The 10-turbine Burton Wold Wind Farm near Burton Latimer already provides a third of the energy needs of Kettering, we are told, with its population of 81,000. All the time? The Northants Evening Telegraph seems just to have copied out a press release. The town "will get three quarters of its energy needs from wind power in the next five years". Don't believe it. Is it windy all the time at Kettering? And how much does all this cost us?
Intriguingly a representative of the Pro Wind Alliance (I kid you not) said that Northamptonshire was better placed to deliver wind power than Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, "where interference from communication and radar waves, existing power lines and urban development make it impractical". I thought there was some wild country in Derbyshire, but it's a few years since I've been.
While you puzzle over that, rejoice in the news that the famously competent Haringey Council "and it's (sic - told you they were good) partners, including Muswell Hill Sustainability Group, have been awarded over £600,000 by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to establish a Low Carbon Zone as a blueprint for sustainable living".
Muswell Hill was the area chosen for this pilot and will be the focus of carbon cutting exercises and behaviour change experiments over coming months, the aim being to test practical measures to reduce carbon emissions in the area.
We can be confident that none of this will make a blind bit of difference to any global warming that may be happening. Not one iota.
But you can look for the Carbon Reduction Label when you're shopping. Apparently shoppers don’t want to hear about big numbers and global targets – they want to see at a glance which companies and brands are doing their bit to tackle climate change. This seems to mean, however "polluting" you were, you just "pollute" a bit less and bob's your uncle. Laila Rouass, Strictly Come Dancing star and mum, will be impressed. It really is that simple. Apparently.
Do they take us for fools? Apparently yes.
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