"Last month, 60 residents of New York’s Herkimer County filed a lawsuit in Albany that provides yet another example of the growing backlash against the wind-energy sector. It also exposes the double standard that exists in both the mainstream media and among environmental groups when it comes to “green” energy.".........................
There will have to be some tradeoffs and sacrifices made if we really want to get serious about weaning ourselves off oil.My home town is powered 85% by wind and hydro power and will one day soon be 100% green.It's a unique situation I know since its an island and all, but the beautiful mountain that looks down on our town now has ugly windmills on top.People who complained at first have gotten the picture and most people are happy now.
Maybe someone can invent some sort of noise cancelling system to counter the noise to an acceptable level or people can just turn their music up louder to drown it out. But seriously, one day when oil is like gold they wont mind the noise very much.
KodiakJack wrote: There will have to be some tradeoffs and sacrifices made if we really want to get serious about weaning ourselves off oil.My home town is powered 85% by wind and hydro power and will one day soon be 100% green.It's a unique situation I know since its an island and all, but the beautiful mountain that looks down on our town now has ugly windmills on top.People who complained at first have gotten the picture and most people are happy now.
Maybe someone can invent some sort of noise cancelling system to counter the noise to an acceptable level or people can just turn their music up louder to drown it out. But seriously, one day when oil is like gold they wont mind the noise very much.
Lots of problems with finding suitable locations for windpower Jack. And when you do find a place, you have environmentalists squealing when birds get killed. I'm sure Kodiak has a more ideal senario for a small windfarm but to think that technology could be efficent and cost effective nationwide is another story. Plus, people seem to care too much about what effects them personally and lawyers are always there to make sure businesses pay for "damages". I think a lot of HOAs forbid you to have solar panels on your home because they spoil the cookie-cutter look of the nieghborhood. I think you'll be sad to learn how stupid people are in the lower 48.
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
I was talking with a birder over the weekend and they think they might have solved the problem of birds killing themselves in wind machines. Birds they think see in a ultraviolet range and they are planning to add UV lights to the windmills to scare away avian flocks. Or will that attract our feathered friends?
Since we are off the grid in South Park and there is always plenty of wind there, we did check it out as an energy source, but what we found was wind was more of a maintenance nightmare compared to solar. Other than topping off the batteries a few times a year, it is much easier than maintaining windmills.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
KodiakJack wrote: There will have to be some tradeoffs and sacrifices made if we really want to get serious about weaning ourselves off oil..
lol You do know that we are going to run out of oil right? Were not just doing this because its good for the envioroment or something, right? We don't have a choice
I have been hearing the peak oil hysteria for decades, sure we will eventually run out and it will get more expensive to get out of the ground, but let the market guide moves into natural gas, solar, and other sources instead of subsidizing green energy money pits like Solyandra and ethanol.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
FredHayek wrote: I was talking with a birder over the weekend and they think they might have solved the problem of birds killing themselves in wind machines. Birds they think see in a ultraviolet range and they are planning to add UV lights to the windmills to scare away avian flocks. Or will that attract our feathered friends?
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Due to changes in wind turbine technology, avian mortality is much lower in newer wind farms than places like Altamont, which are legendary for killing birds. Also, Altamont was developed in an area where large numbers of raptors fed on rodents - bad site for thousands of turbines.
Bat mortaility may be a bigger issue than avian mortality. Many of the bats being killed are migratory bats with low reproduction rates. Search for "exploding bat lungs", you'll find some interesting info.
