Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Environment Agency boss bashes barrage

Powerful opposition to a huge, fixed Severn Barrage from the new man in charge on the Environment Agency (reported here). Lord Smith (Labour's Chris Smith, formerly in the Blair Cabinet as Culture, Media and Sport Secretary) talked of the barrage: destroying fish stocks; wrecking bird habitats; threatening beautiful coastlines; causing many people to be evacuated; having major environmental downsides. Well said Chris! Former Environment Agency boss Baroness Young feels that a barrage across the irreplaceable estuary habitat could set a precedent, leading to similarly protected sites across Europe being at risk. Well said again! What worries me is that none of this is really news - these things were being said twenty or more yrs ago but it has not stopped people in Govt and others of various political persuasions from favouring a barrage!! This is only the environmental aspect; there is a huge and powerful energy strategy, technological and economic case against too.

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