IN HIS letter gloating at the failure of the Abingdon hydro project Alan Bourne loses touch with reality and goes on to rant at the “hysteria of the doom-mongers regarding the non-existent man-made global warming.”

He closes his eyes to climate change and wilfully ignores mounting evidence gathered from years of scientific evidence from recognised sources throughout the world.

It shows that global warming caused largely by burning fossil fuels is changing the climate and will continue to do so.

Weather patterns are changing. Glaciers are melting. Sea levels are rising. The UK is getting warmer. In centuries ahead it could be Abingdon-on-Sea not Abingdon-on-Thames.

So concerned are countries that climate change conferences are held to discuss measures to roll back the use of fossil fuel and pursue renewable energy sources.

Even the big polluters China and India recognise that they need to curb their use of coal. Mr Bourne referred to “innocent power stations.”

The coal-fired stations are 50 years old (Didcot), inefficient, costly to run and are guilty of polluting the atmosphere – and that’s why the UK Government plans to close them by 2025.

Mr Bourne goes on to attack “hopelessly ineffective wind and solar farms.”

I draw his attention to a report in The Times of November 11.

Ben Hoyle reports that JR Ewing would be turning in his fictional grave in the Lone Star state where oil was once king, thousands of Texans (in Dallas) now have free electricity because of wind power.

The report says that every night between 9pm and 6am customers pay nothing for their electricity...adverts on television and radio, social media and roadside billboards trumpet the joys of free evening cooking, washing and gadget use.

Texas has more wind power than any other state – it accounts for 10 per cent of its power generation. Hardly hopeless.

Other countries too are realising the benefits of both wind and solar power.

They are key factors in the whole energy mix along with gas, nuclear and shale.

All form part of the new energy jigsaw that must be exploited.

The days of total reliance upon fossil fuels are numbered – if not then future generations will be numbered.

GORDON ROGERS
Long Wittenham