Why envirommentalists are not tilting at windmills

DR COLMÁN ETCHINGHAM of NUI Maynooth asks why rural communities should be subjected to the construction of wind generators? (Irish Examiner letters, November 18).

The answer is simple. Because Ireland and the world needs electric power to sustain its energy needs at first world standards, but also needs to cut down on carbon fuel consumption, quickly. Make no mistake, global warming poses a greater threat to the future of civilisation, and indeed the planet’s eco-system, than global terrorism.

There can be no underestimating the threat posed by a shutdown in the Gulf Stream, such as a mini-ice age in northern Europe or famine across the equator. Or can there? Neo-conservatives in America, including their singularly moronic representative in the White House, have for some time now been disputing whether global warming exists — or whether it is man-made?