Still no replies to the tens of letters sent to REN, Cavalum, Tavira council and the Department of the Economy, so I guess we need to follow-up and make more noise.
However some progress with the press campaign. There was another high profile article in The Algarve Resident last week http://www.algarveresident.com/story.asp?XID=31260 and a follow-up letter and additional wind-farm briefing has been sent to the journalist involved. The same issue also contained an excellent letter from the couple who spearheaded the campaign to stop the erection of a communications tower next to houses in Carvoiero. Like us, they can't understand the behaviour of local politicians.
Contact details are being collected for Portuguese media (TV, radio and newspapers) and a covering letter and briefing material has been translated in preparation.
Briefing material has also been provided to UK-based journalists working for national publications.
Showing posts with label REN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label REN. Show all posts
Friday, 1 May 2009
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Letters, Meetings, Letters
Since the last report there has been a meeting with the Department of the Economy in Faro, and several letters have been sent to various government and local government officials. Letters have also been exchanged with Cavalum, and there have been two telephone conversations. The consultant has agreed to come down to see us and inspect the alternative wind farm locations we have suggested.
However the best advice we are receiving from all sides is to go all out for maximum publicity - Portuguese and English press, TV (eg RTP), radio, British Embassy, British-Portuguese Chambers of Commerce, Dutch, Belgium Chambers of Commerce, etc, etc.
It's election year and we need to make the politicians who are all up for relection in October, face the public and explain why they are sitting on their hands and letting this beautiful environment be destroyed. They need to be made accountable. For example, it's not common knowledge but Tavira Câmera stands to make a lot of money from Cavalum in the form of taxes which it charges for installing wind turbines near your house and mine.
This is why our democratic representatives don't really care if we lose our life savings and decide to move out. They don't care if any planned overseas investments don't go ahead. - they've already got the budget sorted - the new wind farm will help to continue funding high salaries, long holidays and comfortable pensions. Shame about the rest of us. If only we could help you... It wasn't us, it was the people in Lisbon....
Make sure you get this message across to the media - and get them to ask the politicians why they aren't defending their constituents. Get the media to ask the Sta. Catarina and Tavira local authorities how much money they are making out of the high tension cables and the wind farm. Get the media to ask them why they claim to be so powerless when such massive infrastructure development projects are planned for their region. Get the media to ask them why they don't make any effort to inform their constituents about such projects. Ask them why it is that many of the local rural population still don't even know about these developments. Get the questions and any answers in the local newspapers and on the TV, and even more importantly in the media in the UK, Germany, Holland and Belgium. Get angry, get very angry.
However the best advice we are receiving from all sides is to go all out for maximum publicity - Portuguese and English press, TV (eg RTP), radio, British Embassy, British-Portuguese Chambers of Commerce, Dutch, Belgium Chambers of Commerce, etc, etc.
It's election year and we need to make the politicians who are all up for relection in October, face the public and explain why they are sitting on their hands and letting this beautiful environment be destroyed. They need to be made accountable. For example, it's not common knowledge but Tavira Câmera stands to make a lot of money from Cavalum in the form of taxes which it charges for installing wind turbines near your house and mine.
This is why our democratic representatives don't really care if we lose our life savings and decide to move out. They don't care if any planned overseas investments don't go ahead. - they've already got the budget sorted - the new wind farm will help to continue funding high salaries, long holidays and comfortable pensions. Shame about the rest of us. If only we could help you... It wasn't us, it was the people in Lisbon....
Make sure you get this message across to the media - and get them to ask the politicians why they aren't defending their constituents. Get the media to ask the Sta. Catarina and Tavira local authorities how much money they are making out of the high tension cables and the wind farm. Get the media to ask them why they claim to be so powerless when such massive infrastructure development projects are planned for their region. Get the media to ask them why they don't make any effort to inform their constituents about such projects. Ask them why it is that many of the local rural population still don't even know about these developments. Get the questions and any answers in the local newspapers and on the TV, and even more importantly in the media in the UK, Germany, Holland and Belgium. Get angry, get very angry.
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