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Thomas Cleary's avatar

The long term implications for all of this will include population restrictions, more not less warfare, more poverty and reduced lifespans (particularly in the Global South) and more, not less, dictatorial control.

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Irene Mclachlan's avatar

Interesting - is the real issue here the information a consumer of “energy” relies on and the need for a wider discussion in the context of a rapidly changing market for energy. Presumably the wind farms went through a resource consent process and it would be interesting to know what the submissions were…. in terms of scale, I guess the market for energy is there and there is a tension between environmental concerns and sufficient production. If the result of that is the public being mislead about the actual environmental impact ( because wind farms can’t replace fossil fuels in the way the average consumer might think they do), then a more transparent discussions around around the ethics of energy production ( in the sense that endless energy production may be neither possible or desirable) could be advanced.

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All that Is Solid's avatar

Thanks for this feedback, it's much appreciated. There's a good article on the local views on the consultation process here.

https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/2024/08/21/campaign-opposing-large-wind-farm-at-sceirde-rocks-in-connemara-being-scaled-up/

What I particularly dislike about this scheme is that the the company developing it Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta (FST), is wholly owned by outside parties, yet the website is presented as if it is a local project. Some locals will benefit from a community benefit scheme but it's peanuts compared to the income generated.

Yes, there is a market for energy, but imo the public is being mislead about the real costs of this and also about whether it is realistic to continue to expand our energy usage.

But we do need to start a debate about energy in general, and to trust the general public with the details that at present are only been discussed by experts. ;)

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