WE need to produce energy – modern life simply wouldn't be possible without it. The current reliance on fossil fuels is causing global warming, yet many people don't seem interested in renewable energy – much to the financial benefit of the current fossil fuel industries.

It reminds me of the story of the monkey who put his hand into a hole in a tree to catch a juicy insect then couldn't get his clenched hand out again. Logically he should have let go of the insect to release his hand but in the story he wouldn't do that and he starved to death, still holding onto the insect. In the same way the fossil fuel industry is protecting its short term profits even though climate scientists across the world agree that global warming will shortly be irreversible and will have a truly catastrophic effect on the world – but still won't let go of the massive profit potential. 

It surprises me that the proposal for a single wind turbine at Tidenham seems to be generating a strong aversion yet people don't seem concerned about the proposal to build a new nuclear reactor at Oldbury, just across the river – a prospect which terrifies me. The new reactor would be four times as big as the existing one, truly deserving of the term 'eye-sore'.

In Japan radioactive water is still leaking out of container tanks and the death toll from Chernobyl has passed one million.

The Oldbury site has the highest category of flood risk from the river and in the absence of any national storage facility all radioactive wastes will be stored on site (for up to 160 years).

An earthquake in the Bristol Channel on February 20, 2014 may not have been on the same scale as at Fukushima but it's still not very reassuring.

Some people are angered by the subsidy received by wind energy. In fact, the liability for cleaning up nuclear power costs far more and the tax breaks given to gas, oil and coal are many times more than the subsidies available for all forms of renewable energy.

I understand that some people overlooking the Severndale site may not choose the addition of a wind turbine to their landscape.

It's unfortunate that it's them that will be looking at it rather than someone like me as I think they are a graceful addition.

The inflammatory language being used by some parties seems out of proportion to the issue.

What's certain is that the turbine will make a contribution to the green energy that we desperately need to halt global warming as well as contributing a proportion of turnover to the local community in the form of grants to good local causes.

– Sid Phelps, Cinderford.