Sir, – Do these councillors never learn?
Not allowing buses up Union Street is a disaster for our main street – they only have to look at what happened to the Castlegate when the powers-that-be closed that to traffic. A once- thriving route is now all but a ghost area, there is nothing much of interest in that part of Union Street any more so very few people venture down there.
I have read that they are now thinking of reopening it to allow at least public transport through – too little, too late. Maybe the council should learn from that mistake – but looking at their other questionable decisions, I’m not holding my breath.
CS
Bad road to go down
Sir, – Giving around 930,000 Scots aged under 22 the benefits of free bus travel seems to me that we are teaching the “snowflake” youth of today that transport doesn’t cost anything.
To them working hard and saving towards some goal is not worth considering when they probably are going to get it free! Not a good way of thinking to install into the young mind.
T Shirron, Aberdeen
How about these five?
Sir, – In reply to your reader Mr Gordon Parks’ query: “Name five things the SNP have done for Scotland.”
Off the top of my head there is free prescriptions, free bus travel, free tuition fees for students, free baby boxes for all newborns, and free dental care for under 26-year-olds.
GB
Mean-spirited attitude to new Aberdeen stadium
Sir, – Christmas is coming and I think we have already found Scrooge in Alastair Willett.
I think Mr Willett is not a football fan or maybe a supporter of another team. However, like him I’m not a fan of moving to Westhill but Pittodrie needs too much doing to it, and moving to the beach front will keep the 10,000 or so fans in the city coming through Aberdeen’s streets spending in shops and pubs, instead of out in the countryside.
Mr Willett seems to think that the council will pay for the whole scheme but that’s not the way.
There will be grants from sports bodies, possible lottery funding and Aberdeen FC as well as a contribution from the council, as it will be a community stadium for the use of Aberdeen residents as well as peripheral towns and villages.
If the plans go through maybe Mr Willett could come along and take Tiny Tim with him, bah humbug.
Ian Gray, Viewhill Cottage, Mosstowie, Moray.
Even ‘dirty money’ can do some good
Sir, – Catherine Deveney argues cogently and correctly for the acceptance of Mosley money by Oxford University, as much good could come from the wise use of these funds.
There are many precedents for accepting tarnished money to be used for the greater good. Andrew Carnegie’s business methods were not of the best, yet his legacy funded public libraries throughout Scotland and supported many Scottish students through university.
Money in itself has no moral value, it is simply a token to be exchanged for goods and services which can be beneficial or otherwise.
The most succinct response to critics of dubious money was given by William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. When criticised for taking donations from the big brewery companies he replied: “It may be dirty money, but we’ll soon clean it!”
Colin D Young, Newtonhill, Stonehaven.
Time to face facts on fossil fuels
Sir, – Last week you published an article on Sir Ed Davey’s statement on winding down fossil fuel exploration. This was followed by the “sustainability manager” of OGUK saying that it was absolutely necessary to keep drilling in the UKCS.
How does maintaining production at current levels sound like “transition”?
While I agree that we don’t want a repeat of the coal industry shutdown, we have to face up to the fact that physics doesn’t care whether people have jobs, physics doesn’t care if drought is killing people in Africa, physics doesn’t care if there are floods and wildfires on every continent and physics doesn’t care if the elite 1% emit double the carbon emissions of the bottom 50% of the global population.
Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the government, says we have five years left to get our house in order. Meanwhile huge numbers of people working in the oil and gas sector want new clean jobs NOW.
So when are we going to grow up, face the facts and actually start working together to work out the fastest humanly possible way of eliminating fossil fuels from our lives?
Matthew Clubb, Design Consultant and Certified Passive House Designer.
Holyrood setting a good example
Sir, – With all the sleaze, corruption and cronyism that is being revealed in Westminster under the present Conservative government, we are so fortunate to have Holyrood, where such events are rarities.
Ron Campbell, Richmond Walk, Aberdeen.
