Wind Industry Bids to Win Over Doubters

[wellstone dem]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=585&ncid=585&e=2&u=/nm/20041126/sc_nm/environment_windfarms_dc

LONDON (Reuters) - The European wind energy industry, thriving as climate change tops the global agenda, says it could eventually supply all the continent's electricity, but must first overcome public resistance over eyesore turbines.



The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), which held its annual meeting in London this week, projected that offshore "wind farms" covering an area the size of Greece could meet Europe's electricity needs with no greenhouse gas emissions.


But skeptics cite pollution of another kind with giant wind turbines scarring the landscape, or blighting the sea horizon, deterring tourists and killing birds with their whirling vanes.


"The argument is reaching ridiculous proportions. Most people don't understand climate change and they don't understand wind turbines," Alison Hill of the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) told an international meeting

[Mr.Green93]

1. Wind power destroys

the World's wind rivers and could change climate forever. Not to mention what the turbines do to birds.

[Bark Bark Bark]

3. Climate Change Will Kill More Birds

...not to mention plants, animals, and people, than all the turbines in the world.

(The numbers on bird deaths are often wildly exaggerated, and with work could be reduced further. Birds aren't completely stupid; they will ultimately adapt. Ask any city that tries to get rid of pigeons. ...Amazing how Big Oil suddenly gives a damn about nature when we discuss alternate sources, isn't it?)

Wind rivers? I haven't heard that term before; I'll need to do a bit of research (a link or two would be nice). Nevertheless, if I'm thinking of the right idea, I imagine skyscrapers do more damage; turbines utilize the air current, while buildings block and divert it.

On a side note--as for the standard complaint that turbines are an eyesore: are windmills in Europe an eyesore? No, they're a ****ing tourist attraction. Frankly, I think they'd look beautiful. More beautiful if some work were put into that aspect...

They certainly look better than an oil field. Can you imagine someone saying, "we can't drill for oil because the equipment's ugly?" They'd be taken out back and shot.

[slor]

7. LOL...

I like the cut of your jib.

[mulethree]

10. picture windows kill birds!

Wind River : a software company that sells software for embedded computers. Embedded Linux and RTOS

That wind river is doing well selling software to run real-time control systems at wind farms.

As for wind rivers like the jet streams - well wind turbines are 20-40M tall, so I don't see how they would effect currents that are thousands of feet up.

[RC]

4. Wind turbines do not kill birds

There are several wind turbines around here and I have never seen a dead bird around any of them. Plate glass and your home picture windows now are another story...

[Canuckistanian]

13. Large buildings in general kill birds

Thousands of migrating birds die after hitting skyscrapers, yet I don't see any outcry against skyscrapers.

[izzie]

2. It seems to me we must think in a new way on some of this.

Heck my great great grand father worked in a place that made horsecarriages. We used to use wind mills on farms all over. I may not have seem them in years but as a kid they were all over even in Maine. I do see one when I drive up through the country in NH. It fills the ponds for the cows to drink out of.In Japan warm water used to be kept on the roofs and the sun kept it warm for baths etc. What is wrong with re-thinking how we live. I grew up with the coal man coming and we had a room for the coal, stocker and heater for the house. Oil was great for us when we put that in but with coal we had heat in the house. One thing we can always plan on is that things never stay the same.

[robcon]

5. The negativity about wind power is vague, IMO.

Mr.Green93 wrote "Wind power destroys the World's wind rivers and could change climate forever. Not to mention what the turbines do to birds."

1. Wind rivers??? Is that like the trade winds near the equator, which steadily blow in one direction? Does anyone actually think wind power can "destroy" these steady winds?

2. In which direction is it alleged that climate would change because of wind farms? Warmer? Colder? Less windy or windier? Drier? Wetter? Other? Different effects in different parts of the world?

3. I've heard the effect on birds is minimal. Are there any studies quantifying the effect?

"Change" is vague. "Forever" and "destroy" are exaggerations, IMO.

[GOPFighter]

6. We have a wind farm here in West Virginia

About 38 huge turbines along Backbone Mountain. The turbines are huge. It is an awesome sight. The biggest problem is the large number of bats killed...no one seems to know why. Bird kills so far has beenn relatively low.

[tabasco]

9. I grew up on Backbone Mountain

The windmills are a blight on the landscape. They will not provide much power but have destroyed the beauty of the mountains. We need conservation, not windmills.

[lumpy]

14. Some of the worst blights on

landscapes are super highways, vehicle traffic/emissions, super condos, clear cutting and garbage dumps.

[struggle4progress]

8. kick

:kick:

[michaelwb]

11. Like for example

"But skeptics cite pollution of another kind with giant wind turbines scarring the landscape, or blighting the sea horizon, deterring tourists and killing birds with their whirling vanes."

Scarring the landscape - like the scenic coal mines and oil rigs.

Blighting the sea horizon - like oil spills and the beautiful, fragrant oil tankers.

Deterring tourists - see oil spills

Killing birds - see oil spills and pollution from oil & coal burning facilities.


And I would have had a lot more sympathy with all the wealthy folks who complained about the wind farm proposed off the coast of Massachusetts - if they had had half as much (or any!) concern about incinerators in the inner cities...

[McKenzie]

12. there is a huge debate in the UK

and there is considerable opposition amongst environmental groups. There are valid arguments on both sides and the issues are complex and often highly emotive. Not that an argument is invalidated just because it is emotive.

For what it's worth I think wind farms, particularly the offshore variety, might be worth developing given the pressing need for alternative energy sources and the fact that we have probably reached Peak Oil. There is one to the north of Ben Cruachan which is on the west side of Scotland. I've seen it from the summit and it's not really a blight. There's another to the north of Inverness which is equally difficult to call a blight. The key issue is appropriate siting and that is perfectly possible. The two examples I mention are absorbed into mountainous terrain and not immediately visible unless you are close to them. I wouldn't like to see them everywhere, especially in northern Scotland which is still largely undeveloped. But we should at least explore the questions in detail before reaching a decision one way or another.

It's interesting to consider the parallel of the big hydro-electric dams in Scotland. I regard them as a familiar part of the landscape and the associated buildings are often good examples of their type. Now if the dams weren't there our electricity generation would have needed much more oil over the decades...

[TX-RAT]

15. At this point, energy created by wind is just to expensive.

Maybe if oil gets to 70 dollars a barrel, and Natural gas triples in price.
We've got a wind farm just north of my place, at least 10-15 percent of the mills are not operating, due to mechanical failures. Since they were installed about 8 yrs ago, they've yet to make a profit. A whole lot of federal money got dumped into this pit.

[found object]

16. no country has gone to war

over another country's wind turbines. Aesthetics are a small price to pay in exchange for the shedding of blood for oil. :eyes: