10:13am Monday 9th June 2008
FIRSTLY, I would like to congratulate The Northern Echo on its green-papered eco edition (June 5). It asked: "Do you think the Government needs to do more to support renewable energy?"
I should imagine the vast majority would reply "yes".
However, people throughout the country are not going to accept renewable energy at any price.
The classic example is in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, where over 650 people wrote to the Secretary of State objecting to 30 monstrous wind turbines being placed less than a mile offshore close to the proposed Coatham Leisure Complex.
While some people may say the objectors are typical Nimbies - Not In My Back Yard - nothing could be further from the truth.
These very articulate people with sound reasoned arguments and alternatives are not Nimbies.
Redcar and Cleveland council on their behalf is to challenge the Secretary of State very shortly in the courts on several counts. The council is in favour of renewable energy, however, you cannot have 30 wind turbines less than a mile offshore so close to the proposed leisure complex.
If they were several miles offshore this would be more acceptable, but the cost element is the major deterrent to this suggestion.
Finally, I would like to see a similar Northern Eco edition in the not too distant future, as it was an excellent green paper.
Councillor George R. Dunning, Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council and Cabinet member for Rural Affairs.
THE Northern Eco (Echo, June 5) has inspired me to air my views about renewable energy.
It seems everything's going green these days. Recycling is a big part of most councils' agendas. Rightly so.
Recycling has always been something I've been around, from crushing empty cans at home as a child and taking them to the "bottle bank", to taking recyclables to school to send to Blue Peter campaigns, to filling up my very own (albeit small) recycling box nowadays.
But as the energy crisis looms, the calls for renewable energy are growing louder. But it seems that many MPs are approaching the issue with caution, claiming that the cost to power even a small percentage of the country using sources like wind, waves and solar would be astronomical and not economically viable.
With the credit crunch biting, it makes sense to spend money wisely these days, but surely a slight increase in renewable energy couldn't hurt. Our energy sources now aren't going to last out the next generation.
But Nature will always be around to sustain us. The sun itself keeps us alive just by being there.
Nuclear power is a convenient way of producing a large chunk of the power we need to run our busy lives, and properly cared for nuclear plants will last a long time. But, of course, there is still the problem of the controversial nuclear waste left behind. Until we find a harmless way of disposing of this dangerous material, the many new proposed nuclear plants will cause yet more problems in the future.
All in all, I can only hope that when the money crisis passes, renewable energy will come back into the picture and we can plan a healthy, stable and clean future for our children and their children.
Michael Blighe, Bishop Auckland.
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