Ed Miliband and Jimmy Savile
I was not quite sure I heard it right this morning but BBC Radio 4 or 5 (giving away my listening habits now) reported that Ed Miliband had put forward an argument, 'that opposing wind farms should be as socially unacceptable as not wearing a seat belt in a car'.
I for one support the wearing of seat belts in cars. I also support renewable energy. However, I don't think we should be erecting wind farms in every bit of ocean and habitat as fast as we can without thinking about it first.
Some of these habitats are highly sensitive for wildlife, including birds and cetaceans. Yes, lets have a well thought out renewables policy, but lets not try and correct one environmental threat (climate change), by sacrificing other parts of our natural heritage.
Its also about being consistent. We cannot afford to 'bend' our domestic and international commitments to the protection of species such as cetaceans for any reason. Why? Because its a slippery slope that we start on when we 'bend' one rule for a 'good cause' - and then who decides what is a 'good cause' the next time someone wants to build a new marina, or develop a new oil field in a cash starved region of the world. We create some of our laws to to protect ourselves from ourselves when temptation comes knocking for politically expedient answers. Please Mr Miliband, think before you you assume we are all having 'socially unacceptable thoughts'.
For those of you who don't know who Jimmy Savile is, shame on you for being so young!
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