Today’s scribes give their opinion on monuments, bridges, incinerators, nuclear power, and a political leader’s poor profile.
Sir, As a layman I understood that there were fail-safe mechanisms built into nuclear reactors.
It seems apparent that the tragic events in Japan have uncovered basic design flaws in the nuclear power stations at Fukushima which would clearly prove otherwise.
What happened to the moderator piles which should have been gravity operated to fall into the core and inhibit the chain reaction and thus render the reactor incapable of overheating?
There have been numerous correspondents in your column criticising the Scottish Government’s policy of building wind turbines rather than nuclear power stations.
I hope we will hear less gung-ho blind optimism from them now as we await with trepidation the probable release of huge quantities of radiation into the atmosphere of not only Japan but the world.
Fife lies directly in the prevailing wind from Torness and while it may take some stretch of imagination to believe a tsunami could hit East Lothian, it takes less to wonder at unforeseen design problems with the same end result.
Set against the risks of a wind tower falling over, I know which I would prefer to live near.
Ian Chisholm.87 Lady Nairn Avenue,Kirkcaldy.Politicians duck oil questionSir, It is no surprise that your fuel regulator campaign has been popular, as what driver would not want a lower price for fuel if given a choice?
However, there are two questions which surely need to be answered which are not addressed by the fuel regulator proposal.
Any Government has to calculate how much income is required to balance the books, so if tax income from fuel goes down, then it will go up on something else.
Therefore, anyone who suggests lower fuel tax should also say what tax they would increase.
It is easy for political parties to support a fuel regulator it is less easy for them to say how our society will need to change to adapt to increasing oil prices as demand in other parts of the world increases and supplies inevitably decline.
Avoiding a potentially unpopular issue does not make it go away and maybe we should ask candidates for election what exactly they would do to prepare our country for the eventual running out of world oil supplies.
Robert Potter.16R Brown Street,Dundee.Labour leader proves evasiveSir, Your interview with Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray (March 14) stated that one way he will try to raise his very poor profile will be to talk to people face to face.
I would like to suggest a far simpler method of Mr Gray improving his profile and that would be for him to reply to communications from members of the Scottish electorate that he claims to care so much about.
I have contacted Mr Gray on four occasions asking the same question but have had no reply and not even an acknowledgement.
Either Mr Gray does not have an answer to my question or he is not as keen to raise his profile as he suggests.
Stephen Windsor.The Holdings,Kinfauns,Perth.Holyrood parties duped on energySir, Over the past year, Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, has campaigned against Grundon’s plans for a waste incinerator at Shore Road in Perth.
However, there is a fundamental problem with Mr Wishart position, which is that his party, the SNP, says that Scotland should burn a quarter of its waste.
That is why Grundon will be able to submit revised proposals for an incinerator at Shore Road in May.
It is also why Mr Wishart’s colleague Roseanna Cunningham has failed to support the fight against the Shore Road proposals, or the proposed incinerator near Abernethy, both of which are in her constituency.
As the SNP’s Environment Minister, she cannot be seen to be going against her party’s policy of supporting incineration.
However, the problem isn’t just with the SNP.
All of the four major parties have been duped into supporting incineration by a wealthy and powerful waste industry.
Michael Gallagher.Green Alternatives to Incineration in Scotland,33 Precinct Street,Coupar Angus.Forgotten Scots heroSir, Proposals to create a joint national monument to William Wallace and Andrew de Moray near Stirling Bridge are to be welcomed.
While the men were joint commanders of the Scottish army in the defeat of the English in 1297 at Stirling, with some even alleging de Moray was the senior partner who devised the successful tactical plan that delivered victory, his role has been largely sidelined and he did not even merit a mention in Mel Gibson’s Oscar-winning film, Braveheart.
It is to be hoped this great Scottish patriot will now be getting the long-awaited recognition he rightly deserves.
Alex Orr.Flat Two,77 Leamington Terrace,Edinburgh.Lavish use of public cashSir, Why are we still planning to build the Connect2 bridge at Perth at cost of £2.3 million when no survey of usage had been done?
I also have to ask how much Perth and Kinross Council are contributing surely the money should be spent on those in need?
Garry Barnett.The Garden House,Campsie Hill,Guildtown.
Get involved: to have your say on these or any other topics, email your letter to letters@thecourier.co.uk or send to Letters Editor, The Courier, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL.