Climate crisis

I FELT that I must respond to Martin Coady’s letter (D&S Times letters, Apr 30) “Renewable energy”.

His letter stated “there is no climate crisis”, which ignores the opinions of the United Nations, the British Government and the vast majority the scientific community.

Statement from the United Nations: “The last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was three to five million years ago, when the temperature was 2-3°C warmer and sea level was ten to 20 metres higher.

Statement from the UK Government: “These ice cores also show that, over the last 350 years, greenhouse gases have rapidly increased to levels not seen for at least 800,000 years and very probably longer. Modern humans, who evolved about 200,000 years ago, have never previously experienced such high levels of greenhouse gases."

In North Yorkshire, since the turn of the century, we have experienced record high temperatures, flash floods and wild fires on the moors. Weather extremes seem to come along every year.

Mr Coady has to accept, with the rest of the world, that we have entered a climate emergency and if we fail to take dramatic actions life on earth will head for a mass extinction.

Michael Chaloner, Green Party candidate for Bedale in the 2022 county council election.

Many statistics

MARTIN COADY’S letter (D&S Times letters, Apr 30) attempts to convince us that there is no such thing as a climate crisis. To back his view, he makes a series of unsubstantiated assertions about climate change which fly in the face of the mountain of evidence put forward by climate scientists and specialist agencies from around the world.

I do not wish to bombard your readers with a mass of statistics but here are a few facts to refute the points he makes.

Firstly, a leading world researcher in this field, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has stated that atmospheric CO2 levels have risen as a direct cause of human activity by 48 per cent since 1850.

Second, the UK Met Office confirms that in their series of temperature records running since the Victorian era (1884) all ten of the warmest years have occurred since 2002.

Third, NASA confirms that during the multiple ice ages experienced during the last 800,000 years, atmospheric CO2 levels averaged approximately half today’s levels.

Finally, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report “Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis” gives no assurance that future temperature rises will be limited to 2.5 degrees C, potentially disastrous though even that would be.

Mr Coady unfortunately concludes his letter by descending to name-calling those who disagree with him.

I suggest that two of the insults he uses, “nihilistic” and “scientifically illiterate” could be more accurately applied to himself.

Frank Broughton, Brompton-on-Swale.

Green dream

HATS off to Mr Coady, (D&S Times letters, Apr 30). At last someone who is unafraid to state the truth.

Global warming, now conveniently known as climate change or whatever fictitious name the Greens will conjure up next, is now becoming common knowledge from the world's leading scientists, well, those with integrity, that man is not in any way responsible for the planet's continuous state of flux. They are politically openly discouraged from going public with the truth.

There will always be the likes of those who thrive on fictitious facts that sadly they seem to believe – or do they?

As for relying on solar energy and wind powered generators to provide renewable electricity, this is nothing short of a pipe dream, the powers that be seem to have overlooked that within the next ten years there will be more than 100m electric vehicles to charge daily, so to those concerned, until cold fusion is up and running, think again, or did you even think in the first place, oh dear, perhaps not.

Trevor Mason, Swainby.

Rule breaking

MOST people are happy that schools are open and that attempts are being made to make up lost ground in the curriculum for pupils.

Schools will be concentrating on addressing skills, concepts and knowledge that might not have been covered in lockdown.

All this will be taking place in a school environment where students operate within a moral code of conduct and acceptable behaviour.

There will be an emphasis on being truthful, not cheating or bullying and sticking to the rules.

However, many students I’m sure will wonder why it is unacceptable to lie, cheat, bully and break the rules at school whilst they have seen reports of the Prime Minister getting away with such behaviour on a regular basis when running the country.

The students whose parents have voted for a party with such a leader might question why voting for the Conservatives was acceptable.

Boris Johnson’s behaviour was well know before their parents cast their vote in the last election.

John Hopkins, Crakehall, Bedale.

Foreign aid

ALTHOUGH reduced, the UK overseas aid budget still amounts to £10bn a year. It is incomprehensible then that the cut almost wipes our contribution to the UN Population Fund, dropping it from £154m to just £23m.

This deserves to be at the top of our priority list, not only saving individual women from the burden of an unwanted pregnancy but helping to save the planet.

However poor their origins, extra people will need food and it would be prudent to assume that within their lifetime they will reach the level of energy use enjoyed in richer countries.

The focus needs to be on methods of contraception within the control of the woman, not simply the use of condoms aimed primarily at slowing the spread of STIs.

At the same time, we need to address the implications of the recognised link between a scarcity of contraception and the incidence of unwanted pregnancies.

Having ourselves only recently moved on from such notions as a husband’s conjugal rights and the inevitability of men having their way, we as relativists may feel shy about trying to impose such a transition upon others. But we could at least offer some avenue of escape to women (unless we wish also to respect the tradition that they are property).

John Riseley, Harrogate.

Town regeneration

OH where? Oh where have our millions gone? This is the lament of residents of the town of Bishop Auckland.

Learning of the hard work achieved by our recently elected MP, Dehenna Davison who, despite the pandemic, has procured a sum of almost £20m towards the regeneration of the town, we were looking forward to a reduction in business rates and some grants to help to restore some of the lovely architecture of the buildings in Newgate Street.

This surely would be a positive step towards encouraging new businesses to move here.

Instead, we learn that the Labour council have approved £11m of this – to construct a “giant umbrella” from Newgate centre to the entrance of the Market Place. We cannot see how this can benefit anyone, especially given that it will not protect pedestrians on a windy day and the construction will need continual maintenance.

Could we please adopt a common-sense approach to the regeneration of the town, asking residents what they would like to see? Hundreds of people here give of their time working as guides or volunteers in the Auckland Project and help with visitors to the castle and Mining Art Gallery.

This is a wonderful base on which the town can build. We need a variety of shops – quality clothing, gifts, art work as well as cafes, restaurants and hotels.

Does Bishop Auckland really need a faux tent costing £11m?

M Jennings and friends, Bishop Auckland.

Scottish saturation

WHY is Scotland, with a population about the same as Yorkshire, 5.5 million, so over-represented?

The GDP of Scotland is around £180bn, compared to Yorkshire around £200bn.

The devolved parliament in Edinburgh has 129 members, and the Scots are represented at Westminster by 57 MPs.

They are given a disproportionate amount of coverage in our media, typified by a Channel Four News broadcast which showed a live leader’s debate for the upcoming Scottish Parliamentary election.

Was there really a need to show this outside of Scotland?

I would suggest that a hypothetical devolved Yorkshire government would receive no coverage whatsoever in Scotland.

G Carr, Aycliffe Village.

PM defence

I FEEL obliged to come to the aid of our beleaguered PM. Boris Johnson is a maverick, as was Winston Churchill.

We have all made exaggerated meaningless comments when subjected to extreme frustration eg “I could murder so and so".

Reporters and media vultures will pounce on these and take them out of context and exaggerate – why? Because they are weak, ganging up on the strong, keeping themselves in a job as their employers are the same ilk – small-minded vindictive, always trying to destroy.

I do not understand the furore regarding the refurbishment of the PM’s flat. The flat is an integral part of No.10 and therefore the upkeep is the landlord’s responsibility – namely HM Government – end of story.

I am not prepared to donate to the Boris fund but I am prepared to lend the PM money, interest free.

It would be a gentleman’s agreement, an arrangement I suspect beyond the understanding of Dominic Cummings.

Harold Mackenley, Cockfield.

Green vandalism

AS a Green voter, I agree totally with Ralph Bradley “Saving woodland” (D&S Times letters, Apr 23) on the tragedy of woodland destruction, but the sad fact is, it isn't just greedy developers who are covering the land with bricks, concrete and tarmac.

The problem continues and comes much closer to home once the new houses have been occupied with many of them, both big and small, looking as though they have been built on the edge of car parks as their sometimes pocket handkerchief sized front gardens disappear completely to accommodate the family car (or two).

Cul de sacs seem especially vulnerable in this respect. In some parts this is compounded by the narrowness of the roads, themselves.

Grass verges are established as some kind of apology only to be driven over, creating enormous and unsightly ruts in wet weather.

However, no part of town is exempt with some of the worst offenders spreading the plague to the west end where roads are wider and everything is bigger.

Even here, front gardens are being grubbed up to make way for anything up to four cars. Soooo attractive!

Jo Jones, Darlington.