Wind Trouble

Greece is a slartibartfastian masterpiece. Like Norway, it is a very crinkly place. Pound for pound, it has as much coastline as any other country in Europe, and a good many islands as well - some of which are not breeding grounds for rare birds, homes to unique horses, or burial sites for noted poets. The Greek island of Skyros is all these things, which is probably why the Greek government, in collusion with the construction firm Enteka and the country's biggest landowner, the Orthodox Church, is trying to sneak through a project to cover the southern half with wind turbines, plus major access roads and supply cables running down to the sea-bed. Planning permission was sought more than two years ago, with no public consultation, and the project stands to make about ten million euros a week from the Public Power Corporation, which certainly speaks well for the motives of those involved. "Suddenly they care about insects and horses?" the head of Enteka said tactfully. "You show me a Skyrian that cares about the environment and I'll eat my hat."

The Orthodox Church does not seem to have commented, but its involvement could presage an encouraging new trend in the destruction of rare species. After all, it was Darwin's study of exceptional species on the Galápagos islands that first gave rise to the pernicious doctrine of evolution by natural selection. If it were possible to set up wind turbines in all such ungodly environments, and reduce the earth's species to the ones mentioned in the Bible, just imagine what an electrifying effect it might have upon the faithful.