The application for the Clyde Windfarm has now been referred to the Scottish Executive. I am sure some of the electorate can rely on the Executive to make a decision based on the best interests of Scotland.
Sadly, I am not sure that this will be the case as the Executive has set itself a target to reduce emissions without putting a comprehensive policy in place to do this. Instead it is relying on a method which will work some of the time. Wind turbines.
There seems to be very little support given to more efficient insulation of housing or to increasing the use of biofuels. If these two subjects were pursued, with a view to reducing emissions it would be a giant step in the right direction.
So, due to the ineffectiveness of our elected politicians, we are left in the position where windfarm developments are allowed to go ahead at a huge cost to the taxpayer through subsidies and an increase in our domestic and business electricity bills.
For those of us who live in the rural areas which are targeted by the developers there is little hope of our local politicians and elected MSP’s listening to our voices. It is possible that they are just too busy to make the trip down this far south to listen to us. We are not enough in number to make a difference to their election results anyway, so why should they bother with us.
When the Clyde Windfarm proposal was first mentioned, 70% of the residents of Abington, Crawford, and Elvanfoot surveyed were against the proposed development. Do we assume that this has changed and the majority of residents of these villages are now in favour of the proposal.
If this is not the case then the local population needs to lobby the Scottish Executive and MSP’s and MP’s either as individuals or as part of an organised group. If you would be interested in doing any of this please contact ACE via this website.
There is also a need for groups from all areas affected by these proposals to work together and form larger regional and nationwide groups with a view to exerting the necessary pressure on the politicians and trying to persuade them to think for themselves instead of blindly following a flawed policy at the bidding of their political superiors.
| 
Enjoying the walk
Awareness Walk Report
The Awareness Walk on April 10th 2005 was a great success. David Bellamy and Cameron McNeish addressed the gathering of walkers in the car park at Abington before the start of the walk and pointed out many of the reasons why the Scottish Executives renewable energy policy and the siting of windfarms in unspoiled areas throughout the country is seriously flawed. Both speeches were excellent and were a great start to the event.
The weather was ideal for the walk and everyone set off for Crawford to enjoy a stroll through the beautiful countryside adjacent to the hills where it is being proposed to site the 173 turbine Clyde Windfarm. The procession of walkers soon began to stretch out as people found their pace and by the time Crawford was reached there was quite a distance between the leaders and the back markers.
After a stop for refreshments at the Village Hall and Williams Rest the walkers set off for Elvanfoot and arrived at the finish at around five thirty. The minibuses were in position and began ferrying the walkers back to Abington to collect their cars.
The event attracted excellent media coverage in both the local papers and a half page article in the Sunday Times as well as being reported on the television news.
For more pictures of the walk see the Photo Album
Not NIMBYs
When you read about our protest, it might seem natural to think that we're a bunch of people who don't want a good project in our area. That's NOT the case. People across Europe are becoming aware of the problems of onshore windfarms. Have a look at Stallashaw's site to see what people say about a project in another area. And why not sign their petition while you're there?
About Us
Abington, Crawford and Elvanfoot Environmental Watch was formed as an offshoot of Crawford Community Council back in 2003.
Its first concern was news that a commercial enterprise, Airtricity, was proposing a windfarm installation on our hills. To our dismay the proposal turned out to be a massive installation of 174 turbines each of 3.6 MW and 125 metres tall. Such monsters are as yet unknown in the United Kingdom - just imagine them as part of the sunset landscape above!
To assess public reaction Crawford Community Council drew up a simple referendum. The result showed that 76% of the community was against the idea of wind turbines.
Find out more about ACE Rural Environmental Watch on our About Us page.
|
New Articles
Read the latest articles in our library - 'The Menaced Landscape' and 'Report Doubts Future of Wind Power" from The Guardian
| Make a donation
Help us pay for posters, postage and the other costs we're incurring by making a donation using PayPal for secure payment processing.
(The payments are collected by our web hosting company, Sharedbase, who are based in Elvanfoot, then passed on to our Treasurer.)
|
Did you know..?
Undisturbed soils are more likely to act as a carbon sink than a carbon source and, on a global level, wetlands like the bogs around Abington, Crawford and Elvanfoot, store over 3 times as much carbon for a given area as tropical rainforests.
To date, no scientific survey has been carried out to assess the culmative CO2 input-output of the proposed development.
|
|
|
|
See all microsites on theGuidLife |
