Britain faces water shortages and an energy crisis, but as a group of islands we are surrounded by water & energy. This becomes very clear whenever a storm batters our cliffs and re-arranges our coastline. These issues could be turned to our advantage.

1. Coastal erosion costing homes, farmland & infrastructure is likely to increase with storms resulting from climate change.

2. Water is scarce, but we are building reservoirs on good farmland while losing water to evaporation & leaks.

3. We need to reduce use of fossil fuel urgently.

4. We need to increase our use of green energy to compensate for the loss of fossil fuels.

All four of these issues could be improved if we invested in developing wave power at those parts of our coastline which are under threat.

• Following the example of Norway, UK could use existing technology to build energy sources using wave motion and tidal power. If these units were located offshore from areas of coast threatened by erosion, the destructive power of waves could be transformed into green energy.

• We face increasing water shortages, yet the UK is made up of islands surrounded by the stuff! The problem is to remove the salt as this would require large amounts of energy. Building energy sources using wave power would provide this energy for desalination, and at the same time give protection to our coastline, supply potable water, and possibly surplus electricity.

• We need to abandon fossil fuels, and to do so will involve increased demand for electricity eg for vehicles. The decline of areas like North Sea oil fields will release engineering personnel and others who could be re-trained to work on wave power.

• To achieve this energy change would involve major investment, but would pay back with energy far sooner and cheaper than new nuclear power stations, and without the hazards.

Such an initiative seems so obvious, that I feel that I must have missed something! Can anyone explain, please, why such schemes have not been produced here when other countries which had the willpower have pressed ahead with them?

J.Graham.

King's Stanley