SIR, – I write regarding your editorial Comment (June 23) on Gordon Brown's attempts to secure investment in alternative sources of energy.
The alternative forms of energy that we know about today are nowhere near as cheap and convenient as tapping into our inheritance of oil. That is why it has never been very economically viable to invest in these before now.
You stated that the price of oil was likely to remain high for a long time to come – implying a price plateau which will come down in the future. Yet both the supply and the demand for oil have risen for the last 100 years and supply is now flattening out.
All indications are that we have extracted half the available oil and we are at the top of a curve that will fall off as rapidly as it rose. Demand will ensure that there will be no end to the rising price of “black gold". Gas is not far behind in this depletion process.
Good leadership at this time would be ringing the alarm bells and looking at all aspects of our energy use, as this is number-one priority. Mr Brown's moves so far are too little, too late.
Allan MacKenzie,
42 Union Road,
Inverness.
Our supreme leader flew 6,000 miles on a jet last week (burning up tons of fuel) to demand that Opec's Middle Eastern leader's increase production (of the wrong kind of oil) to reduce the price of fuel at the pumps. After that facile, politically motivated waste of time and money, he was then calling for a stronger “work ethic” from his subjects.
I suggest that, to reduce fuel prices, he abolish fuel duty, that euphemism for fuel supertax, currently over 70%. This would reduce a gallon of petrol from over £5 to around £1.50.
Ah, but how would we pay for our “welfare state”, I might hear you ask.
Simple: abolish it. That will also cure the “work ethic” issue.
If we didn't pay people to be idle, we would have a populace highly motivated to work and we'd be sowing the seeds of an entrepreneurial society, rather than a dependency culture. You can't blame people for accepting handouts if you make it their right, so let's just eradicate the problem. Less tax and less nanny state would allow us to reduce this country's ludicrous national debt of £1trillion, or around £50,000 for every household – a debt accumulated on our behalf by overpaid, useless politicians and other state-financed parasites.
Lance Black,
Seafield Road,
Aberdeen.
SIR, – Instead of Gordon Brown going begging to Saudi Arabia about high oil prices, he could just reduce his take in tax to suit the British people.
But then our past prudent chancellor turned out to be a spendthrift for a whole decade and never thought about a rainy day.
John W.C. Thomson,
Carloway,
Stotfield,
Lossiemouth.
SIR, – I write to you in the hope that someone might be able to help me contact family still left in the Golspie area.
My great-great-great-grandparents were Angus Mackay, born 1811 at Golspie, and Elizabeth Ross, I’m not sure when they were wed. They emigrated to Australia in 1851 with their three children – William, born 1838 at Golspie, Margaret and Peter.
I have researched the family in Australia; it is my forebears in Golspie that I am trying to find out about.
Angus was the son of William Mackay and his wife, Margaret, no maiden surname known. I have no further details on this couple, whether Angus had siblings or not.
I believe that William was the son of another Angus Mackay, who is said to have been a piper. His wife was also thought to be an Elizabeth.
I have been trying to find out about this family for nearly 30 years and would love to make contact with anyone who may be able to shed some light thereon.
If anyone can help, I can be contacted by e-mail on tamsitt@goconnect.net or at the address below.
Min Tamsitt,
2 Cassie Court,
Victoria Point,
Queensland 4165,
Australia.
SIR, – I could not disagree more strongly with Tom Adams’s letter (the Press and Journal, June 26) headed “Action against Mugabe regime”, calling on Britain to send in armed forces to “put an end to Mugabe and his murderous lot".
It is bad enough that our troops are daily being murdered and maimed to “bring democracy" to Iraq and Afghanistan, two countries in which the very concept of democracy is culturally and religiously meaningless, but to send them to Zimbabwe to sort out the mess created by the liberal left in this country is ridiculous.
It was the visceral anti-white racism of the liberal left which got rid of a perfectly good government under Ian Smith and installed this monster, purely because of the colour of his skin.
I hear that Lord (Paddy) Ashdown is also calling on British troops to be sent to Zimbabwe. Perhaps he and Tom Adams can form a brigade of liberal lefties to go there and sort out the mess of their own making – if they have the courage, of course.
Charles Coull,
Manse Road,
Cults, Aberdeen.