ALEX Gallagher claims an independent Scotland could not be greener than it is now because it would be reliant on oil revenue (Letters, May 1).
Every country faces the same problem that most existing manufacturing and maintenance and research technologies are reliant on oil or gas for electricity and fuel. The important thing is to invest enough oil revenues in developing alternative energy sources so that we're not left in trouble as oil and gas prices continue to rocket, even decades before those resources run out entirely.
An independent Scotland would be self-sufficient in energy, making it much better off than the UK, which has to import much of the energy it needs.
Even since devolution Scotland has become greener than the rest of the UK in that respect, with the Scottish Government having increased funding for wind energy while the UK Government is cutting it, for instance.
Richard Mowbray makes the bizarre argument that an independent Scotland, with lots of oil revenue from its own production, would be worse off than the UK was during the Opec oil crises, when it was importing far more oil than it produced. If oil over-valued our currency we could issue more money to reduce the value of it, or else invest some of it in a Norwegian-style sovereign wealth fund.
He also claims Scotland could neither have its own currency, nor keep the pound. Norway has had its own currency for a century and is much wealthier than the UK in terms of GDP per capita and much less unequal. Ireland after independence did fine keeping the British pound as its currency, before issuing its own currency, the Irish pound.
He claims there has been no austerity. Not for bankers, arms exporters, PFI consortia or other major donors to Conservative Party funds maybe; but there's been plenty for the disabled, the growing ranks of the unemployed and the working poor. Why not call for some cuts to state welfare for the former rather than for the latter and pensioners?
Duncan McFarlane,
Beanshields,
Braidwood,
Carluke.
ALEX Gallagher believes that my arguments for independence are flawed and that it won't necessarily bring us a better environment (Agenda, April 30). He says we will be less able to influence policies in the rest of the UK if we go it alone.
I don't think we exert much influence at the moment and I believe that having full control of all policies, including energy, will give us the opportunity to demonstrate that a small country with good resources can manage them sustainably. In other words, we should lead by example, as we have done on other initiatives, like the smoking ban.
Mr Gallagher acknowledges my point that we would have to be "very careful" about reliance on North Sea oil (if we are serious about tackling climate change). But he doesn't acknowledge my additional points that the Scottish Greens would review the current taxation and banking systems. We believe there is a need for some fundamental reforms to the way we live our lives, in order to put our environment and our economy on a better footing.
The Scottish Greens wouldn't be supporting independence if we didn't believe it offered the chance for closer control of our resources and government. Of course, there are no guarantees that we'll get everything we want, and certainly not overnight, but the status quo is not delivering a good environment and the independence referendum gives us the best chance of some major improvements.
Louise Batchelor,
The Old Manse, Scotlandwell .
GIVEN the never-ending catalogue of threats, sabre-rattling and scaremongering emanating from every Government Minister, offices in Westminster and the No campaign it is almost impossible to understand how small countries survive at all. Many have no natural resources to help them and many are almost identical in size to Scotland. Denmark, Finland, Ireland have about the same population as Scotland and Latvia, Slovenia and Estonia are considerably smaller, not to mention Malta and Luxembourg.
It would be better, quicker and more honest for the Coalition, the No campaign and the three major political opponents to independence simply to admit that, after the catastrophic mismanagement and incompetence of successive UK governments in handling Britain's economy over the years, they desperately need Scotland's North Sea oil revenue to help them to survive. Once that has gone in 40 or 50 years Westminster will be happy to grant Scotland independence without any strings attached.
Nigel Dewar Gibb,
15 Kirklee Road,
Glasgow.
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