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The Cape Cod Wind Farms
The Economist's Democracy in America blog has a good item today on the offshore wind farms that are planned for the waters off Cape Cod and the stereotypical liberal elitist folks from Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Cape who are trying to block them:
There's a modestly sympathetic way to read this kind of resistance, and it has to do with the way that environmentalism straddles different strands of American romanticism, which can sometimes conflict with each other. Historical preservationism and the romantic mythologising of indigenous cultures have both played valuable roles in American culture, and they grow from the same "On Walden Pond" roots as environmentalism itself. And that's all fine and good; but CO2 is at 370 ppm and rising. Enough is enough. If we are to have any hope of reducing carbon emissions, we are going to have to change our energy infrastructure. That requires some modicum of willingness to tolerate public action that affects one's own lifestyle. If we can't even get an offshore wind-farm project running, after eight years, because of a bunch of wealthy, self-indulgent whiners, there is absolutely no hope for reducing carbon emissions, and the heirs of those privileged preservationists will be able to watch the sun rise over the pristine Atlantic waters covering what used to be Nantucket Island.
DiA also points to an editorial on the subject that appeared in the New York Times last week. Unfortunately, our friends at the Economist either forgot about or are not aware of the definitive take on this controversy: a Daily Show report from over two years ago. The Kennedy-bashing dates the segment, but it's pretty brutal and dead-on:
Mother Jones' Kate Sheppard will have more on the Cape Wind project in a blog post later today.
You can see the Palm Springs
You can see the Palm Springs wind farms here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=palm+springs...
I love wind power, but driving past wind farms on I-10 (or in Altamont or Tehachapi), I find they really are very ugly and do harm the view and I wouldn't want to live near them, but the ones here are within 1000' of the road and not 5 miles away.
There's also a lot of them that are not kept up and are rusting hulks with blades falling off.
Good example of liberalism
Good example of liberalism is good until it costs me.
Most Greenies love wind power. It is the "IN" thing right now despite the many problems with this technology. Visual pollution. Noise pollution. Bird and Bat kills. Unreliability. Very high cost of construction per megawatt.
For example, a new project along the Columbia River will put towers along the ridgeline above the Gorge for 26 miles. This project will have a full power rating of 400 Megawatts and cost $1B. But because the wind does not blow 24/7 at the design speed for full power output, about 27mph, wind farms in the Northwest seldom exceed 15% capacity factor. That means 60 Megawatts.
Divide $1B by 60 Megwatts and you get $16,666 per kilowatt installed...over 26 miles...killing migratory birds, birds of prey like eagles and falcons, and bats...
Compare that with a modern nuclear power plant. 3000 Megawatts 24/7 on about 600 acres. Cost: $8B to build. That works out to $2666 per kilowatt. No bird kills. No greenhouse gases. 600 acres. All wastes self-contained with technology in place to reduce and store the leftovers. 5000 construction workers for seven years. 1100 full-time jobs for the next 60 years. Property tax revenues that will provide the best schools, teachers, and emergency services infrastructure money can buy.
What is wrong with our current drive to subsidize up to 30% of the construction costs for an intermittent power source that costs six times more per kilowatt to build?
We must links of london
We must links of london jewellery face the situation that abercrombie exists and take actions street light to solve our environmental problems. For instance, new laws must be passed to place strict control over industrial pollution, the pub!ic must receivet links london jewelry he education about the hazard of pollution and so on. ed hardy clothing We hope that all these measures will be effective and bring back a healthful environment.
Our government is aiming to build a 'harmonious society'. abercrombie & fitch I think it is every citizen’s duty to work hard to achieve th is goal.
As high school students, what should we do?