“Get UP, get OUT, get ON THE TRAIN, and GET TO INVERNESS!” That’s the message from anti-wind farm campaigners organising a mass protest on Saturday for the SNP Spring conference.
Over 4300 people from over 42 countries have signed a petition calling on Alex to ‘Stop the Reckless Siting of Wind Turbines in Scotland’s Scenic Landscapes’
The organisor of the petition, Harley Keisch of Wind Wise Radio has written to the First Minister inviting him to accept it in person at Eden Court from a delegation led by 93-year old Rhona Weir, widow of celebrated climber, author and broadcaster Tom Weir.
Mr Keisch sent his invitation to Mr Salmond last Monday but has yet to receive a reply. He said: “It’s time for Alex Salmond to man up. Has he got the courage to hear from one of Scotland’s oldest and most honourable environmentalists about what his madcap policies are doing to Scotland’s cherished landscapes? Thousands of people from across the world are horrified by what is happening in Scotland.”
Like Tom, Rhona is a great champion of the Scottish landscape and has carried on her husband’s pioneering work in protecting it. She recently gave a vivid interview on Wind Wise Radio, describing the impact of industrial wind turbines on the Scottish countryside which she so prizes (http://bit.ly/16m29cB).
Hosted by Highlands Campaign Against Windfarms and promoted by Scotland Against Spin (poster attached), a new national alliance for all those opposed to Scottish wind energy policy, Saturday’s protest will begin with a march form Inverness Castle to Eden Court where the SNP is holding its conference. During lunchtime protestors will lobby SNP delegates before making as much noise as possible during Alex Salmond’s keynote speech at 3 pm.
Graham Lang, who is manning an SAS stand inside the conference, said:
“We’ve written to over 1600 Councillors, MSPs, MPs and MEPs and we know there are people in all parties who are deeply worried about the Government’s out-of-control wind energy policy. Harley’s petition proves how it’s hurting tourism – no one in their right mind will come to Scotland to visit a giant wind farm. But the Scottish Government still has its eyes firmly shut and their fingers stuck in their ears. This is why hundreds of people, from 93 year-old Rhona Weir to little children, are coming to Inverness to make them listen.”
Linda Holt, spokesperson for SAS said:
“The Scottish Government has effectively handed the country over to the wind industry. Our forests, mountains, wild lands, peat bogs, beaches, coastal waters, even our school playgrounds – nowhere is safe from industrial wind turbines.
“The Scottish Government obediently trots out the latest industry propaganda about the “benefits” of wind energy. Yet everyone can see that windfarms create virtually no real permanent jobs, the carbon-saving calculations are theoretical pie-in-the-sky (there is more and more real evidence that the overall impact of turbines is to increase carbon emissions) and electricity bills are racing ever-upwards as more wind energy comes online.
“We now have a planning process deformed by political fiat. Alex Salmond’s lasting legacy will be the reckless destruction of our natural environment.”
For further information, interviews etc please contact Linda Holt, SAS media co-ordinator on 01333 70378 or 07590 994690
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