Endangered animals displaced - citizens 'illegally restrained' - this is wind farm development in India...and a warning to us all.
Researchers in India have discovered that wind farms are having a detrimental effect not only on birds but also on mammals. Studies carried out by the highly respected Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, and reported in Indian newspaper The Telegraph, concluded that noise from the turbines and blades of wind turbines drives away mammals — mostly herbivores, whose exit in turn causes displacement of larger animals and carnivores. They point out that this brings them into closer proximity with humans increasing the incidence of man-animal conflict. Ineffective, Futile - And Hugely Destructive The construction of wind farms in India has been responsible for disastrous damage to the environment. In 2012, The Hindu newspaper reported that the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) had condemned the local government for its approval of Enercon's Andhra Lake Wind Power Project which they say caused "substantial forest destruction and triggered large scale soil erosion". The Telegraph, commenting this week on the worrying growth of the wind industry, pointed out that "300,000 trees were hacked down to construct a road [to service the wind farm] along the Bhimashankar sanctuary in Maharashtra, a known habitat of leopards, pangolins and the Indian giant squirrel." Significantly their editorial also noted that it takes approximately 100 tonnes of steel, 400 tonnes of concrete, 6.8 tonnes of fibreglass, not to mention copper and cast iron to generate one single megawatt of wind-generated electricity. These startling figures illustrate just how ineffective and futile wind power really is. It's a deception on a grand scale. Citizens Denied Access To Countryside Moreover, the Andhra Lake wind farm's managers have been accused of illegally denying citizens access to the countryside where the turbines were located, "not only are their rights under the Forest Rights Act not being recognised, they are being illegally restrained in their movements on hills they have inhabited for centuries.” the WGEEP has said. Extinction By 'Green' Wind Projects At least one species will be extinct very soon directly due to the wind industry. Some of the planet's rarest creatures including the pangolin and leopard may be next. We should learn lessons from the environmental catastrophe that is happening in India as a direct consequence of irresponsible and sinister wind farm development. Here in the UK, big energy companies continue to push for more and more industrialisation of our countryside and coast with little concern for the consequences. Habitat and wildlife will be lost forever. Warnings From India The catastrophic environmental destruction and the alleged violation of people's rights in India is a warning call to us all. If we continue to industrialise the natural environment, wherever we are in the world, then the damage to wildlife and natural resources will be overwhelming and irreversible. As wind farms begin to proliferate across our lands, will we too be forbidden from accessing our open spaces? The wind industry must not be allowed to prosper at the expense of all that is precious in our countryside. For India much damage has already been done. For the rest of us there is still a chance to save our open spaces from the invasion of this nasty industry that is still, in spite of all the warning signs, spreading like a virus across the planet.
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July 2023
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