OTTO Inglis (Letters, November 10) clearly has not done the simple thing he needed to do before going on his “why alternative power is an ‘SNP bad’ idea” rant – some research.
For a start, Scotland has reached the point where wind renewables are generating more than 70% of Scotland’s energy needs on a daily basis, and all this before tidal power cuts in.
As to importing energy from England, a quick check on the National Grid transmission figures shows Scotland exports more than 7,000 megawatts to England on a daily basis, most of which is used to keep the lights on in London.
While fossil fuels may not be flavour of the month, Scotland has bigger known reserves of gas and oil than “oil and gas” giants like Qatar or Abu Dhabi.
So Mr Inglis (or is that Mr “Scotland in Union”?), just what energy do we, in Scotland, import from England? It cannot be coal, because the Tories shut that down so coal comes from the EU, routinely Poland, but not for much longer courtesy of Brexit. Maybe it is wood for wood burners, but Scotland is self-sufficient. Maybe he is thinking of oil and gas from the English fracking revolution, a disaster which is falling about Cuadrilla and the Tory Party’s ears?
Whatever it is, Scotland’s reliance on importing energy from England is minuscule, if it exists at all.
Peter Thomson
Kirkcudbright
READ MORE: Letters: Belgian shutdown should be a warning to Scotland
READING Pat Kane’s column regarding the computer game Red Dead Redemption 2 (The biggest cultural event of last week was totally ignored by arts writers. Why?”, November 10), I was struck by the fact that he failed to mention the controversy surrounding said game.
He states that “there’s been barely a peep about” it, “outwith the usual niche outlets, in the mainstream media”. Perhaps his column was written prior to the publication of the Friday edition of The National, which contained a profile piece by Kirsteen Paterson on the subject (YouTube backtracks on suffragette attack clips, November 9); but as a committed gamer he surely can’t have failed to be aware of the surrounding controversy: the fact that the game “allows players – in the guise of a male character – to attack a suffragette engaged in street campaigning.”
Kirsteen’s article further states that “players have recorded themselves shooting the mature woman in the face, tying her to the train tracks, beating her to the ground and setting her on fire.”
Is it possible this was one of the reasons arts writers weren’t falling over themselves to publicise the game? “Cultural event of the week”? Sounds more like new toy, same old misogyny.
Mo Maclean
Glasgow
READ MORE: Huge Red Dead Redemption 2 release was ignored by arts writers - why?
MAY I applaud Jim Gibson’s letter (Children of all faiths should be educated together, November 9).
If they all believe in the one God, surely it is wrong to teach young people that one sect has more knowledge than another? It is just not true.
In this century when we know so much about science, why are we closing the minds of children to believe that something written by an ordinary mortal so many years ago is the truth? It is obvious that if you make children different from one another it leads to problems. Stop this control and let them make up their own minds, and let’s put an end to separate education.
Rosemary Smith
East Kilbride
READ MORE: Letters: Children of all faiths should be educated together
I’D like to commend Douglas Turner’s letter in Thursday’s paper. He hits the nail on the head several times regarding the furore surrounding events at Tynecastle last Wednesday. One important thing I’d like to add though: Chris Shevlane also played for Celtic (briefly) and Hibs, and I believe Morton, as well as his first club Hearts.
Turning to Friday’s paper, I note on page five the First Minister’s admiration for Neil Lennon’s dignity at a press conference and I agree with her. However isn’t the problem for Neil, and indeed many of us, the displaying of dignity when under pressure and without the necessary time to compose oneself?
George Foulis
Edinburgh
READ MORE: Letters: Amid the desire to defend Lennon, we must be honest
THE Bank of England are issuing a new £50 note and are looking for a scientist to feature on the back of it. They are inviting suggestions but have spoiled things by making suggestions as to whom it should be, eg Stephen Hawking. No mention of James Clerk Maxwell.
The great Albert Einstein had a portrait of Maxwell hanging in his study and is quoted as saying: “Everything I have achieved in physics I have achieved by standing on the shoulders of James Clerk Maxwell”. Some tribute from someone who knew a bit about science.
So will the Bank of England pay any attention to Einstein? Not a chance.
Ronald Livingstone McNeill
Strachur
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