Sir, I welcome the reports that the North Sea gas and oil industry is expected to be sustainable and profitable for much longer than originally thought and hope that the promised employment and income do indeed materialise.
However, I wonder if a compromise has been made to the zealous “green” vision to which the SNP subscribes, in which their Scotland is being committed to eventually producing its energy entirely from low-carbon renewables and hopes to be held up as an example to which other countries should aspire.
Now we are informed that the economy of a would-be independent Scotland will be sustained by the revenues from oil and gas production for a good many years if it is confirmed as “Scotland’s oil”.
Are these not the same fossil fuels which we inhabitants of Scotland are to be discouraged from using due to their impact on the environment?
Is it alright to produce and market them for others to use, and for us to claim the financial benefits, but, we won’t use them ourselves because the carbon produced is anathema to us and we are “green” and trying to save the environment?
Poor old coal industry! If only you had been as able as the oil and gas industry to provide financial support to an independent Scotland, just think of the prestige you could have enjoyed.
Of course, we wouldn’t have used the coal ourselves it’s environmentally unfriendly but we would have made money from others who wanted to use it.
It may be the SNP would like to appear financially pragmatic but, in all honesty, I feel “hypocritical” would be more appropriate.
Harry Veitch. 6 Kingsmill Drive, Kennoway.
Why venture into unknown?
Sir, Well done, Tavish Scott! Your proposals to make Orkney and Shetland “crown dependencies” like the Isle of Man will certainly set Alex Salmond back on his haunches!
All his bluster to the Scottish Parliament at First Minister’s Questions on Thursdays, about “oil-rich, gas-rich, fish-rich Scotland” may well come back to haunt him.
We are all growing weary of Mr Salmond’s style of debate at Holyrood. All the perfectly polite, reasonable questions put to him by the leaders of the Labour, Conservative and Lib-Dem parties at FMQs are inevitably met with disdain, accompanied by a full “braying” chorus from most of those occupying the SNP seats behind him.
Recent press reports have highlighted SNP weaknesses in defence/NATO, national security, the pound/euro, status of Scotland in Europe, freedom of the press and all the rest. So, fellow Scots, let us be very careful about how we respond to the promises of Mr Salmond and his cohorts.
I am sure that the good folks of the Northern Isles are quite content with the status quo, so why should any of the rest of us venture into the unknown?
Robert I G Scott. Northfield Cottage, Cupar Road, Ceres.
Real reasons behind claims
Sir, Dr John Cameron’s letter of March 14 on genetically modified crops displays a string of misunderstandings.
The reason why there isn’t a “single reported health problem worldwide” is that no testing has been done to identify them.
In the US, consumers don’t even know they’re eating GM food because it’s not labelled. In Europe, GM crops are not widespread because the general public doesn’t want them, not because of “EU Luddites”.
GM technology is certainly not the “continuation of the plant manipulation humans have done for millennia” because it involves crossing the species barrier.
How can inserting a fish gene into a tomato, for example, be remotely comparable to traditional plant breeding?
As for feeding the starving, there is enough food in the world to feed everyone. It is the economic and political systems which result in 870 million people going to bed hungry every night.
What is needed is investment in small-scale farmers worldwide, and fair trade, so those farmers can afford to feed themselves.
There also needs to be an end to the practices of bankers speculating on food prices, companies which grab land from the poor to make profit for themselves, and those which avoid paying tax, both at home and in developing countries.
Sally Romilly. 4 Westwood Terrace, Newport-on-Tay.
Poor welcome
Sir, You should be ringing church bells for the return of beavers 400 years after they were hunted to extinction.
Uniquely in the animal kingdom (apart from humans with their chainsaws and diggers), this keystone species consists of amazing bio-engineers who bring natural abundance in their wake.
What a shameful welcome you have given them!
David Gibbon. 15 Jordan Lane, Edinburgh.
Two-day bank
Sir, We are told that our local branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland is to open only on Thursdays and Fridays. Perhaps they could open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, which would be more convenient for customers, if most of those at the top in the bank were not so greedy.
Malby Goodman. 70 High Street, Aberdour.