YP Letters: Minister should save her energy

COMPARING a conventional gas drilling site to a fracking site reveals the degree of Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom’s ignorance of the facts.

A conventional gas site sits above a gas field (an underground reservoir of natural gas) and therefore gas can be extracted from the whole field via one well head.

Fracking extracts gas which is trapped within shale beds. It is obtained by drilling vertically down and then horizontally into the shale and releasing the gas by underground explosive fracturing (fracking). Each fracking site would have four or five vertical bores to different depths and radiating in different directions. This is only economical to a horizontal distance of 2.5 miles at the most, meaning that the fracking wells will be a maximum of five miles apart.

Imagine standing on the top of the Wolds or above the Vale of Ryedale and seeing a site the size of a football pitch containing rigs, portable cabins and other industrial infrastructure across the whole landscape at five-mile intervals. If this is not enough of a visual blight, fracking rigs are 125ft high and not 6ft as implied by Ms Leadsom.

From: Dr Bev Wilkinson, White Grove, Roundhay, Leeds.

TO hear Energy Secretary Amber Rudd’s claims of the risks to consumer power costs resulting from Brexit felt like the pot calling the kettle black.

As an advocate for committing Britain to nuclear power at Hinkley point for 25 years at three times the present market price, this is pretty rich. When one adds the attempts to tax to oblivion our current reliable affordable power through exorbitant carbon taxes, her concerns for increased costs for the consumer lose credibility.

The threats that we are playing into Mr Putin’s hands regarding gas supplies ignores the prospect of affordable LNG supplies imminently arriving from America.

Regarding her comments on the recent climate change conference – these conferences have resulted in us signing up to reckless commitments without us fully understanding their consequences in regard to cost.

One hopes that the electorate can see through these crude and unfounded threats which, frankly, do no credit to Ms Rudd’s cause. They come across to me as a smokescreen to hide the botched patchwork that the Government’s energy policy has become.

Right vote for wrong reason

From: Paul Morgan, Canberra View, Barton-Upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire.

ALTHOUGH at the moment I am in the Leave camp, I am concerned that we might get what I consider the right result, but for the wrong reasons. With the lack of a creditable opposition, the Government, particularly Messrs Cameron and Osborne, are becoming increasingly arrogant and smug, despite the recent disagreements within their own party (Tom Richmond, The Yorkshire Post, March 26).

The only way the electorate can give them a kick is to vote against them in the referendum. The could result in people voting out, not because they want to leave the EU, but because they want to give the Government a kicking. If that is the case, and the Leave campaign won, it would ultimately lead to a serious problem, when people realised what they had done.

Also, the SNP has made much play of the problems that would result if Scotland voted to remain, but the rest of the UK voted to leave. However the reverse would also be the case, i.e. if the rest of the UK voted narrowly to Leave, but a Scottish vote to remain in meant that the In campaign won. I suspect in that case, the calls for Scottish independence would louder south of the border than north.

A chimney too many

From: Canon Michael Storey, Healey Wood Road, Brighouse.

I HAVE enjoyed reading the various responses to my “Scotsman’s wrong shape” letter (The Yorkshire Post, March 11).

The only point I really wanted to make was made very nicely on the front page of Picture Past of March 22. There is Flying Scotsman as designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, small single chimney, no hideous smoke deflectors; a wonderful front end! That’show old fogies like me remember the A3s, V2s and K3s.

I am well aware that the double chimney and hideous smoke deflectors improved performance. Flying Scotsman with its singe chimney managed 100mph. They won’t allow such a speed now so, why not have it looking as nearly as possible as Sir Nigel first designed it?

Keep out the criminals

From: John A Martin, Westfield close, Hotham, York.

I REFER to the article by Paula Sherriff (The Yorkshire Post, March 19). I had to read it twice to make certain that I wasn’t dreaming.

The Dewsbury MP spends one third of the page trying to convince us how wonderful multiculturalism is for this country and condemns the likes of Britain First and the EDL for protesting in her constituency.

She states that wanting a “sensible and respectful” debate about how Britain’s immigration policy should be shaped is a world away from the “nonsense” spouted by the likes of Britain First.

Maybe Miss Sherriff could enlighten us where the “sensible and respectful” debate took place when the Blair-led Labour government welcomed in criminals from all corners of the earth into our beloved country without any concern or thought as to the consequences?