People Power

Jeremy Smith

1st June, 2004

The community of Machynlleth has gone beyond just investing in someone else’s wind turbine. They’ve clubbed together and planned, built and paid for one of their own.

Think back to the first hour of the morning. The alarm goes off. The radio comes on. Switch on the light in the bedroom. And in the kitchen. And in the bathroom. Take the milk out of the fridge. Boil the kettle. Twice. Have a hot shower.

All the while what were you thinking? About work? Breakfast?

How untidy the house was? How about how much electricity all those tasks used? Doubtful. Most of us, accustomed to simply plugging our appliances into sockets and flicking a switch, have no idea where our electricity even comes from. We know there are different types of power stations around the country, and we know roughly how much we pay out each month, but little more. If someone asked us to explain how coal heated our kettles, or how wind turbines powered our televisions, or how Sellafield’s nuclear reactors kept our frozen fish frozen, they’d be met with a blank stare.

And why should we know? It’s not our job. We pay our direct debits and leave the rest to the likes of Enron, British Nuclear Fuels and the young men and women dying in Falluja and Kirkuk. Ours is a world of ready meals and moving walkways, removed from the actual efforts of creation. We have forgotten that before the...

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