Letters to the Editor

Sir, Most people in the UK invest money in the country’s biggest banks and pension funds, but we have very little control over what they do with our money. Every year, these companies pour billions of pounds into coal, oil and gas extraction across the planet, pushing us ever closer to runaway climate change.

Dirty fossil fuel projects are often situated in poor countries, but instead of helping more people get access to electricity, all too often they make local people’s lives much worse by robbing them of their homes or polluting their land and water.

Alongside this the decision by the UK government to give tax breaks to companies who wish to extract shale gas using the fracking process is cause for concern for people in this area due to the environmental damage and pollution it will cause.

We need to cure our finance sector of its fossil fuel addiction, and as a first step banks and pension funds should be made to report the carbon emissions from the dirty energy projects they finance. Only when their impact on the climate is made public will we have a chance of forcing them to reduce it. – Yours, etc.,

JOHN MILLER

7B Mossgiel Road,
Cumbernauld

Sir, I was saddened to read in your recent article that well-known Cumbernauld woman Ann Brown (53), from Seafar, contracted meningitis while working in Denmark.

Everyone at Meningitis UK/Meningitis Trust was touched to hear she is doing well enough to be discharged and flown home.

We wish her and her family all the best for a full recovery.

Meningitis can strike with incredible speed and the symptoms are notoriously difficult to detect, often being confused with flu.

We are fighting back on all fronts by funding research to eradicate the disease alongside supporting survivors with lifelong help and care.

Our focus is to fund the development of vaccines and other methods of preventing this devastating disease and to provide support for those fighting back.

We also distribute a range of awareness materials highlighting the common symptoms and need to act quickly, which can mean the difference between life and death.

We have Community Support Officers in the area, ready to help anyone touched by the disease.

If anyone would like a free symptoms information pack, including wallet-sized symptoms cards or support, please call our 24-hour freephone helpline on 0808 80 10 388 or visit www.meningitisUK.org. – Yours, etc.,

SUE DAVIE

Chief executive
Meninigitis UK and Meningitis Trust.

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