30th June 2008

Dear Look Local,

Contrary to the opinions expressed in last week's paper, the fact of the matter is that the wind turbines on Hunshelf Bank are an urgent necessity given the pressing need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and prevent potentially catastrophic climate change. We are struggling to prevent CO2 emissions from warming the planet by more than 2 degrees Celsius, which is then likely to trigger uncontrollable warming through a vicious circle of loss of ice sheets and thawing of the Arctic permafrost.

Unfortunately, like every other issue, there are lots of crackpot theories littering the internet that spread lies about turbines' lack of efficiency, noise impact etc.. They take advantage of the public's general lack of expertise in judging the reliability of competing claims about technology. In fact, every reliable scientific source and inquiry has rubbished these criticisms of turbines and concluded that they are one of the essential tools in the battle against climate change.

The question of whether the turbines have a negative impact on the landscape is a subjective opinion. I can understand people's sincere concerns, though personally I don't have a problem with them, especially when you realise that the landscape has already been radically altered by human intervention - e.g. through deforestation and livestock grazing - over the centuries. Interestingly, surveys show that communities are more positive about local turbines after they've been built than before. The idea that turbines blight communities is empty scaremongering. At the end of the day, surely visual intrusion is trivial compared to the real suffering, environmental destruction and mass extinctions threatened by climate change?

If I turn out to be wrong about climate change (very unlikely, but I hope that I am), and the current scientific consensus about turbines' necessity and safety turns out to be mistaken, then the turbines can be dismantled and the land returned to its original state. No lasting harm done. But the cost of failing to take responsibility is likely to be disastrous and irreversible.

As a community I believe we need to grasp the bigger picture and play our part in producing clean energy and tackling climate change. We can't just freeload off other communities by adopting what amounts to a NIMBY attitude ourselves while expecting others to take the necessary steps. It is just that type of misguided selfishness which has got us in this mess in the first place.

As a councillor who has put considerable effort into protecting green spaces such as Hollin Busk and Ewden Valley, I place particularly high value on the preservation of landscape for both aesthetic and biodiversity reasons. However, the importance and benefits of wind turbines in this location means that this is an exceptional case where the relatively trivial short-term sacrifice is clearly justified on any objective and sensible assessment.

Yours faithfully,

Cllr Dan Lyons PhD
Green Party Town Councillor