County Durham TV star Matt Baker says wind turbines biggest threat to countryside (From Durham Times)
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County Durham TV star Matt Baker says wind turbines biggest threat to countryside
9:59am Tuesday 21st February 2012 in News
By Matt Westcott
Matt Baker
COUNTY Durham TV presenter Matt Baker has criticised the number of wind turbines springing up in the countryside.
The Countryfile stat and One Show host, 34, said it was sad that villages are now empty, with few people who live in the countryside still working there.
But asked to name the greatest threat to the countryside, Baker, who grew up on a farm in Durham, told the Radio Times: "I think there's an enormous number of wind turbines.
"They are right next to the farm in Durham and they're 90m high. I'm not sure how effective they are as they never seem to be actually working!"
Former Strictly Come Dancing finalist Baker is not the first celebrity to speak out against wind farms with conservationist David Bellamy recently opposing them, saying that they were destroying the landscape.
Baker is co-presenting BBC1 show Countryfile with Julia Bradbury, who returns to the screen after giving birth, at the age of 41, to her miracle baby last year.
Bradbury was already back at work filming The Great British Countryside just two-and-a-half months after giving birth to a boy, Zephyr.
The presenter, who was told that it would be almost impossible to get pregnant because she suffered from the medical condition endometriosis, said of taking her baby on location: "There I was in car parks with Zeph (breast-feeding) up my jumper.
"I'm sure people were thinking, Is that Julia Bradbury over there? What is she doing? But, to me, it was, and is, all about Zeph."
Comments(5)
Colcat
says...
11:32am Tue 21 Feb 12
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For the record, I think the occasional wind turbine in the correct place can look quite majestic, but crowds of them normally just look an eyesore.
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As for wind turbines reducing emissions, I'll point out that the largest growing manufacturer and user of cars is China, presently making about 16million a year, that's 2million more per year than every single car manufacturer in Europe added together. The biggest problem with this is that they don't have any emission laws like Europe and America does.
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The only way forward for safe energy production is nuclear. Before you or anyone else mentions the dangers of Fukishima Nuclear Power Plant problems, that was a 40 year-old plant, so in terms of modern engineering it was a dinosaur, and was built near the most active earthquake area on the planet! Just look at how cars have advanced in that time - modern F1 cars could drive on the ceiling, and have been artificially restricted to slow them down and weigh them down. The average BMW has a better computer than the one that put man on the moon. Such massive advances in technology seem to be forgotten by opponents of nuclear. And before you ask, I can see Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station from my bedroom window.
norfolkboy14
says...
4:45pm Tue 21 Feb 12
http://epetitions.di
rect.gov.uk/petition
s/22958
or by GOOGLING "E-PETITION 22958" and following the link.
Please pass this message on to Councillors, members of your community and anyone else you know to persuade them to sign up too. If you are really concerned about wind turbines please write a letter promoting this petition to your local Newsletter and to the Editors of your local newspapers.
Auldgadgey
says...
9:40am Wed 22 Feb 12
China is the worlds largest investor in wind energy.
Onshore wind farms are the most efficient renewable source of energy and are rapidly becoming as cheap as gas or oil.
Their variability is far less than of a problem than routine breakdowns, lightning strikes etc.
There is around 10 times more subsidy spent on fossil fuel use than on any "green dream"
Renewable energy is free, non polluting and safe; nuclear energy is expensive, dirty (for a long long time) and dangerous.
Ideology is at work in the proponents of fossil fuels far more than in the green lobby.
The sun is showering my solar panels with pennies as I write!
Have a nice day.
Cliveclive
says...
4:13pm Wed 22 Feb 12
antagonist1 says...
11:03am Tue 21 Feb 12