Barrage: more reports needed after the...er...report has been completed

This story is a great illustration of why huge civil engineering projects like the Severn Barrage can probably never be an effective and efficient way to tackle climate change or our energy security needs (Barrage - 'we need yet more research', Bristol Evening Post, 23 Jan 08). They are extremely expensive, complex, and time-consuming - and the expenditure of money and time begins with the compilation of report after report, after report...which in the end may lead us, at great expense, nowhere, as it has in the past. Why aren't we focussing in big-time on the most cost-effective and prompt option - energy efficiency and conservation - since the waste of energy is currently even worse than the waste of water through leaks and poor habits!!