ENERGY! The Threat of Global Warming

By Clies Stevens

Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise had a song they would sing at the end of one of their shows when they sort of danced their way off the set, it was called bring me sunshine.

Well if we do not grasp the thorny issue of fossil fuel dependence the above song may well become a prayer in our churches! A dramatic claim? Oh No, a very provable claim indeed. We have protesters these days against almost every thing, from phone masts to wind generators.

I would ask these clever people what they can suggest as a viable alternative, And not be blinkered to the ‘Not In My Back Yard’ mentality so prevalent today where folk protest against wind generators being built in their locality but when asked where they should go these same protesters have no idea, they seem to wave vaguely in any direction and mumble. Why? Why should these people who claim the market value of the property they own will tumble if these so vital pieces of equipment are built within view of the bay windows of the bungalow/quaint granite cottage set in the rural peace of our beautiful county.

I say to these folk that if we do not grasp the nettle over this issue our grandchildren will suffer, the global warming syndrome WILL be a disaster of enormous magnitude, and the countryside will soon be covered in methane gas generating landfill tips! Nuclear fuel is so obviously the answer but perhaps not in today’s style. New technology must be brought on line to build the new generation of power stations. High temperature furnaces with emission scrubbers must be used to destroy the mounting rubbish generated in our throw away society and as an end result the heat will produce steam which can turn the power turbines, thus producing cheap power from a cheap fuel source, the trash we at present bury!

Every time I visit our local civic amenity site (the tip) I am amazed at what people throw away. I worked in Sierra Leone and the folk there were so poor hardly anything was wasted. The soil was very poor so ALL degradable rubbish was used to enrich it, and I have had punctures vulcanised at the road side by an enterprising local using old inner tubes and charcoal in an empty tin.

They would indeed be overcome at the waste we seem to generate. But I digress. I love this precious county of mine it has been the ‘Motherland’ of all my hopes and dreams all my life, and sometimes when I go out to cliffs I think I can feel the land breathe, feel it’s pores opening in the clean sunshine that is so much of a blessing to us.

I have radical solutions to these problems but not one of them will be popular, indeed I dare say I would be besieged by protesters but something has to be done, and I hope the people of my beloved county and homeland will help to create a solution, one that will still let us enjoy the sunshine, and as Eric and Ernie sang, ‘bring me sunshine.’
Clies Stevens
KERNOW BYS VIKIN

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