Readers' Letters: The beautiful irony of a National Geographic accolade

No doubt because this area and the Scottish Borders are not SNP strongholds, they have been the dumping ground for wind farms. No doubt taking the cue from this, Neso have declared the South of Scotland an area for battery storage. No wonder the South of Scotland Community Councils' Convention has been formed to try to protect this area from even more developments in the pipeline.

I do wish the Scottish people would wake up to the destruction of their countryside, which the rest of the world values. Everybody has to take responsibility when their government does not.

Celia Hobbs, Penicuik, Midlothian

Monster pylons

I am not against net zero but why are we vandalising our landscape with the construction of monster pylons when there are alternatives?

There are proposals to erect, 170m from my house, a 57m pylon to the left and a similar pylon to the right. These pylons will destroy the landscape, the migration path of geese and a natural wood which is the habitat for red kites and a variety of protected species.

I am sure the First Minister would oppose these massive structures if they were next to his property. The government wants to regenerate towns and cities but is prepared to desecrate our visual heritage and destroy rural communities.

We appear to be a country prepared to finance projects of less importance but will not finance net zero properly to ensure it is done with the least impact to our environment, for example by putting cables underground. We have been using and repairing underground water and gas pipes and cables for decades without this causing an issue.

The pylon proposed by my home will be almost double the size of the Kelpies. There will be many of these oversized pylons on the proposed 70km line of pylons. This line will visually cut across Scotland and destroy our natural beauty. Is this the legacy we want to leave future generations?

The £2,500 offered to households over a period of ten years does not compensate for the destruction the pylons will cause. Instead of paying millions out in compensation, why can this not be used to ensure net zero is implemented properly?

Hilary Ney, Brechin, Angus

Use resources

Stuck like glue to the ludicrous net zero project, successive governments have squeezed North Sea oil producers until the pips squeak, to quote Seventies Chancellor Denis Healey – not to be confused with Labour's present factotum of the same surname.

The government have taxed the industry to oblivion and under Ed Miliband's guidance have refused new licences for drilling. Jackdaw may be going ahead but this is not a new licence. We now depend on Norwegian pipelines for half our gas needs, while Norway is developing new fields and re-developing old ones. Norway is drilling in the same geology that we refuse to.

Oil and gas supply 75 per cent of UK energy needs and 97 per cent of its transportation. The UK will need oil and gas well into the next century. Surely it makes sense to use home waters rather than foreign fields for supply. And as far as the world market setting prices goes, the more the supply the lower prices will be. If you want lower prices get drilling.

Spending billions trying to control the climate is an enormous waste of money – money which the UK does not have as we are over £3 trillion in debt and this is rising at £4,270/second, as illustrated on the National Debt Clock website. Look it up and you will be astonished.

Re-energising oil and gas from the North Sea will help to bring down that enormous debt. We should also be mining for the coal we need to make steel and cement. There are billions of tons waiting to be mined under the Forth, in Yorkshire and in Nottinghamshire, rather than importing it from Poland or Columbia.

William Loneskie, Oxton, Lauder, Berwickshire

Fresh beginning

The government's decision to open up the Jackdaw gas field has sent environmental groups and left-wing politicians into an apoplectic frenzy of environmental and economic ignorance. To hear their protests, you would think this decision heralded the end of the world. They argue that it will not bring down prices and will destroy the UK’s net zero target.

In truth, the opening of Jackdaw will have a positive effect on the government's net zero plans and at the same time improve the UK’s energy security. It will not result in the UK using any more gas than it does at present, but the gas produced at Jackdaw will be used in the domestic market, which will lessen the need to import gas from abroad.

The price of gas is set worldwide and cannot be changed whether we use our own supply or import it. So, the argument over price is a red herring.

It will, however, generate an estimated income for the government in excess of £2 billion, which will help fund research and development of non-fossil fuel energy, and create much-needed jobs.

The opening of the Jackdaw field will be a positive decision for the UK economy and its future environmental energy plans, while ensuring energy security in a currently troubled world.

Paul Lewis, Edinburgh

UDI shock

An opinion poll in August highlighted the startling fact that 45 per cent of those in Scotland would support t a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) without the permission of Westminster. A move which for decades was fringe has become mainstream. There was even a substantial minority from those who voted for Unionist parties at the general election. Maybe the time has come to have a referendum about having a referendum.

That may be about to change. In the wake of the eminently sensible decision on the Jackdaw gas field, the protege of the net zero zealot Ed Miliband, Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbullah, signalled she was planning to reject Rosebank, the largest untapped UK oil field, despite calls from Labour MPs and unions, and seemingly impervious to the devastating impact on Scotland.

It is doubtful if Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey will bow to the eco-zealots, for political and economic reasons. However, that UDI figure suggests they need to tread very warily.

John V Lloyd, Inverkeithing, Fife

Reboot needed

UK government debt reached the unprecedented total of £3 trillion this week. The pragmatic necessity to reduce this debt and reboot the economy by all means necessary is paramount for the economic health of the nation.

This includes utilising all of our tax-generating assets to the full – including exploiting the North Sea.

A necessary ten-year debt reduction plan allowing the immediate development of the Rosebank field, followed by a programme of new oil and gas field exploration and production, is urgently required.

Such a ten-year programme does not dismiss the intention to develop green energy resources and achieve net zero or reduce excessive energy costs, but how else would the UK generate enough tax revenues to fund the estimated £80 billion needed to rebuild the National Grid and modernise the electricity supply system? Net zero promoters cannot meanwhile deny the present 13-year queue which penalises all the UK’s existing electricity consumers, as many wind farms remain idle while waiting to be connected to the ageing and unstable grid.

If action to reboot the creaking energy system is not urgently undertaken, blackouts await, while the UK is left facing self-inflicted fuel poverty as its economy struggles to overcome the highest existing energy prices in Europe.

Elizabeth Marshall, Edinburgh

Don’t deny poll

Why do those arguing against the right of the people of Scotland to participate in a constitutional referendum as and when they wish to do so – for example Brian Barbour (Letters, 22 October) – desperately cling on to a contemporary slogan expressed in 2014 of “once in a generation”?

This phrase was not contained in any formal agreement, including the Scotland Act of 2016 following the recommendations of the Smith Commission. Even setting aside the fact that the “Vow” made to Scotland was not honoured in respect of “near-federal” home rule and that Brexit, which Scots did not vote for, has wreaked substantial change on Scotland since, there is no legitimate democratic reason for the UK government to block another constitutional referendum following a formal request from the elected Scottish Parliament.

In addition, for the many who have sadly left us since the 2014 referendum the vote was “once in a lifetime” and for perhaps a million (or more, if further obstruction from Westminster is encountered) new voters, the next referendum will represent a new political generation.

Most sensible Scots would not question the legitimacy of conducting another referendum on European Union membership and the current fears of a minority of voters of losing the next constitutional referendum should not be what dictates what passes for “democracy” in Scotland. Nor should speculative and irrational fears dictate the lives of future generations to come.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian

Planet Swinney?

John Swinney thinks the stars are aligning re independence? What planet is he on?

Allan Sutherland, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire

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