Timex
1981
I will still never understand the folks who find wind turbines visually unappealing, or complain about the noise.
They basically make no noise, and I think they look cool.
Agreed on all counts. Then again, I also think that “infinity pools” are silly, so perhaps some people just have different perspectives that I’ve yet to fully grasp.
I also agree. I’d pay more to have a sight of wind turbines outside my window. Those things are beautiful, and an amazing feat of engineering.
Yeah, count me into not understanding the NIMBY crowd on turbines. Then again, I live in the middle of the continent so I don’t have any romantic connection to sweeping ocean vistas?
Turbines seem like progress to me. Although to be fair what’s ugly about them isn’t the turbine itself but the enormous amount of concrete poured to support them and hilltop cutting roads put in to install them.
As stupid as it sounds though there may be some real damage done to bird populations.
One thing that turbine opponents complain about is shadows from the blades “flickering.” I live in the vicinity of an airport and having an airplane’s shadow pass over the house can really freak me out if I’m not expecting it. I can imagine having a shadow going on/off on/off constantly would be annoying.
Timex
1987
I can’t see how this could possibly even be noticable unless you lived, like, right next to the turbine.
Oh, I dunno. These things vary in size and some of them are gargantuan. If one of the big ones is up on a hill, then at some point in the day it’s shadow is going to stretch all the way across the valleys to the east and west of it. It’s pretty easy to see how someone’s house could be in its shadow for a significant time – an hour or even two.
We don’t have these things around here, but I recently saw some HUGE ones on a road trip to… somewhere I don’t recall. Really magnificent looking.
ShivaX
1989
They are massive as fuck. The shadows could easily cross over something. That said, it’s not like the sun randomly appears in the sky and then randomly moves across it. It’s something that could very easily be predicted and worked around.
Timex
1990
I looked it up and found some videos, and it definitely can be noticeable. But all the videos where it was shown, the turbine was within a few hundred yards, which seemed weird.
In the grim shadowyness of the far-future, there are only wind turbines.
Timex
1992
And the carcases of millions of pureed birds.
ShivaX
1993
I like to think they’re the same ones that decide to fly in front of cars when they get within 10’ of them.
Seriously, when I was younger one put a hole in the grille of my old beater. Stupid bird, don’t fly in front of the giant metal bison going 60 mph. Try that giant open field of absolutely nothing that stretches on for literally miles.
Nezz
1994
Wind turbines make a relatively static vista pulsate with the rhythm of change and industry, tranquility transformed into permanent disquiet. A perfect symbol of modernity.
So here are a few reasonably positive articles, it seems China is doing more than we might have thunk?
China ‘deserves more credit’ for renewable energy effort:
Thousands to lobby MPs to back strong climate change action(in UK):
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/17/thousands-to-lobby-mps-to-back-strong-climate-change-action
Obama commits $4bn to form clean-energy investment clearinghouse:
Good stuff, all round :)
the rising cost of insurance, or the inability to get any at all, is one of the results of AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming), and this article looks into that:
Once in generation chance to reform climate insurance
More on wind power in Australia, following on from Abbott’s comments last week.
A national wind farm commissioner has been proposed by the Government to address complaints about the operation of wind farms.
Fucking what?
The crossbenchers are currently considering Government amendments to a bipartisan deal to reduce the amount of renewable energy generated in Australia from 41,000 gigawatt hours to 33,000.
I honestly have no idea what is going on over here at the moment. Our government must be so far up the coal industry’s ass.
A few years back, coal was Australia’s single biggest export, both in terms of tonnage and monetary value. Has that changed?
If not, I can see why the government might not want to discourage its use… even if that is more than a little bit shortsighted.
No, not really. Iron ore and Oil and Gas and Gold are up there as well. Coal also powers a significant chunk of our domestic energy market.
Still, nothing will change with such stupid short-shortsightedness.
No, not really. Iron ore and Oil and Gas and Gold are up there as well. Coal also powers a significant chunk of our domestic energy market.
Still, nothing will change with such stupid short-shortsightedness.
