Journeying by train recently, I was again impressed by the number of energy windmills spread across the European countryside. You see them grouped in sixes or more, like watchers over the fields and villages. If don Quixote were still adventuring now, he would conclude that an invasion by giants is taking place.

One view of  these windmills confirms what is being shown by statistical data: in past years, there has been a dramatic rise in the use of renewable energy.

That same view though seems to also confirm how such a method of generating electricity is less than suitable for this country, even if winds frequently sweep across its length and breadth. Just a single windmill by itself could dominate the countryside where it is located. Just imagine what a platoon of six mills or more would do.

There simply is not enough space where to put them, unless they are placed in the sea.  Yet apparently, that would not be a viable proposition.

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POST NICE

Even after the two savage attacks in France during the past year and a half, as well as the one in Brussels earlier this year, the Nice massacre is horrific in its savagery.

It seems as if more individuals are stepping forward, prepared to die in close to an orgasmic fury, while killing and maiming scores of innocent people. Attacks have been packaged in the language of Islamic fundamentalism, yet they are more similar to the attacks that used to be launched by nihilists in other times. Even so then, in no way were today’s levels of terror and savagery reached.

The problem with all possible options for an effective security policy is that the “best” protection against the current threat is a substantial increase in surveillance over the everyday lives of citizens. That would contradict the values of liberty and democracy that with good reason, the enormous majority of European peoples do not want to sideline or curtail.

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 ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS

A friend told me how progressively new archaeological finds are being made in Malta which though they barely get mentioned, will have a major impact on how we understand our ancient history. If I understood his claim correctly, the challenge will be that it is not so easy for the finds to be studied as soon as they are brought to light.

Material and human resources are insufficient, while finds are frequently surfacing during ongoing projects to build roads, schools, sewage lines and other services from one end to the other of the island. As happened recently when protests were staged in a village where the provision of an essential service was left pending... For so long as remains uncovered when public works are being carried out, get adequate protection, it is illusory to expect that the discovery of the past can take priority over the everyday needs of citizens.

Perhaps we need a new integrative policy that seeks to extract better value from newly discovered remains.

The conclusion that for this to happen, more money will be needed is unsurprising.

Alfred Sant

18 July 2016