Maybe There Won't Always Be An England

Britain [hearts] green energy. And to consummate its love, the government's massively subsidizing the stuff, paid for by a 56 pence tax on electricity. The Sunday Telegraph suggests who benefits:

They are among the nation's wealthiest aristocrats, whose families have protected the British landscape for centuries. Until now that is.

For increasing numbers of the nobility -- among them dukes and even a cousin of the Queen -- are being tempted by tens of millions of pounds offered by developers to build giant wind farms on their estates.

An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph reveals how generous subsidies -- that are added to consumer energy bills -- are encouraging hereditary landowners to build turbines up to 410ft tall on their land.

For its part, the BBC (of course) refuses to provide the public a cost/benefit analysis of wind farm subsidies compared to output. According to Sir Simon Jenkins, chairman of the National Trust:

The level of subsidy available to landowners to put up these turbines is out of all proportion to the public benefit derived from them and the temptation to ruin what is usually outstanding landscapes is overwhelming. It is a crime against the landscape.

Agreed--twice.

(via Global Warming Policy Foundation)