'Green' policy will actually harm health

She seems hell-bent on taxing, coercing, influencing and regulating people to change their present freedom of choice to her own personal beliefs.

On a Sunday radio interview in December, she stated the Enough is Enough demonstration did not influence the small amendments she is putting into her proposal, but rather she had decided these previously. So, in other words, the voices of 2-3,000 people did not matter to her. She has her own personal ideals and she will implement these come hell or high water – it doesn't matter what the majority of the population wants. She is pursuing a form of social engineering.

When faced by the facts that Guernsey has already reduced its emissions and pollution in line with international targets, she ignores this fact and says we have to do more. Why? She may personally believe Guernsey can make a difference to world emissions targets, but this is deluded – Guernsey could stop all its energy usage and transport emissions for a year and it wouldn't make a gnat's difference to the daily output from China or the USA. Apparently, Deputy Burford would rather islanders suffer, even though there are no benefits in the real world, because it satisfies her personal beliefs (not the beliefs of the Guernsey people).

I believe Deputy Burford stated that approximately 8,000 people use the buses in Guernsey but she didn't say how many of these people use the buses every day (I lose count how many times I have seen a bus with only three or four persons on board). Even so, these numbers equate to approximately 12% of the population. By all means provide a bus service for this minority, but don't make the vast majority of the population suffer for this requirement. Her proposed policy does not just tax the people of Guernsey for this bus service, but also threatens businesses and tourism (which we need to encourage if we are to improve island finances).

Surely it is better to make the bus service fit for purpose by reducing it to reflect the actual usage – maybe getting a reduced fleet of minibuses (which would also help the width problems on the roads)? And we certainly do not need to spend £20m. (?) on a new bus station.

A recent study by the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change found that diesel fumes (buses) are significantly more damaging for health than those from petrol engines (cars) and research shows that diesel-related health problems are 10 times more costly than those from comparable petrol fumes. The minute particulate matter from diesel engines is linked to cancer, heart and lung disease. Children and the elderly are the most vulnerable.

We should be reducing bus usage, not increasing it – Deputy Burford is espousing a policy that will be more damaging to the health of adults and children in this island by increasing bus usage rather than reducing it.

Welcome to the world of Deputy Burford.

C. RYAN,

Les Traudes,

St Martin's.