Fossil fix – Letters – Letter to the Editor
Mandy Meikle
Tom Addiscott doubts whether ‘global warming’ is really happening (Letters, NI 359). Climate change is but a symptom of the real problem–an over-dependency on oil and gas. Nearly half of the world’s economically recoverable oil reserves have already been extracted and around 50 countries have passed their point of peak oil output. Yet the majority of the world’s population has yet to access this dwindling, one-off resource.
It is not yet clear when the peak in world oil production will occur, but it could be as little as 10 years away and the economic effects would be substantial. Transport and agriculture are heavily dependent upon oil, and alternative fuels are still in their infancy. Constraints on the supply of oil will cause recession, unemployment and civil unrest. The only fuels which might bridge the energy gap between oil (and gas) and renewables are coal and uranium, but these too are finite resources with blemished environmental records. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are survival mechanisms–not just some ‘green’ ideal!
Mandy Meikle West Calder, Scotland
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