Disappointment at councillors' decision
I was disappointed to hear that the Wells city councillors lacked foresight when they did not back the proposal for a wind turbine at Maesbury Quarry.
It is not wind turbines that downgrade our environment, but those energy sources that rely on fossil fuels.
I would much rather have wind turbines, which are tall and elegant and use natural sources of energy, than rely on a nuclear power station, with its toxic waste remaining harmful to human health and the environment for thousands of years.
Who can blame Cumbrian residents for recently rejecting plans to dump nuclear waste in their area?
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Our common objective is to have a clean environment for us and our children to live in for generations to come, and access to reliable energy sources that do not pollute our environment.
In this day and age and with all the evidence on climate change available and the knowledge we have about the problems of dealing with nuclear waste, it is astonishing the Green Party city councillor, Chris Briton, was the only councillor to vote in favour of the wind turbine proposal.
To address the environmental and energy challenges we face, it is essential that we think strategically and long term, and use every opportunity to take decisions and actions that create sustainable and healthy communities free from harmful pollution.
Madeleine Milnes Lewmond Avenue Wells
Comments
by johndavies
Thursday, February 07 2013, 9:52PM
“Madeleine you say -
( "I would much rather have wind turbines, which are tall and elegant and use natural sources of energy," )
Well giraffes are tall and elegant and use natural sources of energy,
But, they are not much use if you need a cart horse.
I respect your concern, about climate change & that fossil fuels are finite, but windturbines have proved they are defiantly NOT the answer to the problem for a host of reasons- cost, reliability, intermittency & low outputs to name just a few.
Even James Lovelock, the founding father of the 'green movement' is now speaking out against useless wind turbines, http://tinyurl.com/aanyr7t
Wind power's main role is as a piece of political green wash. These turbines are highly visible and create the illusion that something meaningful is being done.
We live in a world that requires instant reliable power (wind & solar can't provide this), that not going to change.
The real, lasting solution is to not use as much energy in the first place. Any of the benefits of using renewables are undermined by the vast increases in our energy use.
Consider the average UK home. 50 years ago you might have had 1 television and 1 car if you were lucky. Today many homes have TV's in every room, computers, games consoles, CD players, DVD players, washing machines, tumble driers - the list goes on. The average UK home uses massive amounts of power and the trend is towards even greater increases. Even if you build more wind turbines this really doesn't make any difference - the only way to keep fueling these massive energy demands is via fossil fuels and nuclear.
If you really want a "green future" forget wind turbines.
Energy demand has to be reduced and that means US getting of our fat backsides and stop filling our homes with electrical gadgets and cars. The fault is our own, our own greed and stupidity is the main block to becoming "greener". No politician will ever be voted in who instructs us to use less power - we only vote for politicians that make us materially richer - look at the flack this government gets for a tiny drop in the growth figures - if we are not able to buy more things and use more power, the baby throws the dummy out of the pram.
Wind turbines are the equivalent of a mobile hanging above a babies cot. They are designed to pacify and stop us looking at ourselves. The sort of mentality and behavior that is prevalent amongst the population of this country (and others) is totally opposed to any attempts to become green. The entire world economic system relies on over consumption of things we don't really need.
Windturbines are NOT the answer to the problem, A much more viable option for the UK is tidal flow -
As long as the moon remains in the sky, harnessing the tides means we can predict the amount of energy available for extraction on an hourly basis – (it will vary according to season/spring/neap tides, etc) - for close to a millennium.
We have difficulty predicting how much energy we can extract from wind beyond 24hrs.
This is one very successful tidal flow system-
http://tinyurl.com/6d9ocw
http://tinyurl.com/d5k7s5f
with a production / capacity factor of 66% that's a lot better than -
Solar 9%
Wind 27%
Coal 49%
But its out of sight so politicos can't brag about it.”