Worries over fracking in our most beautiful regions

REGARDING the article (The Yorkshire Post, July 29) on whether the rules on fracking are a sham, I too, am concerned that a loophole might allow fracking in areas of outstanding natural beauty. It is even more worrying that fracking might be allowed near areas of high population.

If we all cut down on our energy use, we would have no need of shale gas. We should be insulating all existing buildings, funded from a tax on the profits of energy companies. Along with insulating existing buildings, we should be pressing for new building regulations to make all new buildings as close to zero carbon as possible, like the popular new buildings at Kelham Island in Sheffield.

Now that E.ON has started producing renewable electricity from biomass at Blackburn Meadows in Sheffield, we can see that renewable sources of electricity are growing fast. We should expect all energy companies to produce a proportion of their electricity from renewables. Renewable sources are not harmful to the environment and will create more permanent jobs than fracking.

From: Hugh Rogers, Messingham Road, Ashby, Scunthorpe.

I’M fed up with the green lobby. They don’t like coal. Or oil. Nuclear power is “dangerous”. Fracking is a no-no, even before anyone has yet poked a serious hole in Yorkshire. Put up more wind farms and the nimbys come out in force. Wave power? Canute tried that and it got him absolutely nothing but damp sandals.

If any environmentalist currently camping on the verge of a road near you can tell me how this country is to keep its lights burning and the wheels of industry turning on candlepower and cow dung, I shall support their cause.

What we need is to start building new state of the art coal-fired power stations, creating jobs for miners and heat and light for the rest of us. And it needs doing now.

From: Arthur Quarmby, Underhill, Holme.

I AM sorry to note that certain Western factions seem so anxious to recreate the Cold War with Russia. There is as yet no proof that it was a Russian missile which brought down the Malaysian airliner.

The sanctions being imposed on Russia (without proof of responsibility) will do more harm to the West in general and the UK in particular, and will drive Russia into the arms of resurgent China.