Those who oppose wind farms and new power lines on an aesthetic basis would be well advised to pay a visit to Scotland’s central coal belt in Lanarkshire, where thousands of acres of centuries-old woodland have recently been torn up to access the black gold lying under the ground. These new open-cast mines (essentially huge quarries) have destroyed eco-systems, significantly raised cancer rates among local residents and left ugly scars across the landscape. But leaving these concerns aside, surely in this day and age, given what we know about the devastating effects of burning coal on the environment, it is unjustifiable for Alex Salmond’s government to be burning this stuff at a higher rate than ever before.
