay Hygiene sells a range of Insectocutor fly killer machines. With such products it is important to have proven facts, not hype. Of course the positives are emphasised but the facts are undisputable. For instance, we know in tests that the Insectocutor IND45 Fly Killer will kill flies in a room measuring 591 square feet. This is a fact. We also say that Insectocutor fly killers are robust. This is because they are! Trouble is, the word robust is subject to relative judgements. Compared to a jumbo jet they might not be robust, but compared to just about every other fly killer on the market they certainly are.

We all agree that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night because of the spin of our planet. We all agree that the Earth is a sphere and we will not fall off at the end of the ocean. Of course, it wasn't always like that. These subjects too were the cause of debate and propaganda until scientists finally settled the arguments. Our struggle to deal with the facts about our environment are still at the flat-earth level. While I am certain that there will never be certainties in politics or child rearing, I am sure the same will not be true of the environment. Just as Insectocutor can make tested and proven facts available about their fly killers, we need to get our scientists to cut out the hype and myth about our environment and get to the truth.