Sunday, October 20, 2013

That's not the only reason...

It's one of those articles which makes you shake your head and wonder if the minister involved has a clue about what the public actually think, or rather that he's putting a spin on things to try and explain to himself the whys and wherefores of a situation.
Telegraph.
Energy Minister Greg Barker has said on-shore wind farms have turned public opinion against renewable energy.
The rush to develop on-shore wind farms is “over” and has damaged the renewable energy agenda, the Energy and Climate Change Minister said.
Mr Barker promised that future wind farms would be developed off-shore, the Mail on Sunday reported. “We put certain projects in the wrong place,” he said. “Some planners have been too insensitive to the impact on the landscape and it has turned public opinion against the wider renewable agenda. “We are very clear about the need to limit the impact on the countryside and landscape. It is quite clear the expansion of the on-shore wind rush is over.”
Yes they're unsightly, however most people who don't live beside one hate them too and there are many reasons other than their sheer ugliness. There's the cost, something that ministers and politicians of both sides realise is concerning the public. There's the environmental damage that mounting a turbine on a massive concrete plinth causes, not just the size of the thing. There's the fact that even the most 'in use' turbine is only active about 20% of the time and generates electricity at five times the cost of a standard gas powered generator which works all the time. They kill birds, are difficult and expensive to maintain and essentially are a massive drain on the taxpayer by green taxes.
But no, the minister thinks people have turned against them  because they put some in the wrong place. Whilst I'm sure that turned some people who have to live next to them against them, I'm pretty sure that the other reasons I mentioned are the primary source of rejection... that and the fact that most people have come around to the idea that global warming and renewable energy is a scam of the highest order and being used by politicians to enrich themselves and enviroloonies to wreck western civilisation.
Deluding yourself that your beliefs are the correct ones despite mounting public opposition is the remit of the politician, making excuses in the form of a mealy mouthed apology is another.
Telling the truth as ever seems to be beyond them....

1 annotations:

Anonymous said...

Are there elections coming ?