I had this secret. I robbed banks in my spare time.

Lives Less Ordinary from the BBC World Service.

This is not a good thing to do because police are after you.

Find out more at the end of this podcast.

Hello, I'm Gideon Long, and today we're looking at wind turbines, like the ones towering above me here at Crook Hill Wind Farm in the hills of Northern England.

Turbines like these are becoming an increasingly common sight across our landscapes as we transition

to green energy. Many of you will

be familiar with them, the big white metal towers topped by three giant rotating blades. But there's

an environmental debate going on about what those blades should be made of. Wood or recycle plastic.

That's what we're looking at in this edition of Business Daily from the BBC

World Service. In the past, people have used all sorts of things as the core material inside

wind turbine blades, but in recent years, one material has been key, Bolsawood. Now, when I was a boy, I remember using Bolsawood to make

little model aeroplanes. It was perfect because it was incredibly light, and although it can seem flimsy,

it's actually pretty strong. It's also flexible, and it's these properties that make it perfect

for wind turbine rotor blades. Think of those massive offshore turbines standing out at sea,

buffeted by gale force winds.

The blades have to be light, but also strong,

and capable of bending in the wind.

Bolsawood is ideal.

So where does Bolsawood come from?

Music So where does balsa wood come from? Well, basically from the rainforests of South America.

One recent industry report found that 95% of the world's balsa wood

...