The issue of the proliferation of windfarm proposals continues with increasing concern from both local residents and mountaineers about the location of many of the proposals, the number and size of turbines and the overall impact on Scotland's landscapes. Many concern areas of land that are not designated in any way for their special character or scenic quality, but could nonetheless have a major impact on the landscape of the countryside that many people enjoy.

A significant change ('global warming') in the global climate caused (or at least exacerbated) by the greatly increased emissions of several gases (particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide) that have occurred throughout the 20th century, and into the 21st, has been accepted as reality by the vast majority of scientists. Politicians of most nations have accepted this scientific consensus and have been trying to agree actions. The best known is the 'Kyoto Protocol' an international agreement which aims at reducing the emissions of the so-called 'greenhouse gases' of which carbon dioxide is the most significant. This agreement has currently been ratified by 119 countries. (Cook & Dewar 2003).