IN response to the letter, 'imagine if it were the wind farm’ by Councillor Mike Greene.

Yes, imagine if it were the wind farm in Poole Bay today.

The 121 turbines would have generated enough energy to power over 700,000 homes, all the households in the Dorset County Council conurbation, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, combined.

Imagine if we had been told the truth about the wind farm, the oil rig, and our responsibilities as the last generation who can halt climate catastrophe.

Councillor Mike Greene was a vocal opponent to the Navitus Bay Wind Farm alongside a suite of Conservative MPs and councillors in the Bournemouth area.

Bournemouth council spent over £63,000 of taxpayers' money from just the 1st of April 2012 to the 10th of December 2014.

And goodness knows how much they spent after that, opposing the project.

Yet, we’ve seen little resistance to the Corallian Colter prospect well that sits in Poole Bay currently.

The wind farm proposal was rejected on the basis of the visual ‘damage’ it would do to the seascape, tourism and the UNESCO World Heritage Status.

But councillor, you misrepresent the visual impact of the turbines when comparing it to the oil rig that is no more than three miles from the coast, not six as you suggest (radar data available upon request).

The Jurassic Coastline was awarded the status due to its unique geological and geomorphological features, for which turbines out on the horizon would do nothing to harm.

An appraisal well, and yet more horizontal drilling under Poole Bay, risks accidental spill that would harm the marine environment in the bay, irreparably.

There’s the risk of a blowout (subsea wellhead rupture) which would result in the release of millions of gallons of crude oil into the sea and on to hundreds of miles of coastline including our own treasured beaches.

It’s nice that you ‘hope’ fossil fuels will be phased out, councillor, but hoping isn’t good enough. We are facing a climate catastrophe now if we continue to squeeze every last drop of oil from the earth and emit harmful greenhouse gases.

And if the Dorset Beauty Spot is in the eye of the beholder - what could be more beautiful than a coastal community powered by offshore renewables?

Tourism here too needs to be built on renewable, sustainable enterprises. Dorset and the world have no choice.

Aesthetic arguments about our coastlines are the pinnacle of short-sightedness.

Instead, we need an environmental vision for the future here in Dorset and genuine green leadership.

Imagine a world where our councillors helped avert the looming environmental disaster.

SARA PASCOE

Save Our Shores, Bournemouth