Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Who Owns The Wind?



One of the most interesting and yet incredibly bizarre books about bread I've ever looked at is H.E. Jacob's, Six Thousand Years Of Bread.
For example, in one small section, Jacob talks about some monks who wished to build a windmill for the purpose of grinding grain (could there be any other purpose?).
However, there was a count who ruled against it because he said the wind passed over his land and therefore the wind belonged to him! Ultimately the monks were allowed to construct their windmill, but they had to pay a yearly tax to the count for the privilege of using his wind. They were not pleased.
I think we can be certain that those who battle against clean energy (and you know who they are) would think highly of the count's tactics and are searching for ways to prolong the burning of fossil fuels.