The 1922 Committee

Elections were held yesterday to the Conservative Party 1922 Committee. Whatever else the results indicated, it is interesting to note that out of the 18 members elected Steve Baker, Guto Bebb, Bob Blackman, Karen Bradley, Nick de Bois, Graham Evans, Bernard Jenkin, Marcus Jones, Priti Patel and Heather Wheeler had all signed the letter to David Cameron against offshore windfarms. Of the four who were re-elected unopposed, three (Brian Binley, Graham Brady and Charles Walker) had also signed the letter. Let us hope they will use their influence well. And let us hope that more of them will start to speak out too against offshore wind as well.

To see the list of those who signed the letter, go to this link on our website.

To read more about the elections, go to this page on ConservativeHome.

Matt Baker

We can all watch Countryfile again! Thank you so much, Matt Baker, for speaking out.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/9094406/Matt-Baker-questions-effectiveness-of-wind-farms.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/02/21/matt-baker-hits-out-at-wind-turbines_n_1290015.html

Perhaps next time - if ever - the producers decide to do a feature on wind farms, you can persuade them to actually visit some of the poor people in places like Cumbria, Lincolnshire, Wales, Cornwall, and now Devon as well, who are having their lives blighted by wind turbine noise.

And if they are really daring, they could do some real investigative journalism, and find some farmers too, who have regretted signing up on the dotted line, who may also be suffering from turbine noise, who may have seen their farms ruined, who may regret what they have done to their neighbours' lives, but are unable to speak out because of confidentiality clauses.

When it suits the agenda, the media are happy to interview people while hiding their identity with blurred images and altered voices. Perhaps it is time for the BBC to properly investigate the wind industry.

Here is a link to some poignant words from a farmer in the US.

This is an excerpt from his testimony - do read it in full if you can.

"I tried, as did some of the other farmers, to get out of our contracts, but we had signed a binding contract. If you are considering placing wind turbines on your property, I strongly recommend that you please reconsider. Study the issues. Think of all the harm to your land, and, in the future, to your children’s land, versus the benefits from allowing companies to lease your land for turbines."

Sammy Wilson DUP MP

Sammy Wilson is one of the MPs who signed the letter to David Cameron . He deserves special praise as he is the only MP from the beautiful country North Ireland to do so.
Here he is speaking on You Tube.

PVPTV2 - part 4

Here is Part Four, all four can be seen on YouTube, or scroll back down here for parts 1, 2 and 3.
What a shame there wasn't a video of the North Devon District Council Planning Committee Meeting about the Batsworthy Cross proposal for 9 giant turbines near Exmoor, as well.
The same spirit - on a smaller scale - was felt there.
All over Britain - and the rest of the world - local people come out in their droves to say "No, we don't want these industrial turbines destroying our landscapes, for such little gain, and so great a cost." When are the Government Ministers and party leaders going to listen to what their local MPs and AMs are saying?

David Bellamy's Blog

David Bellamy's blog is very much worth visiting if you are an artist, and also if yuo are concerned about the wind farm threat to Mid Wales.
Here is a link to his June 30 2011 posting.

Some news from the North and West of Britain

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/cumbria-council-boss-wants-government-windfarm-policy-rethink-1.853135?referrerPath=news


Concerned about the number of wind farm applications? Look at this map from Aberdeenshire: http://www.cawt.co.uk/index.php?page=map

Powys council unanimously supported a motion urging the Welsh Government to request a moratorium on all wind farm applications.

Read more at this link:
http://www.warmwell.com/windfarms.html

Protest in Cardiff

Watch this great video on YouTube - hear Sian Lloyd give her "wind turbine weather forecast", listen to Mp Glyn Davies, AM Russell George and a lady from the W.I. among others speaking on the steps of the Welsh Assembly.
This is just the beginning of the People's Protest!

MP says wind farms would destroy mid-Wales

"Not even the enemies of Britain over the centuries have wrought such wanton destruction on this wondrous part of the United Kingdom”

End Quote Glyn Davies MP

What a wonderful quote!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-13346245

Russel George wins

Congratulations to Russel George who has won a seat in the Welsh Assembly Elections!

This is a quote from his website (April 19th)

"I do not believe that we should convert our uplands into an industrial landscape, by allowing another 800 wind turbines, a 20 acre substation and a line of 150′ high steel pylons all the way to mid-Shropshire. – all driven by the Assembly Government’s Technical Advice Note 8 (outlining it’s renewable energy policy)..."

Read more:

http://russellgeorge.com/2011/04/19/the-only-sure-way-to-stop-the-pylons-is-to-stop-building-windfarms/

Pressure on Politicians

Pressure on politicians is mounting in Wales, as over 3000 people have signed a petition against the industrialisation of Mid-Wales.

Go to the Conservation of Upland Powys Facebook Page for daily updates.

And if you live in Wales, ask your AM candidate what his position of this issue is, and vote accordingly! In Meifod, for example, we hear, Conservative and Labour candidates supported the petition, Plaid Cymru and Lib Dem did not. It may be different elsewhere - on this single issue we need to be careful how we vote...

Having said that - one thing is pretty certain, wherever you live, don't vote "Green" because the Green Party does not any longer deserve its name, which implies a love of the natural environment. Let us hope that they do not pick up too many protest votes in council elections, mainly from people who do not realise this.

Russell George

Russell George is Conservative Assembly candidate for Montgomeryshire.

He says on his website:

"Ever since my involvement in local politics I have been an opponent to The Welsh Assembly Government’s large scale wind farm policy and TAN 8 proposals."

Go to his website to read more: http://russellgeorge.com/

And also if you haven't seen it before, go to the Cambrian Mountains Society website.

Re whales and wind farms

We linked to a Press Report in mid March concerning whales and wind turbines. The Press Report was incorrect and the scientific paper that was mentioned in it did not mention wind farms.


Here is the correction on www.telegraph.co.uk


More information here as well:

http://www.windturbinesyndrome.com/news/2011/do-marine-wind-turbines-drive-whales-to-beach-themselves-nobody-knows-for-certain-uk/

We are sorry to have linked (in good faith) to an incorrect Press Report. We do however think that there remains a strong possibility that whales could be disturbed by turbine noise. Obviously, proving this is not easy.