Nothing new
It must be terrifying living in the world inhabited by Joyce McMillan (Perspective, 11 October). She clearly believes the alarmist spin about “climate change” and seems to think that those who have not been taken in by this strand of thinking deny the reality of that fact.
The thing which may be news to her and those who subscribe to the theory that “we’re all doomed”, as Private Fraser used to say on Dad’s Army, is that there always has been climate change. It is nothing new. When “global warming” became a bit of a problem because the global temperature didn’t play ball and continue to warm at the end of the Nineties a new name simply had to be found and, what do you know, we got “climate change”. Deny that, you sceptics, the alarmists challenged. Well, that’s a bit difficult, in fact. It’s like denying that water is wet.
The problem comes with the actual facts of the matter being altered in order to meet the requirements of the alarmists. You know, like altering charts so that the Medieval Warming Period vanishes in your “hockey-stick chart” to show global temperature going off like a nuclear missile in the late 20th century. I would suggest Ms McMillan and her fellow travellers read up about the University of East Anglia “Climategate” scandal, which was very rapidly disappeared by “the Blob”, and see how we are all being manipulated.
Peter Hopkins, Edinburgh
Serious energy
There were some profound observations by Peter Hopkins on the Great Green Electricity Swindle (Letters, 11 October).The West handicaps itself by closing down fossil-fuelled power stations while constructing inefficient, brutally ugly wind turbines and pylons everywhere, desecrating spectacular landscapes and harming sensitive ecosystems.
If we’re really serious about reducing carbon emissions (as well as keeping the lights on) we had better start building lots more nuclear reactors – fast. Meanwhile, certain other powers laugh up their sleeves at us as they merrily pursue their oil, coal and gas-fired ambitions for economic growth and – in Russia and China’s case – territorial expansion.
Mr Hopkins points out that “the only way of achieving net zero is to stop doing anything productive. The result will be that China makes everything and it is well on the way to doing that.” A sobering thought indeed. He adds that “a group of Marxists has very effectively undermined thinking in the west.” These people would doubtless welcome global domination by Beijing, even though their comrades in the Chinese Communist Party wisely dumped Chairman Mao’s economic theories decades ago.
Time to stop pandering to the unemployable Greta Thunbergs, Patrick Harvies and Lorna Slaters of this world and start hedging our energy security bets before it’s too late.
Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh
What’s the point?
Just lately our walk outings have centred on the lowland areas of Scotland to reduce our carbon emissions through car travel. We have changed the high rugged hills of the north for the more gentle rolling hills around Leadhills, Wanlockhead.
The immediate surroundings of these villages are still scarred by their industrial past of lead mining in particular, but as nature gradually reclaims the extraction scars and buildings they become less intrusive but a fascinating reminder of industrial heritage of past days. On the tops of these hills there are still large vistas to enjoy. To the east the large bulk of Tinto and to the south, vast arrays of wind turbines fill the view both immediate and in the distance.
While pondering the new industrialisation of Scotland with huge wind turbines it occurs that while previous centres of industry gathered people, housing and employment, these turbines do absolutely nothing for the people of Scotland. The sad fact is they produce marginal employment, do little in the way of creating wealth for the country, actually penalise its people and job-creating businesses through the almost extortionate cost of power. Given all this, one has to wonder why the present government is hellbent on trebling wind power generation capacity.
As a country that produces approximately 1 per cent of the global output of carbon one has to ask what is it that drives this almost manic drive of politicians toward the magic goal of zero carbon. Can it be that because we now have this target enshrined in law, coupled with lawyers in places of power, it has become an unstoppable movement ie it’s the law therefore we have to obey? Very sad, really.
T Lewis, Coylton, Ayrshire
0 Comments