I see from your columns that once again, scientists have been asked to comment on the hugely environmentally damaging plan to install an incinerator on Portland.

It amazes me how much advice scientists are prepared to offer on every subject.

I admit to having been one myself but believe we must all be careful to weigh things up ourselves before taking either their word or mine.

The government pays £billions every year to universities to perform research at our cost and it seems now we are going to have to fork out another £40,000 to get yet another opinion on the suitability of committing Portland to congestion, pollution, and carbon dioxide emissions for the next 25 years.

A couple of years ago, a research project published its findings on the subject of Alzheimer’s Disease. We were duly informed that it was caused by sleeping for too long. This worried me since I can often sleep for 10 hours!

A couple of weeks later, yet another research project said it was down to sleeping too little. After everyone over the age of 60 had spent the next two weeks either staying up all night or taking sleeping pills, yet another group of scientists concluded that the cause of Alzheimer’s was gum disease!

No wonder you have to wait six months now to see a dentist.

Comparing two identically sized boilers burning waste and coal has already been documented showing that the waste boiler produced much more carbon dioxide than the one that was burning coal.

Moving waste to Portland creates even more so why are we even discussing the matter?

MIKE JOSLIN

Garfield Avenue, Dorchester