I would add to that ( and this is about the complexity of the CC crisis and 
the fallacy of simple fixes ) that the materials for the production of such 
items has to be mined/manufactured or otherwise sourced, transported to the 
place of manufacture, the people who work there have to get to the place of 
work, the factory requires energy, the finished products have to be 
transported to out of town garden centres, which require energy, workers 
have to use transport to get to work, and the consumers have to travel to 
the stores concerned.

It would seem that a far more radical re-ordering of our lives is required 
than simply putting a windmill or solar panels on our roofs.

Chris

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Naveed Naz" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 12:32 AM
Subject: Re: The 4D Charter & Anti environmental architecture


Johnathans onto something.

According to Monbiot those small home-use windmill are typically 1.75m
in diameter and this will typically only provide about 5% of your
energy needs. To get to 50% the thing will have to be 4meters in
diameter and 11 meters in the air, and if you put on your roof, it'll
probably rip it off!

http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2006/10/06/small-is-useless/

Infact, Monbiot isn't so keen on "home-made" energy, he thinks it's a
bit of a sham so middle-class people can feel all good about doing
something for climate change, when in fact they're not.

It's a good article, worth reading!

N




On 10/30/06, Jonathan Ward <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> i have wondered whether we might see large retailers selling people, and
> convincing people that they need, small scale wind turbines and other
> measures which are not the most effective for either energy production or
> energy saving? a mass market of low cost measures which might ulitmately 
> be
> ineffective.
>
> doesn't a personal wind turbine need a span of 4m to provide you with 
> enough
> electricity for your home (wind strength and consistency permitting)?
> obviously smaller ones might make a contribution, but scale is a key 
> issue.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Windows Live™ Messenger has arrived. Click here to download it for free!
> http://imagine-msn.com/messenger/launch80/?locale=en-gb
>