Nearly Green

berik has added a photo to the pool:

Bario, in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, Malaysia, is one of the greenest places I know.

We're lucky to have lots of relatives there, so visit whenever we can - it's a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of 'normal' life.

Most houses & longhouses get their electricity via petrol / diesel fuelled generators - noisy, and expensive to run, so these are often only switched on for a few hours in the evening. Things that most of us take for granted therefore, such as fridges and freezers, can't be used.

The Bario Asal longhouse is lucky in that it has both a small hydro electric scheme, and these 4 wind turbines.

Except they (the wind turbines) don't work - apparently they never have, and probably never will. Money has been made by someone (government funded ?), but either the installation was wrong, the model selected not suitable for the site, or perhaps even the site chosen was not optimum.

It's such a pity - a waste of resources, and a waste of money.

Luckily, solar schemes are starting to become more popular, and with every visit, we see more houses sporting solar panels and efficient LED lighting.