Is this the New Tryweryn?

[RubberBuccaneer]

Really?

Not often I agree with Hollis, but that's a bit too far.

 

[chilango]

I have just returned from a meeting with the spokesman from the company who are proposing to build this lagoon off the coast of Swansea.The company are not going to build a proto-type to prove it will have no enviromental impact.As this area has a major problem at the moment of sand disappearing from the beaches and the likely impact that this could have for the tourist industry, I cannot understand why this company will not prove the lagoon is as enviromentally friendly as they claim it is.

If as Udo states we should be thinking globally but acting locally then surely the energy that this lagoon produces should be used locally.Power sent to an inefficient "national" grid is power wasted.

Yeah,

we should be talking about reducing energy consumption.

...but as that is not a popular political idea I can´t see groups outside the green spectrum going for it.

Be interested in hearing more about the proposed lagoons.

 

[Swan]

Thought I'd update this a little bit. It looks like there are actually TWO pipelines. One goes through the Brecon Beacons from Felindre.

The other goes across from Felindre to Aberdulais (where there is very strong feeling and local opposition) and from there the route is as yet unagreed. I dug out a TRANSCO/NATIONAL GRID strategic report which takes this pipeline to Llanvetherine or Gilwern, just outside Abergavenni.

This second route (remember we are talking ANOTHER pipeline here, not an alternate route!) takes us across the Valleys. One proposed route for THIS pipeline cuts across the Blaenavon world heritage site. I include a link:

http://archive.thisisgwent.co.uk/2005/7/25/77347.html

So there we go. Why have one World Heritage site when you can have two?

 

[Udo Erasmus]

I have just returned from a meeting with the spokesman from the company who are proposing to build this lagoon off the coast of Swansea.The company are not going to build a proto-type to prove it will have no enviromental impact.As this area has a major problem at the moment of sand disappearing from the beaches and the likely impact that this could have for the tourist industry, I cannot understand why this company will not prove the lagoon is as enviromentally friendly as they claim it is.

If as Udo states we should be thinking globally but acting locally then surely the energy that this lagoon produces should be used locally.Power sent to an inefficient "national" grid is power wasted.

I don't think we need to reply to Redstar's ridiculous equation of Wales with Palestine - as I've stated elsewhere, I see class as the key issue in our society - but we can discuss petty bourgeois nationalism vs. proletarian internationalism another time. Interestingly there is favouritism of different regions in the UK but it is not based on nation, for example when Sizewell B was being built in Suffolk, I recall a campaign that drew attention to the fact that these nuclear power stations were never built in the home counties or in London.

To Swan, I actually agree with you on decentralised energy production - though this is something I'm only just recently reading up on - I got a very interesting study by Greenpeace into this issue. Apparently, Ken Livingstone has already began the process of trying to get London to decentralise.

To Chilango, I agree that the best way to cut C02 emissions is through a variety of approaches - energy efficiency, a massive programme of building insulation, development of renewable energy, cutting out the collossal waste of resources generated by the anarchy of the market etc.

However, I suggest for a mass campaign and getting a message across to the public it's best to keep things simple and straight forward - initially.

So, I suggested that the best way to oppose the pipeline was: "Why is money being wasted on a pipeline that will destroy the natural environment and a nationl park, and is based on fossil fuel technology that is causing global warming. When tidal power could provide a cheaper, cleaner alternative. Fossil fuel is the energy of the past, tidal power is the energy of the future".

This approach both opposes the pipeline but more importantly offers an alternative source of energy, thus avoiding accusations of nimbyism. So we are seen not only to be criticising but actually putting forward a practical alternative.

On the subject of tidal lagoons and tidal barrages - I'm not an expert in what is the most environmentally friendly technology. I had read several respected environmental writers, such as Mayer Hillman's bestseller, "How do we save the planet" that had suggested that a tidal barrage on the River Severn could provide up to 20% of the UKs energy requirements, but subsequently I discovered that FOE Cymru had actually campaigned against such a development advocating tidal lagoons.

In terms of global warming and climate change, a tidal barrage would contribute no C02 emissions, so could be considered preferable over a pipeline. Unfortunately, they do seem to do damage to the local environment and wildlife, FOE Cymru have argued that tidal lagoon's are better and can generate more energy.

 

[Redstar]

Let me guess. Udo is English, and he's a member of the SWP. Having worked with them for a few years in the WSA, my experience is that most of them are middle class and have little understanding of this country beyond their little bubbles in Cardiff and Swansea.

Their talk about "International Proletarianism" is usually gleaned from textbooks, rather than genuine experience.

 

[Snorkelboy]

I have just returned from a meeting with the spokesman from the company who are proposing to build this lagoon off the coast of Swansea.The company are not going to build a proto-type to prove it will have no enviromental impact.As this area has a major problem at the moment of sand disappearing from the beaches and the likely impact that this could have for the tourist industry, I cannot understand why this company will not prove the lagoon is as enviromentally friendly as they claim it is.

If as Udo states we should be thinking globally but acting locally then surely the energy that this lagoon produces should be used locally.Power sent to an inefficient "national" grid is power wasted.

My old job was in coastal zone mangement / conservation in the area. I am extremely dubious about that company and the sustainability of what they're proposing.

do you work in a similar field? Perhaps we know each other?