Andrew Charles (Letters, April 30) is miffed that Scotland’s future prosperity (and not, as he also claims, as if he cares, Lewis’s future prosperity) has been dismissed by islanders’ “selfish inward attitude”.
What exactly has Mr Charles done for Scotland’s economy to make him so self-righteous and pious towards people who do not outwardly seek to offend? It is arrogant individuals such as Mr Charles who blatantly fail to understand or, indeed, respect a culture that quietly promotes so much that is rich in unspoilt, unpolluted, natural prosperity and it is selfish in the extreme to feel it is mandatory to exploit it.
If an energy company sank a generator into Mr Charles’s garden in Aberdeen which would generate power for use only by people in Dundee, would he feel a sense of generosity or indignation? It is not “backward” to protect our environment from something that will bring jobs for only a few people in the short term and even fewer in the long term.
Our economy is reaching rock bottom already without the need for Mr Charles’s accusations that this condition could be attributed to the people of Lewis. The people of Lewis were not the only objectors to the windfarm.
Lynn Cadger,
15 Woodhill Place,
Aberdeen.
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Spoiling the view for visitors
SIR, – My family have travelled the long distance to Scotland for many years, to enjoy our holidays in the beautiful Highlands. We missed our trips for a while, due to personal circumstances, and returned recently.
We travelled towards Stirling and Dunblane and with the snow on the distant mountains it is always a beautiful sight, but not this time. A third of the mountain vista had been filled with wind turbines.
I realise the pressures are on to erect these monstrosities, but I can think of no simpler way to drive away the return tourist trade who travel long distances for unspoilt beauty. The reason we come is to escape the blight in our own areas. Please keep what you have that is special.
J. Merrill,
Chapel Street, Chester.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/05/04/attitudes-to-windfarms/