Taking the wind out of MEP's sails
Roger Helmer (Mailbox, September 17) asks how much of the funding for ProWA, the pro-wind action group, comes from Friends of the Earth?
He also suggests that both ProWA and Leicester Friends of the Earth are receiving funding from Nuon, the company wishing to build a wind farm at Swinford, and he talks of local activists who oppose the wind farm being up against a "well-funded campaign backed by vested interests".
In answer to the question about how much funding ProWA is getting from Friends of the Earth, the answer is none. Support from Friends of the Earth has taken the form of campaigning and a number of local members of Friends of the Earth having also become active members of ProWA.
As to Mr Helmer's suggestion that the pro-wind farm campaign is "well funded and backed by vested interests", more than 90 per cent of Friends of the Earth's income nationally comes from thousands of small individual donations. Our local group's income of a few hundred pounds a year comes entirely from local members (apart from a cheque for £250 that we received from national FoE last year, for being chosen as local group of the year) and the group is run entirely by committed volunteers
Quite reasonably Nuon approached us for our support. We quizzed them intensively about their environmental impact assessment, to satisfy ourselves that the project was one that we could support. Having been satisfied, we decided to back the proposals because we believe that wind power has an important role to play in meeting the UK's energy needs in a sustainable way and, although some of us would prefer not to have to rely on private companies to meet these needs, we accept that for the moment we have to.
Nuon offered us nothing and under no circumstances would we have accepted anything from them if they had.
Mr Helmer is being disingenuous when he falsely suggests that we receive funding from the EU, given that as an MEP he receives a generous salary from this source, along with money for staff and an office.
However, it was kind of Mr Helmer to plug to our website.
Malcolm Hunter, Leicester Friends of the Earth.
4 Comments
by Nina Mold, Swinford
Wednesday, September 24 2008, 12:30PM
“There are 3 farm proposals in very, very close proximity to my house so I speak as someone who is truly affected by the proposals and I am deeply worried about the potential noise impact and the growing body of evidence suggesting more research needs to be done into potential adverse health effects.
Are prowa or friends of the earth guaranteeing me that these turbines will not harm the health of me or my family? If not, they need to do a lot more to assure me there are no risks to the people I love.”
by eric goodyer, Lincolnshire
Tuesday, September 23 2008, 11:06AM
“Roger Helmer's fixation with trying to disprove the overwhelming scientific evidence that we are responsible for global warming has resulted in a series of absurd campaigns. He wants us to stop using energy saving light bulbs, ridicules measures by farmers to reduce methane emissions from slurry ( a great source for renewable energy), and derides the use of wind farms to tap in to free energy. As he is the most senior elected Conservative in the East Midlands can we now assume that David Cameron's green credentials are as credible as Helmer's claiming that voting Tory will take Britain out of the EU.
Eric Goodyer
Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Charnwood”
by eric goodyer, Lincolnshire -
Tuesday, September 23 2008, 11:05AM
“*
1.
o
*
Search Shortcuts
o My Photos
o My Attachments
Get free,
safe online storage
Shopping for a
new camera?
Go to Previous message | Go to Next message | Back to Messages
Mark as Unread | Print
Flag this message
Are the Tories still 'green'
Tuesday, 23 September, 2008 11:44 AM
From:
"ERIC GOODYER"
View contact details
To:
mailbox@leicestermercury.co.uk
Roger Helmer's fixation with trying to disprove the overwhelming scientific evidence that we are responsible for global warming has resulted in a series of absurd campaigns. He wants us to stop using energy saving light bulbs, ridicules measures by farmers to reduce methane emissions from slurry ( a great source for renewable energy), and derides the use of wind farms to tap in to free energy. As he is the most senior elected Conservative in the East Midlands can we now assume that David Cameron's green credentials are as credible as Helmer's claiming that voting Tory will take Britain out of the EU.
Eric Goodyer
Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Charnwood”
by Eric Goodyer, Lincolnshire -
Tuesday, September 23 2008, 10:43AM
“Roger Helmer's fixation with trying to disprove the overwhelming scientific evidence that we are responsible for global warming has resulted in a series of absurd campaigns. He wants us to stop using energy saving light bulbs, ridicules measures by farmers to reduce methane emissions from slurry ( a great source for renewable energy), and derides the use of wind farms to tap in to free energy. As he is the most senior elected Conservative in the East Midlands can we now assume that David Cameron's green credentials are as credible as Helmer's claiming that voting Tory will take Britain out of the EU.
Eric Goodyer
Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Charnwood”