Popular Posts

Wednesday 11 June 2014

Like a Goliath on the Horizon




I always enjoy the birdsong and the peaceful tranquillity round the wooded walk where Dusty and I daily perambulate. Apart from the infrequent buzz of a helicopter overhead or a jet headed to or from London, and the muted waterfall of commuter traffic on the road a mile or so away, no other human-generated noises intrude.

But yesterday a spectral Goliath rose up in a nearby field. Someone has applied for permission to erect a 100M wind turbine in a productive farm field, within 500M of homes and farms. Now I’m all for renewables, and I’m aware of the NIMBY syndrome and don’t really want to embrace that, but this is shocking.

This is an area used by recreational cyclists, horse riders, dog walkers, and farmers. At a time when world food stocks are in decline it seems madness to stick the footprint of a huge turbine on productive farming land. 

It’s also home to Red Kites and a myriad of other birds and animals.

The one who wants to build the turbine does not live in this area. He just wants to make money.

I wasn’t expecting to have a few hours of yesterday hijacked by the necessity of reading up on the proposal and lodging my objection.   This is the day that the Lord has made. I have my plans, but equally want to be flexible today, holding them loosely in case another giant looms up on the horizon.

We want to be good stewards of the amazing earth the Lord has provided. Sometimes the way to do that isn’t so straightforward.

No comments:

Post a Comment