EnviroSpin Watch

Wow! Is sanity at last bursting out in the world....?

Well! Well! Signs of sanity are bursting out everywhere, and nowhere more so than at Clarence House:

(a) 'Prince Charles: wind farms are horrendous' (The Sunday Telegraph, August 8):

"The Prince of Wales believes that wind farms are a 'horrendous blot on the landscape' and that their spread must be halted before they irreparably ruin some of Britain's most beautiful countryside.

The Telegraph can reveal that Prince Charles, who has an abiding interest in environmental issues, has told senior aides that he does not want to have any links with events or groups that promote onshore wind farms.

The Prince, who believes that Britain needs to rethink its energy policy, is considering making his anti-turbine views public at a time when the issue is on the political agenda and wind farms are spreading throughout the country.

Senior aides at Clarence House, where Prince Charles has his private office, say that the heir to the throne has been firmly against wind farms for years, but that he has so far chosen not to enter the public debate on their future..... (read on)"

(b) And in the same newspaper, an outstanding piece of commonsense from Dick Taverne, who is becoming an indefatiguable fighter for sound science: 'Nuclear power is fine - radiation is good for you' (The Sunday Telegraph, August 8):

"Unfortunately, far from safeguarding our health, current safety standards will almost certainly increase the incidence of cancer. The evidence shows that the effect of radiation on human health is not a linear one, but is a J-shaped curve. Exposure starts by being beneficial at low doses and only becomes harmful at higher doses. This effect is known as hormesis..... (read on)"

(c) And then, Canadian maple leaves are whispering that the global-warming crusader, David Anderson, has been dumped from cabinet by Prime Minister Paul Martin. I wonder who will be next for the meachering.....?

Now, although I have serious qualms about the precise constitutional position of Prince Charles speaking out on wind farms, I confess that I do rather hope he does. Wind farms are one of the daftest policies in New Labour's energy coffin, and, having already been duly buried by green gurus Lovelock and Bellamy, Charles might really help to hammer the nail back into the box.

And here is a new Welsh nursery rhyme for you to read to the kids:

"Mary had a little kite;
Its feathers all rusty red.
It flew into some wind farm blades,
And now the kite is dead."

Philip, having a most pleasant Sunday indeed. Time for a gunpowder tea on the patio. Blast - it'll have to be Earl Grey. C'est la vie!