Eco threat 'worse than Hitler'

Published on Thursday 12 May 2005 01:38

THE advance of global warming is a greater threat than was the rise of Hitler in the 1940s, a leading supporter of renewable energy has claimed.

Dr Jim Hunter, a former chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), said alternative energy schemes were needed to tackle the problem, and he attacked those who opposed wind farms.

His remarks mirrored those of Sir David King, the government’s chief scientific officer, who said recently climate change was a more severe problem than the threat of terrorism.

Dr Hunter was speaking in Knoydart at a conference organised by the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company, which assists renewable schemes across the region.

He said global warming could wipe out more communities in the Highlands and Islands than the Clearances, and dismissed claims that wind farms damage scenery, wild land, peat moors and birds as "totally beside the point".

He said: "Global warming is a more insidious and longer-term danger than Hitlerism, but it’s one that could be far more deadly. Ultimately, it might extinguish humanity itself."