A few photographs I had the pleasure of taking on the Isle of May yesterday...

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Isle of May originally appeared on Taexalia on June 13, 2010.

This has long been a call to arms for nationalists in Scotland. I have even been known to mutter about the fact that Scotland is oft referred to as the only nation in the world to have struck oil and become poorer. I remember seeing graffiti as a youngster, I think it was on that railway bridge on the A96 that now has traffic lights (ye ken the een that has the 45 degree blin corner and sometimes a neddie in the field on the richt heading North?) - the graffiti said something like "Free Scotland, it's Scotland's oil."

Actually thinking about it, my memory may be melding graffiti memories - the "oil" graffiti may have been somewhere on the road to Crimond.

Anyway, back to 2008 and Alex Salmond is predicting Scotland's fury over fuel costs. He suggests that there's something amiss about the rising costs of petrol in Scotland and the extra monies heading to Westminster as opposed to Holyrood. Maybe he has a point. I don't know the full economics but it does seem unjust that an oil producing nation is paying such high fuel costs.

But then again how does all of this rest against claims that his government aim to reduce Scotland's carbon footprint?

It's a complicated topic even for me - a non driving non petrol igniting hippy - because rising fuel costs indirectly impacts me in other ways, and if the economy starts slipping due to uncompetitive business/fuel costs, well that isn't good for anyone. But if we are really committed to carbon footprint reduction then we really need to look a bit more closely at walking our talk. (Aye and that includes supporters of Trumpton)

Oil production doesn't just produce a carbon footprint, it also impacts the wildlife of the sea. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society are currently campaigning to protect one of Scotland's treasures - the most northerly community of Bottlenose Dolphins in the world who live in the Moray Firth. I am one of Rainbow's adoptive humans and have been for a few years, and I know that she and her friends and family are at risk from the proposed oil exploration in the Moray Firth. Can we really afford to lose our dolphins for the sake of driving to work? Or unlimited supplies of single use carrier bags?

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Oily Thorn originally appeared on Taexalia on May 29, 2008.