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  Climate change  
   
   
 
"In my view, climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today, more serious even than the threat of terrorism."

Those are the words of the UK's Chief Scientific Adviser; Sir David King
 
     
  Climate change potentially represents the most significant threat to all life on our planet. There is now a wide scientific consensus that carbon dioxide emissions are causing climate change and the harmful effects are widely recognised.  
 

The RSPB views climate change as the most serious long-term threat to wildlife in the UK and globally. In their words

"Recent scientific research indicates that, as early as the middle of this century, climate change could commit one third or more of land based plants or animals to extinction including some species of British birds."

  
  The catastrophic potential of climate change is recognised by the UK Government, Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly Government, World Governments, RSPB, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, World Wide Fund for Nature as well as the majority of world scientific community. They all believe we must act now to save our planet for future generations.  
  We all have a part to play and we must all play our part. We must all "think globally, act locally".  
  There is no one single answer. We all need to minimise our energy consumption and together this could have a huge impact. We need to encourage more renewable energy sources and today the most developed and most effective renewable technology is wind power.  
  Friends of the Earth continue to support sensitively planned wind power developments. Without them, the environment will slowly and irreversibly degrade under the influence of more 'invisible' impacts, such as acid rain and global warming.  
  Almost everybody, when asked, supports renewable energy. Equally most people support wind power. The problem comes when the wind farm is nearby. Then, there is a shift in attitudes. And that is the problem, not all of us want wind farms in our back yards. But, as we said earlier, for the sake of this planet we all need to "think globally, act locally". And that's ignoring the fact that many people think wind turbines are elegant, graceful structures in the environment.  
     
 

Global warming and renewable energy

Global warming is one of the most urgent environmental challenges facing the world.  The single largest cause is the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and gas to generate electricity.  It is estimated that global electricity demand could double between 2002 and 2030.

Many strategies are being implemented which, together, will help to safeguard the environment for future generations and reduce our dependency on limited natural resources.  These include improvements in transport and energy efficiency measures as well as the continued development of cleaner renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar, wind, wave and tidal energy. 

Wind energy is currently the most economical and technically advanced renewable energy source, producing no carbon dioxide emissions (the main greenhouse gas associated with global warming) or other pollutants.  Increasing the contribution of wind energy creates a more balanced energy mix, reducing dependency on fossil fuels with their associated carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions, their potential insecurity of supply and their price volatility. 

There are currently more than 1,700 wind turbines operating in the UK, with the capacity to produce more than 1,940MW of electrical power, enough to supply more than 1,085,300 homes*.  Nowadays, a single wind turbine can produce 200 times more power than its equivalent 20 years ago.

* Source:  BWEA

  
 

Renewable Energy in Scotland

Scotland is the windiest country in Europe.  Scottish Ministers are firmly committed to developing a renewable energy policy that takes full advantage of Scotland's massive renewables potential both in response to climate change, and as a measure to promote the Scottish economy particularly in rural areas.

Scotland now generates around 11% of its electricity from renewable sources, and the Scottish Executive has set a target of increasing this to 18% by 2010, with further proposals for 40% by 2020.

Wind power makes an important contribution towards Scotland's overall renewable energy targets.  It is free and available in abundant quantities, with the potential to create local employment as well as reduce the use of fossil fuels.

  
     
 
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