Posted on 10-6-2003

Hot Air For Wind Power

Banks Peninsula, Tuesday 10 June, 2003: Greenpeace and the Body Shop have joined forces to launch a Switch postcard campaign calling on Helen Clark to lead the country to switch to 100% clean renewable energy supply by 2020, and away from polluting power such as coal. The postcard campaign launch took place at New Zealand’s first owned, designed and manufactured wind turbine by Windflow, on Banks Peninsula.* “On the six month anniversary of the Government signing the Kyoto Protocol, the Body Shop and Greenpeace are saying to the Government: protect the climate and secure a sustainable energy supply,” said Greenpeace climate campaigner Vanessa Atkinson.  “New Zealand has one of the best energy resources in the world – wind energy. The Government must change the way they think about energy and start putting the brakes on global warming by planning for the decommissioning of coal-fired power plants and actively support wind energy”. “Climate change is an issue of national importance and Helen Clark needs to take big steps quickly to bring more wind projects into the energy mix and establish an energy strategy that will lead New Zealand to a clean, 100% renewable energy future by 2020. Unfortunately, recent short-term Government decisions will lead us towards more dirty old coal.”

Traditional energy sources such as burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Global warming causes glaciers to melt, sea levels to rise and extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. Coal produces more global warming carbon dioxide than any other fossil fuel. “Environmentally damaging energy sources such as coal are dinosaur relics from the fossil fuel past – and that’s where they should remain. The future of energy is in clean renewable wind.”
“We should not be asking ‘Why wind farms?’ but ’Why not wind farms?’” said New Zealand Director of The Body Shop, Ashleigh Ogilvie-Lee. “Being a Wellingtonian myself on those occasional windy days as I hang onto a lamppost on Lambton Quay, I’d like to think ‘Bad hair day – but great day for the national grid!’ The Body Shop is pleased to join Greenpeace and launch the Switch postcard campaign to urge Helen Clark to lead the country to 100% renewable energy.”

120,000 postcards will be available at Body Shop outlets throughout the country, cafes, Greenpeace frontliners on the street and distributed to Greenpeace supporters.  “New Zealand has enough potential wind energy to produce three times our present power generation each year. Banks Peninsula is one of thirteen areas around New Zealand identified as having excellent wind resources that just need to be harnessed,” concluded Atkinson.