Sir, – Mr Cross of Linlithgow manages to make among the most common and egregious of errors in understanding of those opposed to low-carbon vehicles, and indeed many other low-carbon applications.
He focuses on the years it will take the fuel (electricity in this case) carbon savings to pay back the carbon costs of making the vehicles in the first place.
Fuel carbon-savings may or may never pay back the construction carbon costs.
For every road vehicle there are manufacturing energy and carbon costs, and there’s minimal difference in the amounts used to make both vehicle types.
And rather than reduce the lifetime net impact of vehicle carbon, the use of fossil fuels simply add to it, making it worse.
Over typical vehicle lifetimes, fossil-fuelled vehicles emit far more carbon. Hence Mr Cross’s point, there at least, is nonsensical.
The per mile fuelling/charging cost of electric vehicles is a fraction of that of petrol/diesel vehicles. They are cheaper to run as well as greener.
Some do cost silly amounts to purchase, at least silly to us financial mortals, but a good few do not.
Recently I was looking at a nearly-new BMW i3 at less than half the purchase cost of the models Mr Cross selectively quotes in trying to make his misleading case.
A new Nissan Leaf is cheaper still than the nearly-new BMW.
All electric vehicles are not suitable for everyone, many do have their limitations, particularly in relation to range on a single charge. But as Dundonians have seen for ourselves, when managed correctly they can even be used as 24/7 in-use commercial taxis.
Transport is changing, evolving. Evolution teaches what happens to those who do not adapt and evolve.
In this case, we can expect that those intent on fossil will become fossils themselves soon enough.
Dr Martin J Smith.
24 Upper Constitution Street,
Dundee.
Shine light on councillors
Sir, – With regard to the comments made regarding Perth and Kinross Council’s
decision to install special street lighting outside their headquarters in the High Street, I was surprised by its reaction and comments following criticism by members of the public and the business community.
On second thoughts, I am not surprised as its comments are par for
the course.
Approximately two years ago you kindly printed my comments following the installation of low-level lighting on roads throughout the city.
At that time, the council’s response was that the low-level lights were in line with EU regulations and that they were perfectly adequate for public safety.
Now, it seems, the low-level lights are not suitable for the area around the council’s headquarters and so they tell us how necessary the scheme is and how it will benefit the citizens and visitors.
Are visitors going to come to see our lights? We’re not Blackpool.
And so Perth and Kinross Council continues on its merry way, saying what suits it at the time.
Let us hope the citizens remember all the double talk and propaganda when it comes to the next council elections.
Rodger A Scott.
72 Feus Road,
Perth.
Reality of green energy
Sir, – News that Sainsbury’s is installing its own generators in stores is the inevitable consequence of our reliance on windmills as a source of power.
Offices and banks and other financial institutions will have to do the same, as outages could cause the loss of valuable customer information, and problems for those who bank online.
Nobody, most of all the crackpot Green Party, has ever considered the huge downsides of an erratic power supply in today’s computer-driven world.
No electricity pretty well means nothing much happens at all.
How did our nation ever end up in this position.
Malcolm Parkin.
Gamekeepers Road,
Kinnesswood,
Kinross.
Facts on Dundee Council policy
Sir, – It is getting tiresome having to write letters to The Courier to explain the facts behind decisions because Councillor Laurie Bidwell continues to make misleading and inaccurate statements. On this occasion it is the proposal for
offsite education.
In your article I described Councillor Bidwell’s comments as bizarre. The reason behind this is that Councillor Bidwell attended the public consultation and the briefings for elected members.
He, therefore, must know that his comments have no substance in fact.
With regards to the proposals themselves. Councillor Bidwell claims we are reducing funding from vulnerable young people.
This is inaccurate. He knows – because it has been explained to him and he has publicly stated that it is a good idea – that we are putting more funding into our vulnerable young people at an earlier age.
Whether it has been family development workers, transition teachers or a number of other strategies which we are funding through the attainment challenge money from the Scottish Government, we are putting more of our financial resources into helping our young people at a much earlier stage of their lives.
Offsite does a fantastic job with the young people. Our staff have made a huge difference in the young people’s lives. If the proposal does not go ahead, I have no doubt they will continue to do so.
And offsite remains a huge part of our proposal. For some young people, despite our best efforts, offsite will still be a necessity for them.
Councillor Stewart Hunter.
Convener of Children and Families Service,
Dundee City Council.
Strike-breakers were cheered
Sir, – Michael Alexander’s article on the General Strike mentioned middle class strike-breakers. One of them was my father, then studying medicine at Glasgow University.
He became, temporarily, a tram driver, and told of an incident when his and another strike-breaking driver’s trams clashed where two lines merged.
Happily, no one was injured but all the windows down one side of my dad’s tram were smashed. He carried on, and later on his route he was astonished to find he was being cheered.
He was, he realised, now in a middle class area. Pedestrians assumed his windows had been smashed by these devilish strikers, and were acknowledging his gallantry in continuing to do his duty. Embarrassing.
David Stevenson.
5 Forgan Way,
Newport-on-Tay.
A decision for Scottish people
Sir, – I am struck by the furore from the unionist parties over the potential holding of a second independence referendum.
This is not a decision of Ms Sturgeon or even David Cameron, this is a decision of the Scottish people.
If the majority want it, then no one has a right to stand in its way. To oppose is clearly the height of arrogance and anti-democratic.
In the scenario of the UK voting to leave the EU in the forthcoming referendum, but Scotland voting to remain in, would unionist leaders in Scotland and Mr Cameron oppose the inevitable demands for a referendum on independence?
This is clearly something the electorate should know.
I would refer to the words of the great Irish nationalist, Charles Stewart Parnell, on this matter: “No man has the right to fix the boundary to the march of a nation.
No man has the right to say to his country ‘Thus far shalt thou go and no further’.”
This is as relevant now as it was when spoken by Parnell in 1885.
Alex Orr.
77 Leamington
Terrace,
Edinburgh.
Migrants will flood to Britain
Sir, – Michael Gove warned that the proposed enlargement of the EU meant that migrants from Turkey – population 79 million – Albania, Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro – joint population 13 million – would have the right to travel to Britain and take up jobs, school places, housing and, of course, would be eligible for NHS care.
Mr Gove is being realistic, not alarmist, since the minimum wage in the UK will attract migrants who earn less than 20% of that.
Clark Cross.
138 Springfield Road,
Linlithgow.
