Wind farms bill stirs up conservationists
The objections of 174 conservation groups against a draft bill facilitating the construction of wind farms were aired at a press conference in Athens yesterday. The proposed reform is «well-intentioned» but will pave the way for unchecked construction in precious ecosystems, environmentalists charge. «If this bill passes in its current form, we will see wind parks in national parks,» said Martinos Gaetlich of the Hellenic Society for the Protection of the Environment and Cultural Heritage. The society says the draft bill does not consider the fact that the country’s islands have very sensitive ecosystems. Those opposed to the bill are also concerned about infrastructure – roads, power lines etc – that would accompany the construction of wind farms. «If we want to turn our mountains into factories, then we can forget about biodiversity,» said Stavros Xirouhakis of the Natural History Museum of Crete.
