Pontefract Windfarm Action Group

The green solution

James Lovelock

Regarded by many 'greens' as one of the founding fathers of the environment movement, you might expect James Lovelock to be a big supporter of developments such as the huge wind farm planned for Lewis. So it comes as a surprise when the scientist and inventor describes them bluntly as “a waste of time.”

“It’s absolutely stupid”. he continues “We would need a phenomenal amount to meet our needs. They’re not a good idea for somewhere like Britain. Perhaps they’d be of benefit in parts of the Middle East, on the edge of a desert providing power for desalination, but we don’t need them."

As the man behind the Gaia Theory, the idea that the Earth works like an organism that regulates itself, James’s work is often referred to by those involved in the study of climate change and global warming.
Even more surprising for someone whose work is often referred to by environmental campaigners, he believes that nuclear energy is one of the keys to tackling climate change. “One nuclear power station produces the same amount as 3200 one-megawatt wind turbines,” he explains. “ In France all the nuclear waste from the past 40 years is contained in an area the size of a swimming pool. I walked across it with a hand-held Geiger counter and the readings were no higher than in the room we’re sitting in now." More details can be found about James Lovelock in his book 'The revenge of Gaia.'