Wind power, NIMBY: what can we do? (6573)
di Andrea Sorrentino
After the terrible accident of Fukushima in Japan, as said correctly my colleague Giacomo Cangi in his latest article published by Giornalisti Nell’Erba, many persons all around the world have known the effect of nuclear power and became conscious about the importance of using renewable energy.
Even though a new phenomenon is becoming famous in particular in the United Kingdom the “NIMBY” that is an acronym of “Not In my Backyards” that is sometimes considered as a new philosophy. But this term has a long story; in fact it was coined in 1980 by Emilie Travel Livezey. According to the English author and journalist, Roger Cohen, in his recently article published by the International Herald Tribune- the global edition of the New York Times, one of the most important and sold newspapers in the USA- the NIMBY is “a social phenomenon characterized by a measure of hypocrisy”.
The person, who believes in this new kind of philosophy, does not want anything of development near his house or near his work place. Now this movement is fighting against the decision of UK government to put turbines to produce electricity from wind power, but according to important study on the future of energy in Britain, published last year, most of 82 % population is favorable to wind power. So how can we explain this?
The members belonging to this movement think that if government put the turbines near a farm, the animals will be damaged by the noise. They also do not like the aesthetic of turbines, they think that are ugly. I agree with the opinion of Roger Cohen, who thinks that under the point of aesthetic turbines are better than electricity’s pylons.
May be the NIMBY’s members do not know that wind energy has advantages: for example it reduces the pollution produced by fossil fuel and its using reduces the Global Warming. According to a Dutch study reported by the English newspaper, The Guardian, on August Thursday 11th 2011 the offshore wind farms could have benefits on animals which are living in sea like as cods, fishes and marine mammals. “At most, a few bird species will avoid such a wind farm. It turns out that a wind farm also provides a new natural habitat for organisms living on the sea bed such as mussels, anemones and crabs, thereby contributing to increased biodiversity” said the chief of this research “For fish- he continued- and marine mammals, it provides an oasis of calm in a relatively busy coastal area”.
Another advantage of wind energy is that construction of wind turbines can create new jobs.
Now the NIMBY’s phenomenon is spreading also in the field of solar energy, where the demonstrations against that are increasing in a few years.
The demonstrations against renewable energy, almost against wind and solar, are increasing also in Italy.
I think that we are all called to take a decision: decide a good future for us and for our planet or not. It depends on us.
Andrea Sorrentino
(red. centrale)
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