1. Not so. I object to pylons, but not windfarms. Windfarms are pretty. Pylons are one of the worst things humans have imposed on the countryside.
2. What about the impact of pouring the concrete bases for pylons every few hundred metres or so? Making and shipping all that steel to site and erecting it and so on. Not to mention the hideous visual impact. Oh god pylons are so hideous.
3. I have read that. But pylons aren't maintenance free either. I also think that perhaps the case in JWZ's article is perhaps specific to situations where space is limited for the cabling. If I were laying an underground cable, I'd duct that mother in such a way that I could send a fixit robot down the duct whenever I liked. Someone else is bound to have thought of that. You could even power the bot by induction..
4. Whacking great horrible steel pylons+cables are not in the same league as some field boundaries or whatever.
Still, Monbiot is conflating "I want things to look pretty in places I never go" with "lets do the best thing for the environment". If there's a strong, rational case for erecting pylons, then up the pylons should go. Also Monbiot's an asshat. He manages to piss off people like me, who are - broadly speaking - on his side, so goodness only knows how much he annoys people who's minds he needs to change. No movement needs someone like that on their side.
I sometimes wonder if some kind of above-ground cabling might work? Like an oil pipeline, but with a cable bundle inside the tube. Low visual impact, easy to maintain, etc.
I've long said Monbiot is an asshat
2. What about the impact of pouring the concrete bases for pylons every few hundred metres or so? Making and shipping all that steel to site and erecting it and so on. Not to mention the hideous visual impact. Oh god pylons are so hideous.
3. I have read that. But pylons aren't maintenance free either. I also think that perhaps the case in JWZ's article is perhaps specific to situations where space is limited for the cabling. If I were laying an underground cable, I'd duct that mother in such a way that I could send a fixit robot down the duct whenever I liked. Someone else is bound to have thought of that. You could even power the bot by induction..
4. Whacking great horrible steel pylons+cables are not in the same league as some field boundaries or whatever.
Still, Monbiot is conflating "I want things to look pretty in places I never go" with "lets do the best thing for the environment". If there's a strong, rational case for erecting pylons, then up the pylons should go. Also Monbiot's an asshat. He manages to piss off people like me, who are - broadly speaking - on his side, so goodness only knows how much he annoys people who's minds he needs to change. No movement needs someone like that on their side.
I sometimes wonder if some kind of above-ground cabling might work? Like an oil pipeline, but with a cable bundle inside the tube. Low visual impact, easy to maintain, etc.
-mat