Sir, – Your newspaper has brought to attention on a number of occasions the algae blight at Keptie Pond, Arbroath, and Angus Council’s ongoing attempts to deal with it.
Their latest attempt is a rather expensive bore hole.
My wife and I have been lucky in travel as our son is involved in the oil industry and we have visited him in several of his overseas locations.
A couple of years ago we travelled to Perth, Western Australia, on such a visit.
I noted that the city has numerous ponds almost identical to our own and was surprised to note not one trace of algae present in any. My son’s latest posting was to Houston, Texas, and we noted that the American lifestyle is very similar to Australia in that each community they
create has a large amount of parkland with associated man-made ponds.
I noted they also all share the same features such as no trace of algae and, when we were there, average temperatures were into the 40s.
I spoke to one of the people responsible for the water environment and he explained that almost all of their ponds were man-made, with no natural fresh water supply.
The cost of chemicals is prohibitive and they have to rely on mechanical and natural means.
Apart from algae they also have to contend with mosquitoes which love still water.
He went on to explain that they lay out a pattern of portable floatable rings that contain a fountain anchored into the silt. A hose is run to a small housing and a pump does the rest, with, in their case, a 15-metre fountain which spreads over a 30-metre circle.
This breaks the surface tension, stops the larvae emerging and prevents algae from forming.
The fountain can simply be moved to whatever part of the pond requires attention. The second phase if the problem is significant is to aerate the water, which involves positioning aerators on the pond bed. Hoses are then run to a small compressor, similar to how you would aerate a fish tank.
All the equipment and installation is available globally and can be accessed through the internet.
The people of Arbroath are concerned for Keptie Pond and the image it projects of the town, so perhaps Angus Council would consider some of these suggestions from abroad.
Colin Nicol. 75 Keptie Road, Arbroath.
Lives count more than guns
Sir, – It was disheartening to read Nicolle Hamilton claim (June 20) that the Scottish Parliament’s eminently sensible move to make it a legal requirement for all airgun owners to apply for a licence to possess such dangerous, potentially lethal weapons is somehow disproportionate and unnecessary.
She cites the fact that “only” 182 crimes involving airguns were committed in the period 2013/14 as proof that these weapons pose no threat to public safety.
Whereas most people would conclude that this is 182 crimes too many, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation appears to consider these crimes a price worth paying.
There is nothing disproportionate or unnecessary about insisting that those who wish to purchase or use weapons capable of causing serious harm must prove that they have an appropriate professional justification for doing so.
In March 2005, toddler Andrew Morton was murdered in Glasgow with an airgun.
They are dangerous weapons, not harmless playthings.
Frankly, like most Scots, I could not care less if the so-called sport of shooting dies if it means that one little boy might live.
David Kelly. 17 Highfields, Dunblane.
Vital service of Fife libraries
Sir, – I write in reference to the discussions over library closures in Fife.
I would like Dorothy Browse, service manager at Fife Cultural Trust to explain “how the public would not notice differences, apart from possible improvements”.
Of course the public will notice that their local library has closed and they now need to travel several miles to the nearest one to get books.
How can this possibly be an improvement in service?
As Patrick Laughlin rightly pointed out, village libraries are much more than just a place to borrow books.
Our library assistants here at Kinghorn Library are wonderful with our older residents, helping them to select books they enjoy.
Our assistants know what their readers like and are so helpful and know most people by name.
It is also a place to pick up leaflets, read the community council minutes and lots more.
It is also the place to meet friends and is always an enjoyable visit.
These little libraries are worth their weight in gold both to young and old people in small villages.
Please think again and keep our smaller libraries as they are much needed in the community.
Many of us like to read books the old-fashioned way.
Rena Wallace. 18 Templars Crescent, Kinghorn.
Scotland is no one-party state
Sir, – In a week where the Tories tasked their governor general in Scotland to ride roughshod over Scottish aspirations by refusing to honour their 2014 Vow of, “as near federalism as possible”, for Scotland, I found a bit of light relief in Anthony Garrett’s reply (June 19) to my letter concerning Alistair Carmichael’s refusal to do the decent thing and resign.
Mr Garrett likened my comments to being “vociferously attacked”.
The letter which offended him so was itself a response to his support for the said former government minister.
Mr Garrett was, after all, only putting forward a “temperate case”.
His temperate case consisted of accusing the SNP of a “vendetta of vilification” with the aim of securing “total and unquestioned control” of Scotland.
Mr Garrett’s definition of temperate obviously differs from mine.
As for being vociferously attacked, I will happily send him some of the anonymous letters I have received in response to my own contributions here, two recent examples taking me into double figures. Perhaps then he may reconsider his use of the term.
As a former Liberal Democrat councillor in Fife he has every right to defend his disgraced colleague.
As a voter I have the right to reply.
We do not, thankfully, live in a one party dictatorship.
Ken Clark. 335 King Street, Broughty Ferry.
A reek of hypocrisy
Sir, – Anthony Garrett (June 19) finds it objectionable when I criticise his defence of former Secretary of State Alistair Carmichael who has admitted to knowingly publishing smears in an attempt to influence the election.
Like it or not, one doesn’t have to be a supporter of any party to smell the reek of hypocrisy in his defending the indefensible.
The Liberal Democrats would be better served if Mr Garrett would condemn Mr Carmichael’s conduct as unprincipled.
Such a stance would be in the long-term interest of his party rather than this shoddy attempt to minimise the offence.
George White. 2 Cupar Road, Auchtermuchty.
Tackle road death toll
Sir, – The latest figures from Transport Scotland show the truly dire circumstances faced by road users.
With the total number of fatalities rising 16% compared to 2013, we must ask ourselves why vulnerable road users are not enjoying satisfactory improvements in safety and what can be done about it.
Within the total, 56 killed were pedestrians, 31 motorcyclists and eight cyclists. I echo north-east MSP Alex Johnstone’s thoughts that this is a national disgrace.
Vulnerable road users choosing to travel on our roads should be afforded the utmost protection and it is up to the Scottish Government to ensure this is achieved.
In light of these recent figures, I would strongly urge the SNP to seriously consider what steps can be taken to improve safety on our roads because it is clear the gap between safety for travel in cars and for active travellers is growing. Action over the last 30 years has invested in engineering, education and enforcement measures to improve road safety but it seems that additional action is required to close the gap
One measure would be the introduction of presumed liability to bring us into line with our European neighbours. Countries with high levels of safe, active travel have some form of presumed liability.
The Scottish Government needs to take action to better protect vulnerable road users before we can fix the tragic situation on our roads.
Brenda Mitchell. Founder of Cycle Law Scotland and Road Share Campaign, Peebles.
Poverty trap of climate theory
Sir, – To hear Pope Francis, like me a scientist turned theologian, proclaim Malthusian nonsense such as “the present world system is certainly unsustainable” is profoundly depressing.
He dismisses the argument that adaptation is a far better response to the “threat” of global warming than trying to reverse it, even though such a “threat” looks increasingly unlikely.
Asia has become industrially successful by uniting human ingenuity with the resources of the earth and driving the result with cheap energy derived from huge reserves of fossil fuel.
Africa’s day is dawning but will be stalled if people take seriously his straw man claim that “scientific and technological progress cannot be equated with the progress of humanity”.
His pessimism and image of the world as “an immense pile of filth” blinds him to the fact that the developed world does things better than any previous form of social organisation.
This reactionary mix of junk science, Maoist economics and Franciscan ethics will prevent African peasants escaping poverty as our ancestors did through an industrial revolution.
Rev Dr John Cameron. 10 Howard Place, St Andrews.