So I hear that Donald Trump, or 'Billionaire Donald Trump' as he is known in most media, will be addressing the Scottish Parliament today arguing against off-shore wind energy on the basis that they are not financially viable and they will ruin tourism.
Hmm. Interesting.
Surely Trump has heard of economies of scale - the more you build/buy the cheaper the unit cost. Ruin tourism? I visit Scotland every year, I pass wind farms in the highlands but my overall experience of that wonderful part of the world is not tarnished.
Trump of course is the same man that bullied the residents of Aberdeenshire in his quest to build a golf course - like Scotland needs another gold course!
Apparently he intends to use the same intimidation tactics, backed up by his wealth to bully the Scottish Parliament against building an off-shore wind farm, which is within view of his new golf course resort.
The question in my mind is whether any of us have the right to prevent a scheme that will provide sustainable energy, reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
I hear the argument that says 'it doesn't look nice' but frankly, neither does the M25.
The 'countryside' as we like to call it, hasn't looked the same for thousands of years. We have built villages, towns, roads, bridges, railways, farms, and altered the land to what we think now looks nice but ask your grandparents, they'll probably have a different view.
The sea is the same, we might think it is untouched but beneath the surface we have left our marks.
My doubts regarding wind farms of any sort are for the safety of birds, bats and flying invertebrates but Trump isn't sticking up for them (and it might be a bit hypocritical of him to do so).
But do any us get to oppose something that will sustain future generations? Is it right that those with deep pockets get an audience and threaten to use their cash to stall the process? Is it all right for us to 'live for today' and 'to hell with tomorrow'?
Fast forward to 2030: 'We apologise for the disruption of energy supply to 3 days a week, this is because fuel from Russia and China is currently being rationed. In hindsight we probably shouldn't have listened to Billionaire Donald Trump and fellow protestors who opposed the installation of wind generated energy back in 2012. But hey ho.'
No comments:
Post a Comment