So I hear that Donald Trump, or 'Billionaire Donald Trump' as he is known in most media, will be addressing the Scottish Parliament today arguing against off-shore wind energy on the basis that they are not financially viable and they will ruin tourism.
Hmm. Interesting.
Surely Trump has heard of economies of scale - the more you build/buy the cheaper the unit cost. Ruin tourism? I visit Scotland every year, I pass wind farms in the highlands but my overall experience of that wonderful part of the world is not tarnished.
Trump of course is the same man that bullied the residents of Aberdeenshire in his quest to build a golf course - like Scotland needs another gold course!
Apparently he intends to use the same intimidation tactics, backed up by his wealth to bully the Scottish Parliament against building an off-shore wind farm, which is within view of his new golf course resort.
The question in my mind is whether any of us have the right to prevent a scheme that will provide sustainable energy, reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
I hear the argument that says 'it doesn't look nice' but frankly, neither does the M25.
The 'countryside' as we like to call it, hasn't looked the same for thousands of years. We have built villages, towns, roads, bridges, railways, farms, and altered the land to what we think now looks nice but ask your grandparents, they'll probably have a different view.
The sea is the same, we might think it is untouched but beneath the surface we have left our marks.
My doubts regarding wind farms of any sort are for the safety of birds, bats and flying invertebrates but Trump isn't sticking up for them (and it might be a bit hypocritical of him to do so).
But do any us get to oppose something that will sustain future generations? Is it right that those with deep pockets get an audience and threaten to use their cash to stall the process? Is it all right for us to 'live for today' and 'to hell with tomorrow'?
Fast forward to 2030: 'We apologise for the disruption of energy supply to 3 days a week, this is because fuel from Russia and China is currently being rationed. In hindsight we probably shouldn't have listened to Billionaire Donald Trump and fellow protestors who opposed the installation of wind generated energy back in 2012. But hey ho.'
Wednesday 25 April 2012
Monday 9 April 2012
In praise of the hedge
Often they look slightly unruly, a little unkempt and without the crisp edges and uniform attributes that we seem to like in our gardens and neatly ploughed fields but hedges are amazing.
A hedge is often made up of a number of shrubs, trees and wild flowers, and in some cases they date back hundreds of years.
Oliver Rackham, who knows a thing or two about the countryside, argues that hedges became a natural replacement for the loss of woodland that was often cleared to make way for development or agriculture.
Once the humble hedge was the natural pesticide. A home for bug eating birds and insects that would feed on those pesky pests that enjoy taking a share of the crop. Birds would fly into the crop pick off the 'pests' and head back to the hedge.
The hedge is a food parlour, nursery, home and security guard. It also prevents soil erosion by acting as a windbreaker and the many species it is made up of improve air quality and lock-in carbon dioxide.
Alas the invention of the tractor and the combine harvester meant that small fields bounded by hedges were unproductive and so the hedges were lost, the fields made bigger and the natural pest control system was replaced by harmful sprays.
And so the insects and the birds and the mammals that relied on hedges went......? Went where?
Aerial photographs taken during the second world war mean it is possible to conclude that since the 1950s we have lost about half the hedges in England, that's over 200,000 km of hedgerow.
I'm reminded of this because I've recently seen about a quarter of a mile of hedge removed from a roadside near where I live. Presumably this is a precursor to development but why the hedge couldn't be retained I don't know.
And having spent the weekend in Devon and watching how quickly a huge housing development alters the landscape I'm left wondering what the birds are going to do when they start drifting back from Africa and Southern Europe to breed because one thing is for sure - there ain't as many options today as when they left at the end of last summer.
So next time you walk past a hedge with nettles on the ground, a bit of hawthorn poking out and some old beech weaving through, just think what good it is doing.
A hedge is often made up of a number of shrubs, trees and wild flowers, and in some cases they date back hundreds of years.
Oliver Rackham, who knows a thing or two about the countryside, argues that hedges became a natural replacement for the loss of woodland that was often cleared to make way for development or agriculture.
Once the humble hedge was the natural pesticide. A home for bug eating birds and insects that would feed on those pesky pests that enjoy taking a share of the crop. Birds would fly into the crop pick off the 'pests' and head back to the hedge.
The hedge is a food parlour, nursery, home and security guard. It also prevents soil erosion by acting as a windbreaker and the many species it is made up of improve air quality and lock-in carbon dioxide.
Alas the invention of the tractor and the combine harvester meant that small fields bounded by hedges were unproductive and so the hedges were lost, the fields made bigger and the natural pest control system was replaced by harmful sprays.
And so the insects and the birds and the mammals that relied on hedges went......? Went where?
Aerial photographs taken during the second world war mean it is possible to conclude that since the 1950s we have lost about half the hedges in England, that's over 200,000 km of hedgerow.
I'm reminded of this because I've recently seen about a quarter of a mile of hedge removed from a roadside near where I live. Presumably this is a precursor to development but why the hedge couldn't be retained I don't know.
And having spent the weekend in Devon and watching how quickly a huge housing development alters the landscape I'm left wondering what the birds are going to do when they start drifting back from Africa and Southern Europe to breed because one thing is for sure - there ain't as many options today as when they left at the end of last summer.
So next time you walk past a hedge with nettles on the ground, a bit of hawthorn poking out and some old beech weaving through, just think what good it is doing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)