“Do you, Dr Godlee, consider yourself a climate criminal? If yes, what punishment would you consider for yourself?” The question comes from MedGadget (www.medgadget.com), a web only publication, in response to an editorial co-written by the BMJ's editor, Fiona Godlee, which called for doctors “to lead by example on climate change by reducing the carbon footprint of medical conferences” (BMJ 2007;334:324-5 doi: 10.1136/bmj.39125.468171.80). Tracking Dr Godlee's carbon footprint from her flights, the editors of the website wrote: “What we can say is that Dr Godlee is a ‘has been there, done that' kind of person. And we mean around the world, most likely in business class”—and accused her of hypocrisy.

In response, Hugh Montgomery of University College London, a member of the BMJ's Carbon Council (http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/about-bmj/carbon-council-1), drew attention to the fact that …