The Wind Farm Scam The Wind Farm Scam
John Etherington

The spectre of global warming and the political panic surrounding it has triggered a goldrush for renewable energy sources without an open discussion of the merits and drawbacks of each. In The Wind Farm Scam Dr Etherington argues that in the case of wind power the latter far outweigh the former. Wind turbines cannot generate enough energy to reduce global CO2 levels to a meaningful degree; what’s more wind power is by nature intermittent and cannot generate a steady output, necessitating back-up coal and gas power plants that significantly negate the saving of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to the inefficacy of wind power there are ecological drawbacks, including damage to habitats, wildlife and the far-from-insignificant aesthetic drawback of the assault upon natural beauty and the pristine landscape, which wind turbines entail. Dr Etherington argues that wind power has been, and is being, excessively financed at the cost of consumers who have not been consulted, nor informed that this effective subsidy is being paid from their bills to support an industry that cannot be cost efficient or, ultimately, favour the cause it purports to support.

    John Etherington - THE AUTHOR: John Etherington was a Reader in Ecology at the University of Wales, Cardiff. Since his retirement from the University in 1990, he has devoted himself to researching the implications of intermittently available renewable electricity generation, in particular wind power.
He is a Thomas Huxley Medallist at the Royal College of Science and a former co-editor of the
International Journal of Ecology.
The book we all must buy!


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artists against wind farms

what this site is about, and the inspiration behind it

Wind turbines have many drawbacks. They kill birds and bats, cause environmental damage, ruin the lives of many who live near them because of noise and other issues, and they cause division in communities between those who benefit financially from them, and those who may lose a large proportion of the value of their homes. For the full and technical arguments against wind farms, we recommend that anyone who would like to learn more about this subject goes to the excellent "The case against wind farms" by John Etherington (see second link below)

This however is a website about art, and powerful as all these other arguments are, we feel, as artists,  that the aesthetic argument against wind farms is important too, and should not be treated as if it is an irrelevance.  In an article that was one of the inspirations behind this site, Simon Jenkins argued that the precious landscapes of Britain are as valuable a part of our heritage as the greatest works of art. For this article, and others, go to the first link below.

Articles by Simon Jenkins, Robert Macfarlane and Cameron McNeish


"The case against wind farms" by John Etherington


This website gives artists an opportunity  to display their work, and also to say in their own words why they are fighting to save the landscapes that they love from industrialisation by giant wind turbines.
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Otter and Octopus

Photographers page now updated,

see photographs by Tom Hutton, Don Brownlow, Stella Levy, Karl Pipes, plus link to websites of Carl Ryan and Diana Fritsche

On the left: Otter and Octopus by Karl Pipes



Painting by Catherine Kaufman

Catherine Kaufman, from Lancashire, has sent us some images, and information about a windfarm proposal on the hill near her home. Watch the blog (see posting on December 21st) for more news and images about her and the wind farm proposal. 
Her new page is now online on this website here



North Carolina, USA

Keepers of the Blue Ridge, new group
New artist: more soon.




Little owl

Mynydd y Gwair,
South Wales

New sculptor joins us - images  coming soon






February 9th 2010


 
Links to Protest Groups UK and worldwide


Latest news and links

are on the Blog



Sculpture by Graham Lang
Anna

by
Graham Lang

see more


Darlington Conference March 6th


Andrew Gilligan on The IPC


Nant-y-Moch Protest 2009

Cambrian Mountains Society



Gallery of all artists


Selected artists

Bernard Dunstan
Diana Armfield
Angela Kelly
Roger Cecil
David Bellamy
Jenny Keal

Anne Campbell
Jon Macleod

Christine Lovelock

Phil Epp (USA)
Jon Boone (USA)
Keith Stelling (Canada)
Marion Chapman (Australia

From Canada -  photos of some beautiful quilts, sent by Norman and Sharon Schmidt

Norman wrote:
"I was very pleased to come across your website. It is reassuring to know there are others who feel like some of us do here. There are artists in our corner of the world who feel set upon and beleaguered, for the land we live on and the sky overhead, which holds a special place in the hearts of us artists, has been targeted for the construction of more than a hundred turbines by two wind power companies, against whom we are fighting a losing battle. Ours is a prairie landscape in the flat plains of an ancient lakebed in central Canada. The scale of the wide open expanse of the land and the immensity of the sky will be marred never to be enjoyed again if these projects go ahead. I was especially moved by the work of Phil Epp, who lives in a landscape not unlike ours. I'm attaching two pictures of artwork that my wife and I have done. The first is called "Garden Window With Yellow" and the second "Garden Window Sunburst." While we do not do landscapes as such, we are very much inspired by the natural order. We are quilters, among other things."

New Zealand artist sells defaced prints to fund wind farm protest


Exhibitions
sunshine




garden window quilt



Go to their website  to see more of their work, including  kites and paper airplanes
www.summerkitchen.ca







The Wind Thing and Henry Lewis A walk round Devon`s wind farm sites

First Paint it day with Prof. David Bellamy
Postcards for sale

Paint it while its there day 2005






David Bellamy, Christine Lovelock, David Bellamy
David Bellamy (artist) Christine Lovelock (artist) and Professor David Bellamy
Wind Warriors
in Wales and
Youtube video

My walking boots
these boots are
made for

 walking round
wind farm sites

Angela Kelly and Ann West with Banner from Devon
Ann West and Angela Kelly, artist and Chairman of Country Guardian, with banner - read what Angela has to say.

IMPORTANT NOTICE
All the artists and photographers whose work is shown on this site retain their own copyright,
and images cannot be reproduced without permission from the artist who produced the original work..

And last but not least, a Big Thank You  from Christine Lovelock who runs this website to Andrew Lovelock, David Curthoys and the late Mal Davies for their help in building this site.                             back