The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) has bought, so I understand, an area of 1800 acres of prime farming land on the coast of Essex, UK, and is intending to flood it with seawater to create a salt marsh for wading birds.
Duh? Why? Why reduce prime agricultural land that Dutch engineers wrested from the sea some 150 years or so ago at great expense to a useless salt marsh; in other words, to return it to what it was before it was reclaimed?
Yes, OK, for the wading birds and all that jazz and I am all for the environment but... Why destroy productive land? This is environmentalism gone made.
The RPSB, which is a charity, seems to have accumulated too much money from subscription from its members, donations and other sources (and maybe the Charity Commission should take a little look into what it going on) and if I would be a member of that organization which, thank the Gods I am not, I would cancel my membership sort of yesterday.
Environmentalism gone mental is not, it has to be said, the sole prerogative of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Other environmental organizations too have their share in this, including such organizations as Friends of the Earth. They should about the need for renewable energy but as soon as a wind farm or a wave energy plant is proposed somewhere they go up in arms against it. You cannot have it both ways. You cannot have wind energy and other renewables – and we must get away from bio fuel that comes from palm oil (this is another subject though) – without placing the plants for this somewhere. Not in my back yard does not work with this. Time everyone realized that.
Just my 2cents on this subject.
© M V Smith, November 2007
RSPB Gone Crazy?!?
