FURTHER to Kate Lock’s column on January 11 about Tinseltown’s agitprop film The Promised Land trying to whip up fears about shale gas, the likelihood of the Glitterati’s usual suspects saying anything sensible about energy policy is not promising.

Kate points to ridiculous aspects of this campaign, although unfortunately regurgitates some myths. Virtually all the thousands of gas wells drilled in the USA are unproblematic. Kate also drags in Australian wildfires. Maybe the cold which killed hundreds in China, India & Bangladesh is also something to do with shale gas? How does that work?

The rise of shale gas in the USA is the bright spot in their economy. Gas prices are down 50 per cent unemployment is down. Cheap, reliable energy encourages re-investment. Meanwhile, the USA reduces CO2 emissions, gas being cleaner and more efficient than coal.

Since Maggie Thatcher, UK Governments have unquestioningly swallowed global warming and have adopted an incompetent energy policy, expending billions every year on solutions that don’t work to problems that don’t exist.

Shale gas (and eventually, new nuclear) is now the only affordable and proven alternative to shivering in the dark.

But who funded this Hollywood ‘Promised Land’ nonsense? The United Arab Emirates? Wonder why they are against shale gas.

Martin Brumby, Darfield Close, Strensall.