tilting at windmills

The comune has in hand a proposal from a Spanish alternative energy consortium to receive large sums of money each year in return for permitting the placing of some 29 wind turbines on the hill crest above Gello Biscardo and (just the last 2) La Castellina. They are not visible from Castellina because of an intervening crest, nor are they visible from the village house because of an intervening village, particularly palazzo Cassi.

They are visible from just about every other viewpoint between Florence and Rome (perhaps Incisa and Chiusi, but still.)

It is becoming plain that the suspicion that negotiations are more advanced and distribution of benefits more personal than the comune has vouchsafed is well founded.

At a meeting attended by Library representatives the ecological folly of all this was demonstrated. It emerged also from a sororal visit by one of the councillors of Foiano, that the comune here has entered as well into negotiation for the siting of a rubbish dump for highly toxic materials from all over Italy and, possibly, all over the European Union.

The extreme reluctance to release information, papers, and high levels of irritation in the comune at their plans being discovered raises fears for the worst possible behaviour by this utterly corrupt and rotten borough. But private and social steps have been taken to protect ourselves. As well, a dangerous rift in attitudes and tactics by the council opposition has been averted and the importance of maintaining a social and cultural opposition to these devastations of our environment, rather than embroiling ourselves in a political fight asserted.

The preset numbers of days for all kinds of legal steps have not run out and all appropriate papers have been lodged (many thanx to the legal and administrative Library team.)

Alliances among the local landowners are being built; the next step might be to make aware local property owners of the devastating drop in their house values if either of these projects goes through. Many people here have mortgages past their ears and nothing but their monthly wages, yet they have little idea what the downgrading of the zone to 'contaminated' will do to them economically.

Any Library user with suggestions, comments etc., should put them forward on this thread, which the Librarian will regularly check; accounts of similar struggles against pseudo-ecological tax harvesting ploys would be welcome particularly.

reviews

The Librarian invites reviews from all Library members who are enthused or repelled by whatever they are reading. This will help keep us all updated with much less effort than doing the reading ourselves (unless here, where reading is obligatory).