Letter: Wind farm horror

It IS impertinent for anyone who does not have the misfortune to have been forced to live near wind turbines to sneer, as does Ms Hogan (Letters, 29 December) at those who seek to protect their homes and families from these horrible machines.

As an increasing number of people can attest, the noise, flicker and oppressive visual impact of 400-plus foot monstrosities transform what were once quiet rural areas into industrial sites, and can make life unbearable for residents who gain nothing from this vandalising of their local environment.

Speaking as an engineer, I can assure Ms Hogan that few of the "technical arguments" which have been advanced in your pages against wind power are "spurious". What is spurious is the claim that covering Scotland with wind farms could have any significant effect on the inevitable increase in global carbon dioxide emissions.

For the foreseeable future these will be driven by the economic expansion of China, and in due course, of India.

There is nothing that Scotland, whose power stations contribute less than 0.1 per cent of the world's CO2, can do about this.

What is so offensive about the attitude of the politicians who promote "renewables" is that, living well away from these developments, they are quite happy that others should suffer from their misguided enthusiasm.

Jack W Ponton

Legerwood

Earlston, Berwickshire