Since the 1950s, in my lifetime, at Faslane and Coulport, arsenals of nuclear weapons and ill-managed nuclear submarine facilities have threatened the health and environment of all Scotland (Revealed: blueprint for a nuclear-free Scotland two years after independence, News, June 17).

There are many positive reasons to vote for independence. Perhaps one of the most inspiring is to allow Scotland to develop its vision as a world leader in alternative energy technology. We can also be proud of the humanity and open internationalism of the current Scottish Government, which would surely flourish as an independent member of the UN and – we can hope – would advocate alternatives to current diplomacy based on weapons of mass destruction within a planet we are currently polluting to death.

But, when I vote for independence, it will be simply on the basis of these experiences and because I want an independent Scottish government – with control over defence and foreign representation – to think global – but also to make sure that the land and sea in this country – not to mention our young soldiers – are no longer abused in the name of a so-called "UK defence policy", which is, in fact, a continuing, incomprehensible disaster.

Frances McKie

Evanton, Ross-shire

Hard on the heels of the welcome report in the Sunday Herald regarding the speed at which an independent Scotland could rid itself of Trident comes the astonishing announcement that the UK Government is to splash out £1 billion of our money on two new submarine reactor cores, while maintaining the fiction that no decision on renewing Trident will be made until 2016, a further illustration of the contempt in which Scotland, her people, her parliament, her churches and trade union movement, all of whom are opposed to Trident and its residence in Scottish waters, are held by David Cameron and his Tory ministers. Not to mention the utter irrelevance of the LibDems in the so called "Coalition" Government.

Ruth Marr

Stirling