BILLIONS of people use fuel to cook their meals and heat their homes. They use finite fuels such as wood, gas, oil and coal.

It takes decades for a plant to turn into a tree, to produce wood; it takes centuries for coal, gas and oil to be formed.

Our planet is reverberating with surplus energy from the sun and gravity. Huge areas in North Africa have been turned into deserts. The Atlantic Ocean pounds the coastlines of Europe and America and as hot air rises from the equator the cold air from the North and South Poles rushes in.

Since the finite fuels will run out, should not the surplus energy be brought into use?

The Sahara Desert should now be covered with electric producing implements which would supply the whole continent of Africa with endless fuel. The massive movement of air and oceans between the continents of America and Europe should be tapped to provide both continents with fuel resources without end.

Who should oversee this? Well, there is the United Nations which all countries attend.

If it sets itself the task of controlling unlimited energy supplies to all countries, would this not make sense to the millions of all nations who simply do not know what the UN does or is there for? - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

CAR PARKING

READING with some interest recent letters regarding parking problems within Durham City, one could easily substitute the locality for Allhallowgate in Ripon, which, for our sins, is now part of Harrogate Borough.

The only difference is that residents here are never consulted. Conditions, such as disc parking schemes, have been imposed, like it or not.

We have no way of appealing or making our views known. - D Lonsdale, Ripon.

CARE SERVICES

MAY I suggest all readers get a copy of Darlington Social Services' plans for fairer charging for home care and their non-residential services?

Among other horrors are plans to take into consideration for means testing all but £10 of War Disability pensions and the same kind of thing for many specific benefits, ie SDP, Attendance Allowance, DLA, constant attendance allowance and exceptionally severe disablement allowance will be classed as income as from April 2003.

What a dirty trick, especially as I know that some people already pay income tax on at least some of these benefits. - Sylvia Wall, Darlington.

ABORTION

WHILE most of the information in the article on abortion (Echo, Oct 23) was factually correct, the way the information was presented would, it appears, be encouraging women to campaign for earlier abortions as a right.

Under the law as it stands, women do not have the right to take the life of their unborn child.

Certain medical criteria have to be complied with before a doctor can recommend an abortion. This applies to all stages of pregnancy regardless of the number of weeks, pre 12 weeks or up to 24. - Margaret Lee, Chair, Darlington Life.

WAR ON IRAQ

AFTER reading the letters (HAS, Oct 18) from Messrs Pender, Winstanley and Riley, I was amazed at their understanding of the present situation in the controversy with Iraq.

Mr Pender wants a greater distribution of wealth to combat terrorism; Mr Winstanley has corpses laid all over Iraq, and Mr Riley has Planet Earth floating through space in millions of fragments.

The Government thinks differently. Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, says Saddam must disarm. Such a strong statement means the Iraqi leader cannot negotiate a compromise. There will be no escape clause.

When the US/UK coalition forces begin to assemble on the Iraqi borders, Saddam will have the choice of fighting and, if captured, be placed on trial as a war criminal for murdering his own people, or the option of surrendering to the United Nations in the hope of being exiled to a friendly country.

Saudi Arabia granted asylum to Idi Amin despite the murderous actions he ordered against the Ugandan people.

Total humiliation is something a tyrant would not accept so we could be on the verge of seeing a savage confrontation with disastrous consequences.

We can only hope the United Nations shows its authority with firmness. - Thomas Conlon, Spennymoor.

BUSINESS ETHICS

WHAT a refreshing change to read of a really honest businesswoman who puts her customers first, rather than profit (Echo, Oct 9).

Sadie the Bra Lady says she will not sell a bra to someone over the Internet unless she has ensured that the customer has been properly fitted for the garment.

She could so easily use the expansion of her business onto the Internet to merely boost sales and thus line her own pockets. Well done, Sadie, for setting a fine example of how things should be done. - EA Moralee, Billingham.