Power Mad
‘WIND power is no good, said the caller into Jeremy Vines BBC2 radio show. The scientist in the studio wondered why. Well, said the caller, who says theyll be any wind in 20 years time.
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More hot air |
The scientist assured the caller that there would be wind for many years. He also claimed that the sun had a long life span, longer even than Sir Cliff Richard, and would be around to heat us for generations.
But the caller had made his point. How do we know really know there will be wind in years to come?
Uncertainty and guesswork, some of it even educated, seems to lie at the heart of the energy debate. Something needs to be done, but what?
A European Environment Agency reports, seen by the Independent, says Europe is depleting the world’s natural resources at double the global rate.
Jacqueline McGlade, the agency’s executive director, says: ‘Without effective action over several decades, global warming will see ice sheets melting in the north and the spread of deserts from the south. The continent’s population could become concentrated in the centre.
So unless we are all prepared to move to Austria, to strap on lederhosen, slap our thighs and reminisce about the war, something must be done.
Tony Blair needs to make a decision. And the debate seems to boil down this: will the country move to more nuclear power or not.
This would have been on Tonys mind when he discussed the Governments energy review at a CBI conference in Islington, London.
Not that we could hear all Tony had to say. Two Greenpeace protestors, who had set up a bogus company called E-lingo Limited and successfully applied for passes to the event, were voicing their opposition to nuclear fuel.
The protestors climbed into the buildings roof supports and held aloft a banner proclaiming: NUCLEAR: WRONG ANSWER. They then dropped thousands of confetti labels bearing the same message onto the heads of the assembled dignitaries
It was a dramatic move, even if it doesnt really add all that much to the energy debate.
Although, it might well point to a growing consensus. As Greenpeace have now shown, and Tony has proven time and time again, hot air can get you a long, long way…’
Posted: 30th, November 2005 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
