Sir, Mr Roberts (letters, December 14) may have been irritated by the young woman who came to his door to complain about wind turbines, but if he had listened to her, he might have been surprised by how much they agreed.
The opposition to wind turbines is growing not (just) because they are ugly and mar the countryside, but because these supposed green miracles are a con. They are environmentally harmful, save little or no CO2 and are going up like there’s no tomorrow because they are subsidy-bloated cash cows for foreign investors and greedy landowners.
Turbines do nothing to relieve us of our dependency on fossil fuels, or indeed nuclear-generated electricity. The intermittency and unpredictability of wind means they cannot be relied on to supply either despatchable or baseload generation.
Wind energy makes up considerably more than 5% of our bills if the costs of back-up generation (for when the wind doesn’t blow, or blows too strongly), constraint payments as well as grid extensions, upgrades and balancing are taken into account.
If Mr Roberts had taken the trouble to converse with the young woman on his doorstep, he might have discovered that people on all points of the political spectrum have seen through the wind scam.
Linda Holt. Dreel House, Pittenweem.
This is a step too far
Sir, I think the proposed new Scottish Child and Young Persons Bill is a step too far. To have a social worker or teacher as a named person to look after a child’s well-being is ludicrous.
People in these jobs are mainly employed by the state, therefore, if a parent of any child supports a political party that poses a threat to the government this may be construed as not helping the well-being of the child.
How many families were broken up in places like Chile and Argentina when the authorities didn’t like the opposition?
George Aimer. 82 Kinghorne Road, Dundee.
Bizarre stuff from Jenny
Sir, Jenny Hjul’s intemperate piece (again), in yesterday’s Courier, once more reveals the weak heart of the unionist campaign in Scotland. If a supermarket wants to charge me more for my shopping purely because I am Scottish then that is an outrage and I would expect my elected representatives to stand up for me.
Instead, unionists such as Jenny use every slight and insult to the Scots as a stick to beat the SNP, who are merely trying to protect hard-pressed families and consumers.
Bizarre stuff from Jenny.
Henry Malcolm. 331 Clepington Road, Dundee.
Pot and kettle scenario
Sir, Two sayings sprang to mind after I read Gordon Brown’s comments on the contempt of the MoD regarding Dalgety Bay radiation: “the kettle calling the pot black” and “practise what you preach”.
I wrote to Mr Brown in October 2009, in December 2009 and again in February 2010 regarding the radiation cover-up during the British nuclear tests and have yet to receive a reply. He was Prime Minister at the time, but I believe he was instructed by the Ministry of Defence not to reply to my correspondence.
The Ministry of Defence showed their utter contempt through him when he had the power to do something, what chance does he have of making them kowtow to his demands now he is a backbencher?
Dave Whyte. 73 Blackcraigs, Kirkcaldy.
The joy of writing
Sir, Thank you, Jim Crumley, for your article in Tuesday’s Courier. There I was, at the kitchen table, writing Christmas cards and moaning to my partner about the cost of sending them.
Earlier this year a very dear cousin and I talked about how exciting it still was to receive a handwritten letter. She was the best at remembering all the big occasions and marked each with a personal handwritten message. Sadly, she died in October. I will miss her Christmas card especially.
Handwriting will always be so unique quite unlike impersonal labels, email, Facebook etc. These messages are fine but they can be edited before being sent. Put pen to paper and send a wee personal handwritten note. It shows you care enough to make the effort. Alison Mitchell.
Keltneyburn, Aberfeldy.
Can’t cherry-pick some bits
Sir, Alex Salmond has intimated an independent Scotland will not pay its share of UK debt if denied access to a “sterling zone”.This defies any sense of credibility. By voting for separation the people of Scotland will voluntarily be withdrawing from all established British Institutions.
The Scottish Government can’t cherry-pick elements of the UK it wishes to remain part of especially if that will obligate England, Northern Ireland and Wales to bail out Scottish Banks should another banking catastrophe arise.
What kind of message would Scotland be sending to the world at large if the first thing it did on acquiring independence was to default on its debts?
Gordon Adam. Newbigging.