Greenpeace tour ends in Cambridge with message for government
The clear majority of people in East Anglia want to see more wind turbines at sea and no new nuclear power stations, according to the latest MORI poll. The results will be presented to government representatives when a Greenpeace tour of the region ends in Cambridge today (16.08.02).
The environmental group has been touring towns and cities in the Eastern region to promote wind energy and warn people about the dangers they will face if Tony Blair allows new nuclear plants to be constructed on the coast. Greenpeace asked supportive members of the public to sign their message to the government on a speech bubble and pose next to it for a photograph. Now the messages, from thousands of locals, will be delivered to GO East - the government office for the East of England - in Cambridge today, along with the startling poll results.
The photographs of concerned locals will be presented in a huge collage of the number 84 - the percentage of people in East Anglia who want to see more turbines built at sea to exploit the region's huge renewable energy resources. The poll also reveals that a massive 78% of people in East Anglia oppose the construction of new nuclear power plants, while only 5% would support a new building programme. Tony Blair is considering whether to give the go-ahead to a new generation of nuclear reactors, including two in the region.
Laura Yates, who organised the Greenpeace tour, said:
"We knew from speaking to people in the towns where we stopped that there is massive support for wind turbines off the coast here, and it was obvious that people don't want more Sizewells and Bradwells. The results from this new poll certainly confirm that. The message from people to the government is clear - Tony Blair will meet with huge opposition if he tries to force more of these deadly nuclear plants on the area. East Anglians know they are sitting on a treasure chest of safe natural power and they want to see it harnessed."
The Greenpeace tour visited 15 towns in three weeks. It was launched last month in Great Yarmouth with the publication of a new report that showed Britain could generate a quarter of its electricity by building wind turbines off East Anglia alone. The study was written by AEA Technology - formerly the government's own atomic energy authority. Its findings demonstrated that harnessing the region's wind resource could attract investment of £0 billion, create 60,000 jobs and allow us to shut all of the UK's dangerous nuclear plants.
Notes for editors:
- MORI interviewed a respresentative quota sample of 410 people aged 15+ throughout the Eastern Region (including 108 in East Anglia) across 19 sampling points. Interviews were conducted face-to-face in respondents' homes between July 25 - 13 August 2002. Data are weighted to the known regional population profile.
- The offices of Go East are at Building 1, Westbrook, Milton Road, Cambridge.
- For a copy of the AEA study visit www.greenpeace.org.uk/seawindeast.htm
- For full poll results visit www.mori.com
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255
