Tuesday, 26 August 2014

Council needs to focus on harmful emissions

First published Thursday 17 April 2014

WHENEVER I visit another city I am struck by how much pollution the buses emit in comparison to our wonderful clean emission buses in Oxford. In the light of your excellent article on air pollution fatalities we are certainly blessed to have these zero particulate buses.
However, more needs to be done as our air quality is still unacceptable. A recent study found that vehicle PM2.5 particulates age the brain by three years. These ultra-fine particles dissolve into the bloodstream and inflame the arteries and lungs.
The city council urgently needs to incorporate licensed taxis and mini cabs into the low emission zone to comply with EU air quality directives.
Their diesel particulates are especially harmful and leave a very nasty choking smell in the clean air. Oxford lies in a basin that traps stagnant polluted air. Oxford councillors are doing a great job with lowering carbon emissions that are thought to affect the climate; they now need to focus on lowering vehicle particulate emissions that are medically proven to harm health.
SUSAN THOMAS Magdalen Road Oxford

We need to get wind farm technology right

Investment in wind turbines is needed

First published Wednesday 7 May 2014

OUR great country is known for producing talented inventors and engineers. Therefore it is high time that we took control of the wind farm industry which presently relies on an inferior Danish import.
The turbines that we import are not efficient enough, damage wildlife and rely on subsidies.
However, the principle of wind power is a good one if we get the technology right.
There are many new designs for turbines that are far more effective than the present windmill blade model.
For instance, there is a new tunnel design that produces 600 per cent more electricity.
The wind’s kinetic energy is amplified through a funnel design that is friendly towards wildlife as there are no dangerous blades.
Instead of snatching bits of energy from the wind as it passes through the blades of a rotor, wind is captured with a funnel that accelerates the flow. This design can be scaled down and is half the size of present turbines.
The funnel works on winds of 2mph.
Therefore we need to stop spending money on an inferior Danish import and start investing in superior engineered wind turbines that deliver good value for money.
The Government has recently stated it will build no more new onshore wind farms. This decision may be a blessing as it gives time for a caveat to explore far superior turbines.
Wind energy is potentially a godsend for clean, cheap energy if we adopt the new engineering ideas.
SUSAN THOMAS
Magdalen Road

Energy policy destroying our rural heritage

First published Thursday 14 August 2014

OUR wonderful national parks are a vital part of our rural heritage that need to be cherished.
I was, therefore, horrified to read that the Government had considered granting licences to drill for shale gas in our national parks.
Has this country gone barking mad?
One only has to look at the American drilling sites to see what an infernal mess is being inflicted on the landscape. America is also a giant continent in comparison to our tiny country. I very much doubt that America would allow drilling in its fine national parks.
We have leapt out of the frying pan and into the fire. Now that Didcot Power Station and others are gone, there is a predicted energy shortfall.
Hence, the rash dash for gas at all costs.
We need to take time out before making rash decisions.
Drilling for shale has the potential to destroy our beautiful countryside and pollute some aquifers.
At the moment we import very cheap American coal for much of our energy. However, this is soon to change as the coal power stations are closed or blown up.
Soon, our energy bills will shoot up to pay for new nuclear power stations. Frankly, our energy policy is a shambles.
Susan Thomas, Magdalen Road, Oxford

Department must take another look at centre

An artist’s impression of the Westgate development

First published Wednesday 23 July 2014 in Letters

FIRSTLY I must say how pleased I am with Oxford City Council Planning Department for listening to my objections regarding neighbouring developments. Thanks to their efficiency one proposal was amended.
The other proposal to build onto an historic Coach House in Magdalen Road, has been thrown out altogether.
I therefore hope that this efficient planning department will take another look at the Westgate proposal. The drawings look absolutely hideous and are too square, modern and boxy-looking. It is hardly an improvement on the attractive gabled facade we have at the moment. Gabled roofs are found in most beautiful historic towns of medieval origin. Therefore the current gabled facade is more appropriate for historic medieval Oxford.
I did suggest to the architect that the ugly square lines could be broken up with a crenellated battlement design that would be in keeping with the nearby castle.
The square box design urgently needs to be improved as Oxford is a very special city.
SUSAN THOMAS, Magdalen Road, Oxford

Today’s letters

First published Monday 25 August 2014 in Letters

A FEW years ago I wrote a paper on the nascent threat of Islamic radicalisation for my masters degree.
It seems that the Government has been caught napping and it must now wake up to this serious threat to our status quo. To date our foreign policy has been an absolute disaster in this matter. Indeed it is hardly surprising that William Hague decided to offer his resignation. The Foreign Secretary had not realised the threat of radical Islamic groups and twice had inadvertently supported Al Qaeda groups.
He thought it would be a vote winner to depose Muammar Gaddafi, who was a Westernised leader. Gaddafi was murdered by radicalised Al Qaeda groups with our military backing, thus leaving a dangerous vacuum.
The Foreign Office nearly offered military support to radicalised rebels in Syria but fortunately the Government listened to our concerns this time.
Meanwhile, a lot of money donated to rebuild Iraq by us has gone missing and I wonder how much of it has ended up in the coffers of Al Qaeda or Islamic State groups.
The stated aims of the radicalists is to completely impose a stricter Islamic state or Caliphate on the entire globe and to eliminate Christianity.
This aim is known as jihad or a holy war. The legal system they wish to prevail is called sharia law.
This Government needs to wake up and at least start to address the spread of sharia law which discriminates against women’s equal rights and contravenes equality legislation. Oxford imams such as Dr Taj Hargey have denounced this radical agenda. It is sad that the peaceful religion of Islam is being tarred by the expansionist aims of radicalised Jihadist warriors.
Susan Thomas
Magdalen Road
Oxford

Sunday, 28 October 2012

Cheap energy is the key to our posterity

Published in the Daily Mail Letters, Friday 5th October

NEXT year Didcot Power Station will close to comply with the European Large Combustion Plant Directive. This is a strategic error that will cause economic and energy insecurity. Next year Oxfordshire will lose half of its power supply. This looming energy gap, due to decentralisation of energy production, could cripple industry in a disturbing echo of the 1979 ‘winter of discontent’. Look around your home or business and estimate how many electrical appliances you will need to throw away in order to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in energy use. No more electric guitars, computer games, kitchen gadgets, electric blankets or fast internet; the list is simply endless. There is a predicted energy deficit of around 10-16 GW by 2015 due to power station closures, which may lead to power cuts if 50 per cent household energy savings are not made. We are gaily walking headlong into disaster. Investment in wind technology alone will cost the taxpayer £200bn in the near future. OFGEM also estimates that £200bn of investment is needed for new infrastructure in the National Grid to prevent power cuts in the UK. In total at least £400-500bn more investment is needed to keep the lights on! Not including new nuclear power. This is a lot of money in times of austerity. The UK Is investing the gargantuan sum of money in order to prevent a hypothesised rise in temperatures. We are committing ourselves to the most stringent of carbon emissions in the entire world due to our unique 2008 Climate Change Act which was enacted by Ed Miliband when he was Climate Secretary. This money will also have to come from hard-working taxpayers. Consumers will be paying more for their green electricity tariffs yet receiving less energy for their money. Countries that do not need to comply with this European directive, such as China, are becoming increasingly prosperous while Europe is becoming bankrupt.

This article was plagiarised by journalist David Rose, who also lives in East Oxford, who turned to use all the key concepts to write a full length feature for the Mail on Sunday. I also submitted a full length feature to the Daily Mail on this subject and they cut it very short.

Green movement is bankrupting Europe

Published Oxford Mail, Wednesday 3rd October 2012

NEXT year Didcot Power Station will close to comply with the European Large Combustion Plant Directive. This is a strategic error that will cause economic and energy insecurity. Next year Oxfordshire will lose half of its power supply. This looming energy gap, due to decentralisation of energy production, could cripple industry in a disturbing echo of the 1979 ‘winter of discontent’. Look around your home or business and estimate how many electrical appliances you will need to throw away in order to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in energy use. No more electric guitars, computer games, kitchen gadgets, electric blankets or fast internet; the list is simply endless. There is a predicted energy deficit of around 10-16 GW by 2015 due to power station closures, which may lead to power cuts if 50 per cent household energy savings are not made. We are gaily walking headlong into disaster. Investment in wind technology alone will cost the taxpayer £200bn in the near future. OFGEM also estimates that £200bn of investment is needed for new infrastructure in the National Grid to prevent power cuts in the UK. In total at least £400-500bn more investment is needed to keep the lights on! Not including new nuclear power. This is a lot of money in times of austerity. The UK Is investing the gargantuan sum of money in order to prevent a hypothesised rise in temperatures. We are committing ourselves to the most stringent of carbon emissions in the entire world due to our unique 2008 Climate Change Act which was enacted by Ed Miliband when he was Climate Secretary. This money will also have to come from hard-working taxpayers. Consumers will be paying more for their green electricity tariffs yet receiving less energy for their money. Countries that do not need to comply with this European directive, such as China, are becoming increasingly prosperous while Europe is becoming bankrupt.