WHERE there鈥檚 war, there鈥檚 not a lot of concern about environmental damage.
So 快猫短视频 is almost alone among the British media in focusing on
the plight of the Afghan people if their water-supply tunnels continue to be
damaged by 鈥渂unker bombs鈥�
(17 November 2001, p 7). These ancient tunnels
normally run deep underground for tens of kilometres, bringing water from
hillside reserves to hundreds of surrounding small villages.
When I raised the matter with the armed forces minister Adam Ingram, he
assured me that coalition forces recognise the tunnels to be part of the
country鈥檚 irrigation system and are taking great care not to attack them. He
added that under international law, utilities such as water are given special
protection, unless shown to be for purely military use.
Well, I鈥檓 puzzled how, with the best will in the world, one can show this. If
Mullah Omar escaped down one of these tunnels on his motorbike, would this be
seen as a purely military use? What we know about how things are used is often
pretty scanty. But clearly, the restoration of the tunnels is paramount, and a
major consideration for the international fund that鈥檚 being pledged to rebuild
war-ravaged Afghanistan.
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At least the coalition took care not to destroy the Kajaki dam on the Helmand
river. The country鈥檚 wildlife was not so lucky. As 快猫短视频
reported recently, the bombing made life particularly hard for birds following
one of the world鈥檚 great migratory thoroughfares
(5 January, p 4). The campaign
has also had catastrophic effects on rare snow leopards, gazelles, bears and
Marco Polo sheep.
I鈥檇 like to think that some of the international recovery fund will be
earmarked for wildlife conservation. If Afghanistan is ever to open its doors to
tourists, its wildlife could feature as a major attraction.
ALISTAIR CARMICHAEL, the MP for Orkney and Shetland, started a mini-debate
recently when he asked Brian Wilson, the energy minister, what steps the
Department of Trade and Industry was taking to develop wave and tidal power.
Wilson replied that the world鈥檚 first commercial wave-powered station on the
Scottish Hebridean island of Islay was among the projects that his department
supported. The DTI would provide ongoing support to the commercial wave-powered
electrical generation technology that Wavegen was developing and testing. It had
also awarded a 拢1.1 million grant to the British offshore equipment
company Engineering Business for a tidal-stream offshore power generator
(快猫短视频, 26 January, p 18).
Among those joining in and raising points with the minister, Labour MP Nick
Palmer said that MPs were concerned by reports that recent changes to reduce the
price of electricity were causing a decline in energy produced from renewable
sources. He asked the minister to be careful that the DTI doesn鈥檛 inadvertently
shoot itself in the foot in its attempt to reduce energy costs.
Wilson said he took the point, but thought the new electricity trading
arrangements were working well, and there had been a 20 per cent reduction in
the wholesale price of electricity. Unfortunately, he said, the reduction in the
wholesale price of electricity had had an impact on renewables, especially wave
power and combined heat and power.
John Whittingdale, Conservative spokesman on energy, asserted that producers
of renewable energy were being driven out of business. I fear he is right.
Action will have to be taken immediately if all the good work done in Britain on
renewables is not to be thrown away.