Outdated ideas

Going ahead with fracking (Perspective, 16 December) is equivalent to a sinking ship’s crew throwing lifeboats overboard to lighten the load – though in this case they are burning the things.

Fossil energy supplies may have already passed their peak production, with grim political and economic implications for the future. We need sustainable energy sources; the only question is how long do we have to get these into place? Scotland is better placed than most to have renewable energy sources: wind, tide, wave and dams – the latter even having the bonus of being able to store energy.

Fracking relies on a relatively new technology exploiting dwindling amounts of fossil fuel. There are claims that it will temporarily reduce carbon emissions – but only if coal-powered generators are taken off line – and there are serious concerns about what happens to the chemicals in the huge amounts of water involved.

In any case, the use of remaining fossil fuels can only ever be a stopgap and as far as future generations are concerned, a morally indefensible one. We are sinking!

Energy needs are growing and energy sources declining. Work to fix the problem long term, don’t burn up more irreplaceable resources.

In the 1970s, Stephen Salter built his “Duck” wave energy machine in Edinburgh. Since then, so much progress has been made on wind and water technology. This is where Scotland should be leading the way.

Roger Meachem

High Street

Kelso