Environmentalists are used to fighting battles. But with environmentalism going mainstream - wind farms, biofuels and nuclear power stations, for example, are fast becoming some of the most controversial issues in British politics today - environmentalists increasingly find themselves skirmishing with one another as they see-saw between pragmatism and idealism.

The Lewis wind farm - rejected by the Scottish Executive earlier this week - is merely the latest example. The Scotsman reported that "environmental agencies welcomed the news" of the massive wind power project's demise, thanks to concerns about impacts on rare peat bog and birdlife habitat. ... Read full article