Interactive: Abandoned look of city centre is bad for business

Anyone taking a walk through our city at almost any time just now will see even more shops closing down, and they are not being reopened or replaced. Is there a sign of dereliction creeping into areas of our city?

With money being tight just now, are we going to see even more streets that had small shops with viable businesses that were just ticking over closing down?

I often wondered how some of these shops survived in normal times never mind during recessionary times. Is this going to make parts of our city look as if they have been abandoned, and if so what can be done about it?

There is nothing worse than seeing whole areas that look as if they have been abandoned with shops boarded up or plastered with fly posters and it might be something that our councillors could look into to make these areas look more attractive to those who want to open a business in our city.

The abandoned look is awful and is doing nothing to encourage new businesses to move into these areas.

Andrew Murphy, Royal Mile, Edinburgh

TIEd up in knots by tram numbers

The letter "Efforts made to limit effects" from Mandy Haeburn-Little (14 July) belies the truth.

Richard Jeffrey's recent report to the council says that TIE are reporting against Final Business case 2, in this document thereis no 24-hour working and no road closures (ever).

The programme that accompanies this shows the Telecom (Data) works as diversions/construction starting late July 2008 and finishing September 2008 covering the area Piccardy Place, Broughton Street and York Place.

Why then working 24-hour is it now to take three months to just do the cabling as Ms Haeburn-Little claims?

Why is it to take three times longer than programmed? Why is itover two years late?

And are the diversions/construction activities all complete in this area?

John R T Carson, Kirkliston Road, South Queensferry

Disturbing view of climate change

I REFER to Alan Lough's letter regarding "Climate 'Experts' Should Chill Out" (News, 15 July) in which he erroneously states that carbon emissions block sunlight.

The CO2 given off by fossil fuel burning and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) do not unfortunately stop sunlight reaching the Earth's surface. The radiated energy leaving the planet's surface is absorbed by the CO2/CFCs and is re-radiated in all directions including back down to the surface, thereby transferring energy to the surface and surrounding lower atmosphere, thus creating higher temperatures than there would otherwise be due to solar radiation.

I find it disturbing that there are still those who claim that "global warming" is definitely not happening.

Scientists around the world are of the opinion that in all probability it is. They may be proven correct or indeed wrong, but until then we must assume the worst, because if we do nothing and it is ultimately proven to be the case, then it will be too late.

Keith McNeill, Claremont Bank, Edinburgh

Mayhem to come with parking fee

What has not been mentioned in the niggardly decision to start the airport drop-off charge at 1 is that it would take just two vehicles to exit at the same time and then realise they forgot their wallet and have no change on them. Utter mayhem would ensue, fee dropped! Problem solved.

Simon Capaldi, Edinburgh

Hose to blame for all of the rain?

Earlier this year we were told there was going to be ahot summer.

Then came a warning about a hosepipe ban. I immediately bought two water butts, which are now overflowing.

Am I responsible for all this rain?

Clark Cross , Springfield Road Linlithgow