Bat, bird welfare a real concern: panel right
Re the proposed mega wind farm near Wyndham in Southland: the killing of endangered bats by the wind turbine blades is a major concern and so it should be.
It has been observed across the world that bats are killed both by direct impact with the rotating blades and by getting caught up in the violent air turbulence behind the trailing edges of the blades.
Although mitigation of such effects is mentioned by Contact Energy this is just nonsense since there is in no actual way to mitigate such bat slaughter. Bats at night fly all over the place and not on predictable paths.
In addition Contact Energy has stated that the "net effect on the local environment would have been overwhelmingly positive" and this also is nonsensical and is simply a marketing ploy.
Thirdly, Contact Energy tries to make it a great virtue by "saving of one million tonnes of carbon (they mean carbon dioxide) discharge a year versus coal".
China alone discharges 35 times this amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every day and is building a new coal fired power plant every week or two. In other words, whatever New Zealand does is totally inconsequential.
Lastly, all wind farms as well as solar farms need backup power, including coal, for the periods when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.
This proposed wind farm is not needed, it would be a blight on a wonderful landscape and it would be a murderer of bats and birds. I pray and hope that the common sense decision by the consent panel stands.
Bats beating humans
If New Zealand is to fulfil its considerable potential with green energy, we will need more of its substrate, green electricity. This can be used to produce exportable green derivatives of green hydrogen: steel, fertiliser, ammonia, aluminium and even hydrocarbons.
To achieve this we need to overcome resistance such as we are witnessing against the Eastern Southland 55-turbine wind farm. The welfare of long tail bats is trumping that of humans.
At present the bats’ population is apparently increasing 4% pa due to better control of exotic predators. I don’t accept this growth will be impacted by a cluster of 55 wind turbines.
Other grounds for opposition, the protection of fens and boglands of the Jedburgh plateau and skinks are equally questionable and quixotic.
The priorities of those farmers who are blithely opposing the project while their livestock contribute to their 49% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions should instead seize this project as an opportunity for themselves to mitigate their adverse impact while still enjoying warm towel rails.
Nimbys, luddites and pedants should not prevail over common sense.
A cyclist writes
I am writing in support of a recently published letter re- allowing bikes back on the bus.
I am a senior citizen who regularly rides a bike around North East Valley and into town. Not infrequently I have travelled out in fine weather only to find that by the time I want to return the wind has got up.
I feel safer knowing that I can bring my bike back close to home on the bus, if necessary pushing it the last leg from the nearest bus stop.
The alternative is to ride the bike in a wind when the gusts can make me wobble and turn me into a traffic hazard.
Is this seriously considered the "safer" option?
Going by our mailbox, view shared by many
Am I the only person who sees Trump's behaviour for what it is? A predatory opportunistic grab for a country's riches while offering it up to its other predator, Russia. It looks as though they are taking the Ukraine to pieces between them.
If there were a showdown between Europe and Russia before Trump moves on, one way or another, I would expect we would see him throwing in his lot with Russia against Europe.
I expect they are hoping another election would see Trump gone. He did say during his election campaign however that people would only have to elect him once and they would not have to "elect" again.
I note our PM is being politic in his approach while undertaking whirlwind tours to Vietnam and India. He is clearly trying to shift our traditional markets, the US and China, now our two biggest predators, to protect New Zealand.
Article offends
Why was it necessary to publish the rather offensive article "First they came for the letter T", as a feature in the Weekend Mix (22.3.25). Written by Eva Wiseman from The Observer, this unwholesome article, I feel should have had an R18 rating.
Is this what we want to read as a feature in our Weekend Mix? It saddens me to have this revolting rant from an apparently, self-entitled overseas feminist.
I have to feel sorry for Eva who states, "should we all be learning how to perform abortions," and "have a little stash of mifepristone in our make-up bag," so worried is she that her rights to have an abortion are being curtailed.
Over the page we read the story of the resilience of the women of the Tuck family. No comparison.
It might just be 20cm but it’s significant
Having read Neville Peat's letter regarding a relaxation of the rules governing the levels of Lake Manapouri to the extent of just 20cm (ODT 19.3.25), I wonder if the ODT's readers realise the potential for a seemingly minuscule raising of water levels to change an environment.
As someone interested in bird-life in respect of their habits and adjustments to their various environments, I used to visit Tomahawk's upper lagoon frequently, sometimes daily, when it was an interesting showcase for a surprising number of bird species.
As such, it could have been a considerable attraction for those interested in a microcosm of New Zealand bird-life, including some enthusiasts I have met from overseas on their second, or even third visits; while we undervalue our natural resources in favour of our addictive cellphone screens.
Unfortunately, the neglect of a control device designed and installed in a time of greater enlightenment than today, is now permanently jammed in a position, which has ensured that the level of the upper lagoon, has been permanently raised by around 20cm; the same as has been proposed for Manapouri.
Two days ago I paid the lagoon a visit out of curiosity, to note a near absence of bird-life generally, and total absence of wading species, due to the fact that all wading-margins, once the haunts of white-faced herons, spurwings, numerous others, and especially the pair of once resident marsh crakes, have disappeared.
Currently, even the appearances of pukekos seem sporadic and unreliable. Instead, bullrushes are invading the area as never before in my more-than-a-decade of experience.
While 20cm may not seem much in the overall scheme of things, it may still result in drastic environmental changes.
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
