Saturday, 2 August 2008

Windy times

Excellent letter from Wendy Lewis, local Green Party member in Maidstone, published in yesterday's Kent Messenger:

Dear Editor,

Bill Hyde's comments on wind power not being available for long periods (Without wind power for days on end - Letters 25th July) are completely inaccurate. Wind power is at its most abundant during the winter months and according to Oxford University, low wind speeds affecting more than 90% of the country occur for about one hour every five years.

The UK has the greatest resource in Europe for producing electricity from wind and we have a duty to future generations to ensure that the infrastructure is in place as soon as possible. It is also essential to ensure that wind is not the only renewable source of energy, we must harness wave, tide, solar and geo-thermal too, to ensure there is resilience against any fluctuation and to ensure that we have enough energy for the future.

However the greatest weapon in tackling both future energy needs and climate change is a reduction in consumption. Mr Hyde talks about keeping the lights on whereas I was always taught to turn them off when they weren't needed.

What we do not need is a world polluted for 250,000 years by spent nuclear fuel or a world devastated by climate change. We owe it to future generations to rely on renewable energy only, after all everything else will run out eventually!

Yours sincerely

Wendy Lewis
Maidstone Green Party

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