A NATIONAL CRISIS

This is a rallying call to patriots.

Some of my correspondents have sent in a very sad piece of news. You can see it here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/8129882.stm

Now, first of all, it's not the end of the world, especially if the secretary of state does the right thing and approves the application, just as the North Dorset planning officers recommended and as the government's own policies require.

But what does the North Dorset news mean?

Well, first of all it's interesting (although no surprise) to find that the anti-windfarm protesters of Dorset deployed the same mealy-mouthed nonsense as our friends in VVASP. "We are in favour of renewable energy and don't object to wind farms in the right place," said one of the Dorset protesters. Does that sound familiar?

So - where is the 'right place'? What if every protest group advanced that loopy argument? What if the whole country was deemed out-of-bounds to renewable energy developers because everybody was 'in favour' of windfarms but only 'in the right place' - i.e., not near them?

Here's the really sad thing: back in the early '90s, the UK was leading the world in windpower. Windfarms had been originally developed in the States, partly as a response to the energy crisis of the '70s (and the fact that the US had already reached 'peak oil', the moment at which extracting oil from the ground becomes progressively more difficult and expensive). The UK soon took the lead in developing this cheap, harmless energy source.

Then - disaster. People started making up stories about wind turbines.

Now we're hearing from some of the leading companies involved in the renewable energy business that it's not really worth their while developing clean, green projects in the UK - the reason being the 'unnecessary delays' caused by protesters talking nonsense, winding up their neighbours and standing in the way of progress.

Which means that the rest of the world is stealing a march on us. Once at the forefront of sustainable energy, the UK is rapidly falling behind, only because there are people in this country who prefer lies to truth and who will put their own short-term interests in front of the long-term interests of the nation (and, indeed, the planet).

This is probably the outcome of the cult of the individual which came in with Margaret Thatcher. Remember she said that 'There's no such thing as society'? Well, convert that to 'There's no such thing as climate change' and 'We're all in favour of renewable energy but only in the right place' and you'll see how we got to where we are.

The debate is not about renewable energy and a sustainable future. It's about egos. It's about a relatively small minority who exist purely on the basis of 'I want' and who don't give a fig for others, for the environment, for future generations, for the greater good or the national interest.

That's it in a nutshell: rampant self-interest versus the national interest. In our local area, it's about spoilt inheritors and arrogant ex-City types pursuing their own narrow views and forcing everyone to agree with them. It's about a minor issue - whether a wind turbine might be visible from the road outside their house (and not about noise: that's just a myth spun by the antis) - as opposed to a major issue - whether we will be able to provide for our energy needs in a few years' time.

Anyone who cares about the countryside, the environment, the planet, the future, the nation's needs and the prestige of the UK can only support the development of windfarms.

Contrary to what the myth-mongers keep repeating, they do work, and other countries are developing them at speed and relying on the electricity they generate (more or less for free). They present no threat to wildlife and they are practically noise-free.

All the myths and lies spouting by groups like VVASP are designed to mislead the public for one reason alone: to ensure that the privileged few get to enjoy their nice country homes without having to put up with a little bit of reality in the neighbourhood.

This argument is about greed versus need, about selfishness versus common sense. Ignore all the pompous and utterly disingenuous arguments about Europe, Gordon Brown, tax subsidies for renewables, climate change denial and falsified or misquoted reports concerning wind farms.

It's time for the UK to take the lead again - and to do this, those of us who do care must shout down the nimbies, the self-interested liars, the bullies and the myth-mongers. The future is on our side. It will not be long before the maniacs who stood in the way of these graceful devices are recognised as traitors to the planet and betrayers of the national interest. But every time they get their way till then, the nation takes a step backwards and a vital solution to a truly pressing crisis is unnecessarily postponed.

Which matters more - a reliable supply of clean energy for all, or uninterrupted views from the bottom of the garden for a few?

Shout down the protesters. They are betraying us all. Their foolish self-interest is holding the UK back. So be a patriot and actively support the Lenchwick Windfarm, for all our sakes.