Sir, – The hypocrisy of the Scottish Government knows no bounds.
In letting their agency, Forest and Land Scotland, buy the Glenprosen Estate in Angus, they have abused the very land reform proposals they have currently out for consultation and have allowed one of their own departments to do exactly what they said they do not approve of.
First of all, the coalition of Greens and SNP say they do not approve of big land holdings, then they say they don’t like people buying hill land for carbon offset purposes and finally talk about times of austerity, yet still find £25 million to fund this purchase.
More than this, they have been critical of off-market sales, yet this is what has exactly happened.
Not only this, but four people have now lost their jobs as the plan is to plant trees, not run the estate for sporting purposes.
Forest and Land Scotland made £108 million last year in addition to receiving a grant of £20 million from the Scottish Government. How can they justify spending £25 million on this purchase?
If it had been an individual who had bought the estate the government would have criticised the fact that one person owned so much land and was denying ownership to the local community.
However, that individual would have poured their own hard-earned resources into that estate, maintaining the four jobs and not costing the taxpayer anything.
No doubt there will be some spin put on the purchase by the Scottish Government, but they cannot hide from the fact that they have breached every guideline they have announced on land ownership.
Let’s hope their management will get the same scrutiny that any individual might expect; my bet is that it will be found wanting because they will have no vision beyond blanket trees and minimal conservation.
It would be good to hear someone from the Scottish Government justify this questionable use of public money. However, I am not holding my breath.
Andrew Dingwall-Fordyce, Garlogie House, Westhill.
Peatland damage is natural erosion
Sir, – I refer to the article in The Press and Journal (October 31) and the inaccuracies regarding damaged peatland.
The article blames consistent trampling by deer and sheep, and muirburning, for the condition of peatland when, in fact, it is caused by natural erosion.
It is not a new problem, in fact, it has been with us for millions of years.
In peatland, when the ceilings of underground streams collapse due to summer spates and melting snow, thus exposing under-laying peat to wind, rain, and sun, natural erosion occurs, which has increased over millennia. In terms of magnitude, it has comparatively little to do with trampling by deer, sheep, or by muirburn.
Moorland management for grouse has only existed for the past 170 years and, if you wanted to burn in peatland, it would be impossible due to numerous pools of water, collapsed underground streams and wet and bare ground.
It is unfortunate the majority of the public and Scotland’s MSPs have little knowledge of the countryside and its wildlife as they have been misled by extremists in conservation and protest groups, whose sole ambition is the break-up of Scotland’s sporting estates and, if the truth is told, who have themselves created more damage in the countryside than deer, sheep and moorland management.
Peter Fraser, Catanellan, Crathie.
Some inconvenient truths on glaciers
Sir, – The latest climate news I’ve heard is the UN’s claim that the remaining glaciers in the Alps, Kilimanjaro and Yosemite National Park will be gone by 2050.
But haven’t we heard this before? Al Gore’s 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth predicted that Kilimanjaro would be ice-free by 2016.
More than a decade ago staff at Glacier National Park erected signs saying that the glaciers would disappear by 2020, but in 2020 they quietly removed them. And the Climategate emails, where climate scientists communicated in private before they were hacked, display some inconvenient truths on glaciers. For example, Dr Geoff Jenkins asks the question “would you agree that there is no convincing evidence for Kilimanjaro glacier melt being due to recent warming (let alone man-made warming)?” in a 2004 email.
Geoff Moore, Braeface Park, Alness.
Drill down to root of climate crisis
Sir, – I refer to Sheila Maxwell, Clark Cross and George Herraghty’s letters in last Wednesday’s Press and Journal, but first a big thank you to Roy Turnbull for putting the actual facts out there on Thursday (November 3).
When you are faced by a crisis, surely what you should do is try and solve the roots of the problem?
Though, as suggested by Sheila Maxwell, putting up flood defences is inevitable it does nothing to solve the problems that climate change is causing. Yes, Clark Cross does have a point in that the COP meetings have led to more hot air than actual actions.
There are those like George Herraghty who believe that our emissions of C02 are only a small part of the cause, but they are in a small minority. No doubt other factors do come into play but the vast majority of scientists, backed up by the IPCC reports, say from scientific evidence that the main cause of the dramatic events taking place across the globe is the man-made effects of C02.
The evidence is blatant, from vast bushfires in Australia, Spain, the US etc to vast areas being flooded in such countries as Bangladesh and Pakistan. More than half the world is facing severe water shortages, vast areas of the world’s soil are being denuded, nature is being devastated and part of the refugee crisis is being fuelled by people fleeing areas where there are food and water shortages.
Rather than burying our heads in the sand, we need to start pulling our fingers out – governments and the general public – and start doing much more to face the coming reality.
Rather than putting more effort into creating more oil fields, we should be creating jobs to insulate our homes and develop industry linked to renewables and energy-saving here in Scotland.
We should produce more food in Scotland while shifting away from animal to plant production and only use cars and aeroplanes (and when possible, not fuelled by oil) for essential journeys, and develop and make much more use of public transport and our legs for walking and cycling.
Jonathan Russell, Springbank Place, Aberdeen.
Brexit’s pigeons home to roost
Sir, – With the devastating news that the UK will enter the longest recession ever, there must come a point of reflection on how we got here and how we get out of it.
I notice the BBC and others peddling the myth that the Ukrainian situation is the root cause, despite the UK being energy-rich (thanks mainly to Scotland’s resources). An ugly if convenient scapegoat I think and one which wilfully ignores the B word.
Brexit’s pigeons are coming home to roost. The news from the Scottish Government of significant cost-cutting focused public concerns on NHS capabilities. I listened to many analysts and commentators and a common thread was the inability to fill staff vacancies – jobs which had been filled by workers from overseas until Brexit.
The UK is not only the sick man of Europe economically but the laughing stock of the world politically after the recent drama fest.
Surely folk can see now that there’s a better option than being dragged down by Westminster.
Peter E Smith, Aigas, By Beauly.
Now is a good time for independence
Sir, – I watched the excellent BBC Debate Night programme from Aberdeen and was pleased to see many people asking about the referendum that the Scottish Government was elected by the population to deliver.
The only argument against was “now is not the time”.
Given the horrific rise in interest rates, we now find ourselves in the biggest recession ever in a generation, caused mainly by Brexit. I suggest now is the time.
It is plain for all to see that an independent Scotland, sufficiently well endowed by renewables and driving hard for a just transition, is suffering from enforced fuel poverty.
Westminster linking electricity to gas prices on the international market with no means to store energy in Scotland is another folly which will cause real harm this winter, leading to cold and starving children and vulnerable adults.
We can’t free up hospital beds because immigrants are unable to work in our care sector. Scotland needs immigration and unrestricted trade with its EU neighbours.
We have lost billions in trade with our EU neighbours, and the UK is descending rapidly back to the basket case it was in the ’70s.
Now it’s time for Scots to choose a better future. I’m fed up hearing now is not the time and I’m sure the bulk of Scots agree we must act now before it’s too late.
Ken Reid, Inchmarlo, Banchory.
Dualling A96 won’t cause accidents
Sir, – I refer to The Press and Journal (November 4) – according to the Scottish Greens, dualling the A96 would cause more crashes.
This is total rubbish. The main cause of accidents on our roads is down to driver error – it causes 94 to 96% of traffic accidents.
Another two to 4% are either weather-related or vehicle malfunctions.
Dougie Gauld, Towerhill, Peterhead.
Surely England can boycott World Cup?
Sir, – Amid the growing repugnance that the World Cup is being held in Qatar where all sorts of rights are ignored as they are against Islamic sharia law, am I alone in thinking that as the ultimate protest England should withdraw and show a lead to others?
In the years to come, commentators could say that only setting an example to nations less concerned with inclusion prevented the Three Lions from emulating their triumph of so many generations ago.
Would Harry Kane and his boys not swell with pride at their noble gesture, a sacrifice that may lead all the way to the palace for the iconic leader to be suitably adorned, a tap of sword on his shoulder instead of a medal on his chest?
And, as an added bonus, we long-suffering Scotland fans would be spared the agony of watching through our fingers as our age-old rivals creep ever closer to the final and, dread the thought, emerge as winners.
But then reality sinks in and I recall the words of Roy Orbison – “it’s too bad that all these things can only happen in my dreams” – or can they? England have an excellent team and may go on and lift the trophy – the ecstasy and agony of a fitba fan never ends.
Ivan W. Reid, Kirkburn, Laurencekirk.
Sturgeon’s not ferry hot
Sir, – I have today written to the Guinness World Records asking if they can include the two ferries at Ferguson Shipyards in the world record listings.
They could easily win in both categories as the most-expensive ferries ever built in their class and the longest time ever taken to build.
If successful, it would be appropriate for Nicola Sturgeon to accept the award as it was achieved as a direct result of her interferences.
D.F. Grattan, Mugiemoss Road, Bucksburn.
NHS’ sick joke on ill patients
Sir, – How can the NHS Grampian board have little or no vision for the future and want the new National Treatment Centre for Grampian (NTC-G) be squeezed into a Foresterhill site that resembles Legoland?
Buildings are built with clinics/wards being moved from A to B and back to A.
Where will the offices and hospital radio be moved to, with the loss of a valuable car park? (Evening Express, October 6). The Helen Wood Car Park was erected at the wrong end of the site.
Cancer wards, chemotherapy and radiotherapy departments are too far away giving very sick people a long walk to get there with not enough disabled bays and a drop off/pickup point at the rotunda entrance for these departments.
Aberdeen city’s residents deserve a modern NTC-G that they can get easy access to for treatment and not another building in a Legoland nightmare.
T. Shirron, Davidson Drive, Aberdeen
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