Overblown outlook...

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Earlier this month Matt Ridley posted a withering article about "The beginning of the end of wind"; he writes - not for the first time - about the various negative points of wind energy and the turbine mania that has seized many governments. He highlights the fact that to "the nearest whole number, the percentage of the world’s energy that comes from wind turbines today is: zero"; in fact the energy from wind, solar and bio-fuels combined comes in at 1% (click on image to enlarge). In The Spectator, with the same article, he leads with the headline that the "government has finally seen through the wind-farm scam – but why did it take them so long?".

Anyway, thinking about that while I read more bad news: yesterday the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) sent out a press release: "Act now or face costly consequences". In their report they state that urban air pollution - 'premature deaths from ground-level ozone' - will be the top environmental cause of mortality worldwide by 2050 (more even than dirty water and lack of sanitation). perhaps we have the solution: Matt Ridley says that It would be a shame for the 3,500 or so wind turbines in Britain (with hundreds more under construction) to be dismantled of the and suggests the biggest one should remain  "for future generations to marvel at" as a  "monument to the folly of mankind." I have a better idea, thinking ahead to worsening air pollution, leave all the wind farms up but switch them to blow!