JOHN Elder (Letters, October 9) missed some of the more hysterical myths about fracking such as earthquakes, air pollution, water shortages, global warming, radiation discharge and even cancer.

His own case is weak, because shale is typically fractured at depths greater than 5,000 feet with thousands of feet of rock between it and the water table near the surface.

Wells are lined with steel and cement casing to prevent leakage of water or gas and none of the 1 million wells sunk over the last half century has caused water contamination.

Any micro-quakes were mostly too weak to feel and the air pollution, radiation, or cancer impact was no greater than that of agriculture or normal industry.

In fact almost all the recent decline in US CO2 emissions came from producing electricity from the likes of shale gas instead of coal and not from any growth of renewables.

Rev Dr John Cameron,

10 Howard Place, St Andrews.