Gas and hot air?

Clark Cross (Letters, 6 February) insults members of the 
Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) following their proposal for a moratorium on fracking in Scotland. Mr Cross suggests that EAC members need an IQ test, have only 
listened to dubious scientific facts and should go back to school.

Mr Cross continues by claiming that “America is the only country in the world to have reduced its emissions entirely due to shale gas”. That is itself an example of a “dubious scientific fact” that does not stand up to scrutiny:

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides data concerning CO2 emissions from energy generation (up to 2012).

It shows that 91 out of the 226 territories listed from around the world showed reduced CO2 emissions between 2008 and 2012, (including 29 out of 37 in Europe). Such reductions were achieved by more efficient machines, less waste and more low carbon forms of energy generation, both in America and elsewhere.

I would hazard that the AEC were well aware of such authoritative sources of information as the EIA and paid scant regard to the kind of misinformation repeated by Mr Cross.

Roy Turnbull

Nethy Bridge

Inverness-shire