Dotty on energy

Published on 14/11/2012 00:00

I’d LIKE to offer our MSPs a 
little join-the-dots reality check in their quest for energy self-
sufficiency and globe-saving 
carbon reduction.

America is on course to become the world’s biggest oil and gas producer within five years. By 2020, its daily oil and gas production will have increased by 3 million barrels and 140 billion cubic metres respectively.

The revolutionary system of hydraulic fracturing is predicted to provide the US with its total energy needs by 2035, according to a World Energy Outlook report. By the same time, 90 per cent of Middle Eastern oil will be taken up by Asia, and China in particular. Also by 2035, the world is shaping up to produce sufficient CO2 emissions from energy generation to cause a long-term temperature increase of 3.6 degrees C.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency reports a rise in CO2 from energy production of 3.2 per cent in 2011 to a record level.

The puzzle is how to fit Scotland’s dot into the equation. Anti-nuclear, anti-fossil fuel policies drive our government’s inane attempt to lead the world by relying on windmills. Surely some of them notice that the plan isn’t working; nobody is following.

Robert Dow

Ormiston Road

Tranent, East Lothian