We don’t want turbines
News & Star, www.newsandstar.co.uk 24 February 2011
The voice of the majority in Cumbria and elsewhere who do not wish to have thousands of useless wind turbines ruining the countryside, continues to be ignored.THAT two major hospitals, Carlisle and Whitehaven, are in financial difficulty does not come as a surprise but it is very disappointing if health care in this county has to come under the auspices of another health trust.
The turbines produced virtually nothing during the recent cold weather. The cost of these monuments to stupidity, which is paid for by subsidies to the energy companies, is currently about £1billion annually and rising. We the consumer are paying for those subsidies in our electricity bills!
Long-term, the local economy – tourism particularly – will suffer as our beautiful landscape is spoiled by even larger turbines in greater numbers.
Due to the lack of a clear majority at the election last year we now have a coalition government. Election manifesto promises have been broken as the horse-trading between the Conservatives and the Lib-Dems continues in order for this alliance to survive. The Lib-Dems are very “green” and pro-Europe. The new Minister of Energy, Chris Huhme, is a Lib-Dem and hell-bent on both pleasing our masters in Europe who want more turbines (supposedly to help reduce emissions) and who also wants to show his green credentials.
We shall be asked in elections in May whether we want the Alternative Vote (AV) rather than the current system. This AV system would be a step towards Proportional Representation (PR) in that voters would be able to choose in order of their preference from the lists of candidates. The problem with PR systems of voting is that they nearly always result in coalitions – Italy being a prime example. The fact that we are being asked to choose to change our current system is a sop to the Lib-Dems as they see this as a way of staying in power although historically they have always come third in elections. If you want even less of a say in how your country is run vote for AV and the probable outcome of another coalition where manifesto promises mean nothing.
SUZANNE GREENHILL
Parkside Avenue
Cockermouth
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/02/24/we-dont-want-turbines/