YP Letters: Fracking camp's moral purpose

I REALLY must congratulate Lorraine Allanson (The Yorkshire Post, January 3) on a great work of the imagination. Had she visited the Kirby Misperton camp, she would have found it neat, hygenic and well- presented. The farmer might not be able to use his field for the present, but then he has made no agricultural use of it for two years. The campers are encouraging visitors to park on the verge so far as possible, so as to minimise disruption to the local community.

As for a moral compass, we as a country have obligations under the Climate Change Agreement. Global warming is impacting most heavily on the poor countries of the South.

That is why we must keep fossil fuels in the ground and why we must not start up a new fossil fuel industry.

Ms Allanson’s attack on people who feel so strongly about these issues as to be prepared to spend Christmas in a cold and windy field is not to be supported.

From: Jon Mager, Park Avenue, Beverley.

MAY I offer some assistance to David Downs in his apparent confusion about renewable energy and fuel poverty (The Yorkshire Post, January 3)?

The Yorkshire coast he asks anti-frackers to drive along is “the fastest eroding coastline in Europe” according to East Riding Council. Climate change is a major factor in this erosion, fracked gas will contribute to this damage.

This is why energy companies (not Greens) have invested in onshore wind and solar farms, but if Mr Downs focused on fact he would learn that the huge wind farms of Yorkshire, generating thousands of jobs, lie up to 100 miles from the coast and they will indirectly help by reducing the impact of carbon emissions.

The right way to address fuel poverty is shown by the news from Tamil Nadu, one of the poorest states of India, where the world’s biggest solar farm, making power for 150,000 homes on a 10 sq km site was announced by the BBC.

Solar and wind are the way forward; fracked fossil fuels will destroy our future if we let the greedy oil companies have their way.

From: Anne Stewart, Helmsley.

WITH regard to the anti-fracking camp set up near Kirby Misperton, do people seriously think that if fracking goes ahead it will stop with that one discreet site?

It cannot be emphasised enough, that this site has not yet been used for fracking. Fracking is a totally, totally different procedure, requiring much more infrastructure and there will be hundreds of these wells, with pipes built across the countryside connecting them.

Many of the people at the camp are from this area, and even if they weren’t we should be grateful that some people are prepared to stand up and fight for something they truly believe.

Some peaceful protesters in a small field, doing no damage, are nothing as to what will happen if fracking goes ahead.

Obstacles to take-off

From: Ron Firth, Campsall.

SOME weeks ago, I and several other readers wrote to you welcoming the optimistic news on the development at Doncaster Airport and, in particular, the prospect of a direct rail connection to, or slight diversion of the East Coast main line. This development would compare most favourably with the continuing and likely insoluble problems at Leeds Bradford Airport which would severely restrict any expansion there.

Now that real expansion at Doncaster is likely, as expected, Caroline Flint MP emerges from the background (The Yorkshire Post, January 3) to claim personal responsibility almost for saving Finningley with help from the Labour Party. For some years now Doncaster Airport has developed but slowly mainly because of two obstacles.

Firstly accessibility. Although the motorway complex passed within reasonable distance, there was no dedicated, direct link from the M18 to the airport and traffic had to go through the congested town or via Blyth. After some delays, the M18/ Airport link is in place (waiting only the final short stretch into the airport itself) and thanks to Doncaster Council, the Chamber of Trade and Peel Airports this link has proved very successful. The proposals on the rail link would, if achieved, be of even greater importance.

The second obstacle has been, and to a lesser extent, remains the planning application for onshore wind turbines in close proximity to the point where incoming aircraft receive final landing instructions. Ms Flint and her previous boss Ed Miliband, as avid supporters and promoters of wind-generated energy (although ‘representing’ mining constituencies), will presumably be aware of this situation and should look to remove the danger as soon as possible and concentrate all their efforts on the many positives Doncaster has to offer.

We subsidise Europe’s fares

From: Don Wood, Howden.

AS the yearly rail fare increases come into effect, the commuters who suffer these rip-off fare increases might like to consider the following (Andrew Vine, The Yorkshire Post, January 3).

When our railways were privatised in 1993, the system was broken up in to three sections – tracks and infrastructure, train owning companies and train operating companies, on orders from the EU Commission.

The train operations were then put out to tender and are now mostly run by German, French and Dutch companies.

These EU companies then use their British taxpaye- subsidised and British commuter-generated profits to subsidise their home rail fares, which results in similar season tickets in Germany, France and Holland costing about a third of what they charge their British customers!

Why do these people still want to stay in the EU?