Today places special emphasis on helping the environment. Youtube is full of how-to-guides on conserving energy and saving the world, from baking a quiche using local ingredients to running a car on vegetables (?!). But it’s bad news all round on the energy markets.
Oil futures broke records and almost hit $120 partly due to the Euro fetching $1.60 amid expectations of an interest rate hike by the European Central Bank. But if Oil Energy Money wrote a histrionic tirade everytime oil got expensive you’d find a very boring site. So instead we’re focusing on the Scottish government rejecting plans for one of Europe’s biggest off-shore windfarms.
The 181-turbine wind park off the coast of Isle of Lewis, on the West of Scotland, was supposed to generate 650MW, satisyfing the energy needs of one million people, almost a fifth of Scotland’s population. But the park was doomed by virtue of being built on peatlands full of endangered and rare birds. Despite creating jobs for the local economy, activists feared turbines could hurt burds and damage their fragile ecosystem.
But the question is, if Scotland contiues to depend on polluting energy, proven to damage the enviroment, won’t the birds and peatlands be destroyed anyway? The local community sent 11,000 letters of complaint ranging from noise pollution to spoiling the view. Earth day then becomes a farce, with communities calling for action on a global front but refusing to allow progress when it might inconvenience them.
The actions of 11, 000 today may push investors away from renewable investments tomorrow. But despite the setback, Scotland still aims to produce 50% of its energy from clean, renewable sources by 2020. It’s also hosting the Alternative Energy Conference this May and building Britain’s biggest on-shore wind farm-White Lee. So despite today’s setbacks, it might be a happy earth day after all.
An article at The Independent: The Dilemma of Global Warming
