Sir, – The UK public’s attention should be drawn to the effect which offshore wind turbines (anchored and floating) and related fishing issues will have upon Shetland and the UK’s food (fish) supplies.
It shows the utter lack of consultation with Shetland by the Scottish Government or any of its several quangos, Scottish Crown Estates, Marine Scotland etc, in addition to making no progress to replace ageing ferries by fixed links/ tunnels.
It illustrates the total lack of sensitivity and appreciation Holyrood administrations have for Shetland, its people, industries and wellbeing.
The impotence of the SIC (Shetland Island Council) in regard to those and other matters under the present political system is obvious.
They, fishermen and all inhabitants are totally bypassed by Holyrood (negating the local democracy the SNP continues to trumpet on about).
However, the SIC and their officials presently have to operate in a political system which has power concentrated in the centre by the SNP at Holyrood to suit its own ends – mostly to gain independence.
Independence from what? None of their candidates holds Shetland seats at Westminster or Holyrood, but managed a token singleton on the local council – SIC.
However, Shetlanders have for many decades (centuries!) had to endure administrations they “haven’t voted for”. (Where have we heard the continual cry of “haven’t voted for”? Oh, yes – from the very lips of the SNP.)
To the contrary, Shetlanders always elect independent – 23 councillors, all now advocating a degree of “autonomy”.
That begs the question, what to do about it?
SNP administrations have made no progress regarding Shetland’s needs such as ferries/fixed links/tunnels and none is likely as Finance Secretary Kate Forbes announced recently in Parliament that there was no money left after the wages agreement with the waste collection operatives.
Ergo, finance for fixed links (or for the urgently needed additional freight and passenger ferries between Lerwick and Aberdeen) from Holyrood is unlikely.
This is at a time when Shetland will provide a cornucopia of fish, oil, gas, energy, and electricity to the UK but is shackled and stultified by two governments and forced to accept the highest energy prices anywhere in Europe.
This is unacceptable to Shetland. Time for payback now, and time for change.
However, why wait? A recent article suggests Shetland’s economy could be supercharged by direct finance and backing from and in cooperation with the UK’s central bank, the Bank of England (ie entirely separate from the auspices of Holyrood) and by reverting to its latent and rightful status as a Crown dependency.
Expediting that process would give a new lease of life to Shetland, its people, industries and politics, free from the moribund, unsupportive and even malign administrations in Edinburgh, whilst supporting and augmenting wind, oil, gas, tidal, fish and electrical energy supplies to the UK for the benefit of many, not just the few.
Cecil Robertson (expat Shetlander), Boswell Road, Inverness.
Raw sewage pours on to public path
Sir, – On Monday September 19, while walking up the path that leads up to the Asda shopping centre at the rear of Old Machar Academy on Jesmond Drive, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, raw sewage was running down the whole path and the smell was horrendous.
Someone had made hand-written signs warning people to walk on the grass due to the sewage. Blue nylon rope had been put up between the trees at the edge of the path and the school playing field to fence off the drain which was leaking sewage. I presumed it had been reported.
On Thursday September 22, I passed that way again and it was still pouring down the public footpath that is used by pupils.
I decided to report it to Aberdeen City Council environmental health department – the lady I spoke to was not a bit interested and told me to report it to Scottish Water.
I phoned Scottish Water and was told I needed the exact postcode of where the leak was; AB22 and full directions to the site was not enough.
Since I only know my postcode, I argued the point and they finally decided to check, then told me it was on school property and not a main sewer, so was nothing to do with them.
I then phoned Old Machar Academy, and spoke to a very nice lady who said they had reported it earlier in the week, and had got the same runaround with environmental health and Scottish Water, but it was now back in the hands of Aberdeen City Council.
I passed that way again, the smell is still horrendous, the path covered in sewage (which I have photographed), so I phoned environmental health again and got a different lady who was very helpful and took all particulars.
She said she would report it, but it may take a few days, so we shall see if being a caring citizen works.
Scottish Water, who had told me it was not their responsibility, later texted me a case number.
Ronald Chamberlin, Lee Crescent, Bridge of Don.
Life expectancy comes as shock
Sir, – As an expatriate Torry youth, I was shocked to read that I was brought up “in an area where life expectancy is 13 years lower than in more affluent parts of the city” (The Press and Journal, September 23).
This steered me to read the Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership Strategic Plan 2019-2022. It was, admittedly, a quick skim read.
It contains a number of interesting statistics and observations, but I struggled to find any well-defined actions to tackle some of the rather negative statistics and observations.
N Morgan, Sherborne, Dorset.
Faray no place for wind farm
Sir, – Who cares for our wildlife? Apparently not Orkney Islands Council or our government.
In a recent article in your paper, Orkney Islands Council leader James Stockan appears to care that the Scottish Government are dragging their heels in granting permission for a council-owned wind farm on the island of Faray.
The uninhabited island is a designated special area of conservation for a well-established grey seal colony which is the second largest in the UK and in my opinion should never have been considered as a location for a wind farm.
As I watched Frozen Planet 2, Sir David Attenborough and his team show a great concern for one seal pup in distress.
So where are Sir David Attenborough and his team, plus all the so-called caring environmentalists, as a seal colony island on our own doorstep is to become covered in wind turbines to feed our electrical needs and Orkney Islands Council’s bank balance?
Are we so greedy that our wildlife is not part of the planet we are trying to save?
Jim Leitch, Evie, Orkney.
Renewables are devouring planet
Sir, – Watching recent letters toing and froing in our Press and Journal, perhaps a sobering reality check for the deluded Greens, rushing to “save the planet”, is long overdue?
A small, ever-so-green, 100MW wind farm needs 30,000 tons of iron ore; 50,000 tons of concrete and 900 tons of non-recyclable plastic.
For the same power from an ever-so-green solar farm you need to increase that by 150%.
An electric car battery weighs half a ton; making just one requires shifting 250 tons of earth somewhere else on the planet.
All require what are called “rare earths”, so a phenomenal 200% to 2,000% increase in toxic mining, processing and shipping is required somewhere else on the planet, usually from unregulated regimes with very lax environmental standards.
Solar and wind have weather-dependent limits but we need energy all the time, so we have to have a permanent back-up. The giant Tesla factory in Nevada would take 500 years to make enough batteries to supply the USA with electricity for one day.
After 30 years and countless billions in subsidies, wind and solar supply less than 3% of the world’s energy. On top of that, like all machines, “renewables” are built from non-renewable materials – and have to be replaced time and time again, so definitely not a one-off cost.
The International Renewable Energy Agency calculates that solar energy goals for 2050 to meet the Paris Accord will result in old-panel disposal, constituting more than double the tonnage of all today’s global plastic waste.
The environmental cost?
To accommodate 2,000 MW of gas or nuclear power generation requires the same area of two 18-hole golf courses. Whereas, accommodating 2,000 MW of wind power requires an area the size of Belgium. The resultant habitat loss and wildlife slaughter is simply incalculable.
Then, of course, you still need 2,000 MW of gas or nuclear power to accommodate those hundreds of occasions each year when wind and solar power is producing absolutely nothing.
Instead of “saving the planet”, rampaging renewables are actually devouring it.
Yours, trying to protect our natural world, not destroy it,
George Herraghty, Lhanbryde, Elgin.
Party conferences are pure circus
Sir, – Once again we are in the silly season.
This is the time of year when all the main political parties get together in what can only be called a circus: the ringmaster is the party leader; the clowns are the party hierarchy; the illusionists are the policymakers, and of course the audience – the party faithful. Let us not forget the entertainment value because we all laugh or cry at the announcements made.
It’s a time for self-congratulation on their wonderful achievement throughout the past year.
They know the media will be giving them their full attention so it’s best suit/dress on, and making sure that for all the photo shoots and TV interviews that the smile (sometimes comes over as a smirk) that they have been practising for weeks is given a full-on display.
You will see no signs of embarrassment at the utter failure of most of last year’s conferences promises.
No apologies for leading the electorate astray. Only supreme confidence that they can reiterate all the same promises knowing full well that they can’t deliver.
All this to rapturous applause from the party faithful who will go home feeling comforted by their party’s promised utopia for the next year.
The most audacious of these circuses will start on October 8 in Aberdeen.
There will be a lot of back-slapping, and lots and lots of promises for the future.
You can rest assured that there will be no mention of the past 14 years of mismanagement but, of course, as in past circuses there will be lots of hot air about extra cash for Nat health (NHS), Nat rail, Nat police, Nat ferries, Nat transport, Nat farmers – all totally underfunded and, as in the past, unachievable.
There will at some stage be mention of Westminster not giving them enough cash, there will be no mention of the £20 million set aside for the utopian dream of independence.
But like all circuses, they move on. It’s back to the day job and, of course, in Scotland that means all the efforts go into organising an independence referendum.
Managing Scotland’s affairs comes second best.
Finlay G Mackintosh, Loch View, Forres.
Conversation