letter: Most successful species of the millennium

From Mr Dave Griffiths

Sir: I believe Felipe Fernandez-Armesto is guilty of lifeism in his argument for the supremacy of plants. For where would plants be without the soil from which they are grown?

There are far more grains of sand on the earth than there are plants. Sand has cunningly manipulated the action of the sea on rocks over billions of years. Sand has colonised the land in the form of buildings. And sand is used to make silicon - an integral part of the computers that may one day replace us. Sand is smart - sand is just biding its time.

Yours faithfully,

Dave Griffiths

London, W5