A case of karma before the storm?

super_realist wrote:What a surprise that it comes from SNH. A particularly tiresome organisation that are incredibly difficult to deal with.

Doon the Water wrote:Gael
Really interesting post.

I would imagine Gullane sands would have been recognised as a shifting dune in the 1950's. There was an area of unvegitated shifting sand much larger than para2 of that report
Trouble was that most of the sand was shifting onto the bottom end of Muirfield.

I think it was SNC who stabalised the sand and built up the dunes much closer to the sea edge. This involved a lot of work and expense over many years.

The results 50 years later is quite splendid IMO and the finished area of approx 2 sq miles works well for species count and of course the many folk who use the beach. Footfall is well channeled onto the now normal looking crescent of the beach front. I would say that 90% of the area is unkept and looks natural.

gaelgowfer wrote:

Lairdy wrote:Trump received promises there would be no wind farm from the previous adminstration? A few spoken promises and letters wont really cut it surely. It really would be a case of karma if the windfarm plans 'bulldoze' through any of Trumps rejections. And I was pretty much for the course to begin with. There are processes to go through when building on SSSI and as long as they were followed then I suppose we cant complain too much. People get moved by compulsary purchase all the time so I worry less about them!

As much as I don't think wind turbines are there yet I dont see them as a big eyesore as many. I think they are quite an impressive site and a sign of mans motivation to improve but, unlike the installation, the innovation isnt quite there yet with turbines functionality. They tick a few political boxes and make a few folk rich but thats about it for now.

I think a bunch of rich Americans would actually be quite interested in the turbines anyway...

I would be interested to know your theory on exactly how Aberdeenshire Council (having overturned the sub-committee's recommendations not to build on the SSSI) justified this by allowing part of this rare mobile dune to be stabilised.

As for cpos, Trump has gone on record as stating he will not apply for them to remove the homeowners. Twould have been interesting though to see which way those councillors would have jumped had they been put on the spot for, had they approved them, I think this would have resulted in a precedent being set as it would have been the first time (in Scotland?/UK?) that folk had been thrown out of their homes to benefit a private developer.

Wee Eck is obsessed with renewable energy and he doesn't care if he destroys the tourist industry in the process. But, if it came to a choice between land or off-shore wind farms then I would prefer them to be off-shore on the basis that the wind is less likely to drop at sea than on the mainland. Does anyone remember last winter when it became so cold that Scotland was effectively becalmed for weeks. Nae wind ... nae power!

There is another problem. More pylons will be needed to serve the output from those wind farms which means yet more of the landscape will be blighted. Scotland has already kicked into touch running the cables underground on cost grounds. England is now faced with having to take a decision on this as well.

Innovation has become the norm in this high tech era. I don't think we would have had to have waited too long for alternative and more aesthetically pleasing alternatives to be created. For example, the development of wave power is evolving every day. Unfortunately for Scotland, wee Eck has an oversized ego to feed and sees himself as some kind of EU green energy messiah ...

http://www.sdi.co.uk/news/2011/05/scotland-to-become-the-green-energy-powerhouse-of-europe.aspx

... sacrificing on the altar of his own impatience, Scotland's beauty in the process.

Doon the Water wrote:Guys.

I have sat on both sides of that fence and you are both right.

Far too many public sector workers tend to enforce extra conditions to justify their under worked existance.

Throughout my working life in the public sector I have had to swallow, safety and planning conditions that I disagreed with only to later find out that when the dust settled, I was wrong.

super_realist wrote:I think she may be a bit perished Mac, I get the impression she's been around a while.