The birds could kill it first

[Recursion]

You can blow up a pipeline, you can blow up the windmills. You know, the windmills, boom, boom, boom [mimicking windmill sound] bing [mimes shooting large gun], that’s the end of that one. If the birds don’t kill it first. The birds could kill it first. They kill so many birds. You look underneath some of those windmills, it’s like a killing field, the birds. But you know, that’s what they were going to, they were going to windmills. And you know, don’t worry about — when the wind doesn’t blow, I said, ‘What happens when the wind doesn’t blow?’ ‘Well, then we have a problem.’

Okay, good. They were putting them in areas where they didn’t have much wind, too. And it’s a subs — you need subsidy for windmills. You need subsidy. Who wants to have energy where you need subsidy? So, uh, the coal is doing great.

I despise the arrogance (and this isn't just Trump, you see this all over America) of people with no training in a discipline who think all these engineers who actually studied this never bothered to ask something like "what happens when the wind doesn't blow?"

[Caliman73]

1. Trump is an idiot and his followers are right there with him.

Every part of that speech was incredibly stupid. Yes you can damage pipelines, turbines, you can blow up dams and nuclear plants, you can also destroy coal factories. He is just an idiot. Talking about subsidies when coal and oil have received massive subsidies for decades.

[SWBTATTReg]

2. I immediately realized who uttered the posted quote (only 1 person dumb enough to ...

say something idiotic like this)...and this guy went to school (and military prep school afterwards).

The comment about the windmills got me going...if you think about it, a lot of the windmills are in rump country, helping pump water by the millions of gallons for farmers and ranchers. If they didn't have these windmills, cattle and other livestock wouldn't be around.

Ignorant and stupid too!

[dalton99a]

9. +1. He's a total idiot

[Skidmore]

3. I vaguely recall

reading something about birds and wind farms by a DUer some time ago. Same reason for not building them too.

[Tikki]

4. yeah, don't some of these anti-alternative energy posters back nuclear and other

energy platforms with long term damages and dangers.

Just wondering....

Tikki

[LanternWaste]

7. "Well, what happens when the wind ain't blowin'? We just supposed to stop doing everything?"

We had some real duzy's back in the day. Wind and solar energy were anathema to both them and their brains.

Solar was even more bemusing with their half-witted Cloudy Day arguments.

[womanofthehills]

17. Large wind farms have coal or natural gas backup plants for when the wind is not blowing

I used to live off grid, but now my solar panels are connected to grid which makes my life so much easier.

[demmiblue]

8. I also remember the poster who complained about a wind turbine blade...

detaching and flying a mile through the air.

[FSogol]

13. and 10 feet of hail!

[womanofthehills]

18. There are downsides to everything - like all the wind turbine graveyards

Technology keeps changing and last yrs wind turbine might not be as good compared to the latest.

[SWBTATTReg]

11. Unfortunate by product of technology...I read somewhere...

that they were very careful in placing these turbines in so called bird-free areas, e.g., don't put directly in path of favorite bird spots, etc., as well as marking or something to scare the birds away...I'd think that since birds have been around quite a while, that they would start to avoid such things, e.g. duck hunters having to wear camo and the like. May not 100% stop some birds from flying into, but at least, it's a start...

With new tech, there's always something more to learn, when you starting using it (the new tech)...IT is a good example (especially since the late 1970s)...

[womanofthehills]

14. Actually, the big energy companies "really don't care" much about the birds

-Trump is also just blowing smoke about not liking wind (for his stupid followers). He is probably invested in every aspect of creating energy. The HUGE energy companies are out to make big bucks off of renewables while using eminent domain to take land from rural people all over the US including my rural town in NM which they seem determined to make into an energy corridor.

SunZia transmission line project ill-sited for birds

The Rio Grande is a fragile ecosystem, and the proposed line location has a high concentration of migrant birds: summer nesting birds, wintering birds such as the sandhill crane, and threatened and endangered birds species. Some of the largest wetland complexes left in New Mexico still exist in this area, making it crucial to protect this unique middle Rio Grande riparian wetland complex.

Through our collaborative efforts with agencies, Native tribes, other nonprofits and communities, we have obtained $5 million in federal funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-North American Wetlands Conservation Act grants to protect migratory bird habitat, including projects in Bernalillo, Valencia, Sandoval and Socorro counties.

The conservation projects included restoration and enhancement on tribal lands, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, and included $500,000 for purchasing Valle del Oro and creating wetlands on the urban refuge. The grants also included 23 Rio Grande Agricultural Land Trust conservation easements that protect private land near the proposed Rio Grande crossing. SunZia’s transmission lines will not only directly impact migratory birds but will compromise the conservation value of this area’s crucial migratory bird habitat. This will make it difficult to obtain conservation funds for the entire middle Rio Grande.

Since 2008, tracking and responding to this project has been a challenging game of bait and switch. As late as 2014, alternate routes were discussed, yet public hearings ended in 2012. Requests were made for line burial under the river at any location in order to minimize bird impacts. SunZia’s response at that time was that the technology did not exist to make this possible, yet they agreed to go underground for five miles adjacent to White Sands Missile Range.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/my_view/sunzia-transmission-line-project-ill-sited-for-birds/article_c3390d8f-8b75-5320-8f8a-c664f48d0a74.html

[womanofthehills]

15. No problem if the turbines and monster transmission lines are not in the path of migrating birds

The problem is not with the turbines and transmission lines, it's with the huge energy corporations trying to save a buck and not doing their homework - like here in NM.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

19. It's not a problem if the turbines are on a migration path:

all the power company has to do is "feather" the blades to stop the rotation, just like they do during emergencies (storms, etc) or for routine maintenance. If they schedule maintenance during the migration period (usually short and predictable), they would not kill as many birds, butterflies, etc.

Their blades, I'm sure, are engineered to survive bird strikes. That's what they call "doing their homework".

[joshcryer]

16. Power lines and buildings kill 200x more birds.

Something like 60 million (yes million) die from power lines every year. There are something like 200-400 billion birds on the planet though. So while human civilization does have an enormous impact on birds, it's not a huge deal.

The bigger issue is mitigating bird deaths for endangered species. But they research sites carefully to avoid it as best as possible.

[womanofthehills]

21. The monster 140ft to 200 ft power lines from the interstate wind transmission lines are a problem

If the wind and solar energy would stay locally, this would not be a problem. Monster power lines would not be needed.

[joshcryer]

25. Yeah but all energy plants have that problem.

Rooftop solar is the real solution and it's going to be cheaper than raw tiles in a decade or two. Like it'll be cheaper to have solar shingles than it would be to put asphalt shingles down.

[womanofthehills]

29. Agreed - I have rooftop solar

[mahatmakanejeeves]

28. This is why we need socialism: we could simply order people to relocate to wind and solar farms.

No more transmission lines!

That's Shepherd Flats, in northeastern Oregon.

Unfortunately, people insist on living near their jobs, and places where they can get an education, and buy things, and go to museums, and on and on.

The energy is made in one place, and people live somewhere else. Hence, the need for transmission lines. They can be reeeeaaaaalllly long too:

Pacific DC Intertie

The Pacific DC Intertie (also called Path 65) is an electric power transmission line that transmits electricity from the Pacific Northwest to the Los Angeles area using high voltage direct current (HVDC). The line capacity is 3,100 megawatts, which is enough to serve two to three million Los Angeles households and represents almost half (48.7%) of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) electrical system's peak capacity.



Map of the route of the Pacific Intertie transmission route and stations

The intertie originates near the Columbia River at the Celilo Converter Station of Bonneville Power Administration's grid outside The Dalles, Oregon and is connected to the Sylmar Converter Station north of Los Angeles, which is owned by five utility companies and managed by LADWP. The Intertie can transmit power in either direction, but power flows mostly from north to south.

Imagine that: half the electric power used in Los Angeles is generated at the Columbia River, 850 miles away.

[womanofthehills]

30. I'm talking about the energy produced by wind in NM is not being used in NM - zero -

it's going to Arizona and California. So, the people of NM get monster towers on their land for California to get energy.

[Blue_true]

32. And the people with the monster towers on their land get paid and are ok

with them being there.

[womanofthehills]

34. If you have lots of land, but if you have 40 acres or less, you are screwed

First offer is $2,000 and your place will be devalued by 20 to 40 percent. If you hold out, eminent domain or condemnation is coming your way. Only thing to do is to fight like mad and then unfortunately, they will go over your neighbors land.

[GeorgeGist]

5. The Deplorables happily wallow in their stupidity.

[irisblue]

6. He is still peeved that the Scots put windmills near his golf course.

World's most powerful wind turbine goes up off Scottish coast - despite Trump's opposition
US President had opposed massive development near his golf course

Colin Drury
@colin__drury
Wednesday 11 April 2018 17:48

SNIP..

In a letter to then First Minister Alex Salmond in 2012, the tycoon-turned-Commander-in-chief said: “Don't destroy your coastlines and your countryside with the monstrous turbines. Your country will become a third world wasteland that global investors will avoid."

However, the Scottish Government approved the plans with the UK Supreme Court eventually rejecting Mr Trump’s legal challenge in 2015."

[demmiblue]

10. Yep. n/t

[SWBTATTReg]

12. Good for the Scots! I bet some of the reasoning that went ahead ...

and put up the turbines was to irk rump!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

20. The fault lies with God, ...

... putting wind near his golf course.

[SWBTATTReg]

22. Ha he ha! This is really a good one! Take care...nt

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

23. This seems to be a pet peeve of the rich, regardless of party ...

https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2995334&page=1

NIMBY!

[womanofthehills]

24. For the rich, it's their view - for the rural guy it's his land being taken by eminent domain

[nature-lover]

26. I think he gets his technical information from Saturday morning cartoons.

[RockRaven]

27. What happens when unicorns fart in the direction opposite of way the windmills are facing?

That's about as useful of a question.

[thucythucy]

31. Wasn't it President Obama who said,

"It's like they're proud of their ignorance"?

[NCTraveler]

33. I remember a story here about a windmill blade...

That flew a considerable distance. It was very funny.