Can an environmentalist morally argue for overpriced, taxpayer-funded green energy technology if it means killing off a protected species? That’s what is happening now in California, where the state’s Golden Eagles are dying off by 67 each year from colliding with the blades of wind turbines. As government demands for more turbines and green wind energy technology increase, many fear that Golden Eagles may soon be at risk for extinction. According to the Institute for Energy Research, wind turbines provide only ½ of 1% of America’s energy. Additionally, green energy …
What was normally a peaceful, quiet way of life for residents of Vinalhaven, an island off the coast of Maine, suddenly became loud and unbearable when utilities operating three new wind turbines flipped the switch to “on.” A recent New York Times article reports that some Vinalhaven residents are learning “the hard way” that wind power has its costs. While residents welcomed the arrival of the turbines in late 2009, it is apparent that they did so with certain expectations. Those expectations came from what schoolteacher Sally Wylie call an …
One of the common arguments made against wind power is that without government subsidies, mandates or tax credits, wind turbines would not be built. But even when companies do receive preferential treatment to build windmills, just because they’re built doesn’t mean they’re going to work. For that, there needs to be (drum roll, please)…wind! A report from Britain says: “The analysis of power output found that more than 20 wind farms are operating at less than one-fifth of their full capacity. Experts say many turbines are going up on sites …
As we reported in today’s Morning Bell, ABC News reports that despite massive amounts of stimulus funding being spent on wind farms—nearly $2 billion—the vast majority (80%) of it has been spent on overseas companies. ABC contacted Russ Choma at the Investigative Reporting Workshop who suggested that the project has resulted in nearly 6,000 jobs for overseas manufacturers and only a few hundred over here. To add insult to injury, ABC’s Jonathan Karl reports that “a recent report by American Wind Energy Association showed a drop in U.S. wind manufacturing jobs last …
The cold weather is creating a number of unintended consequences for new energy designs. First, snow accumulating on LED traffic light bulbs wouldn’t melt because the lights failed to heat up resulting in car accidents, and in some instances, death. In Minnesota, the weather resulted in wind turbines freezing and thus not turning even if it is windy. This local news story has the details: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk8rsFk9i_w[/youtube] But that’s not the only problem with wind power. It’s not the economic savior the government thought it would be. The stimulus money is …
The supposition that nuclear energy is dangerous is hardly a new story. Although most of the nuclear fear mongering has been subdued through recognition of facts, the anti-nuclear movement continues to spit the same nonsense. Nuclear power releases dangerous amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. Nuclear reactors are vulnerable to a terrorist attack. Nuclear power results in nuclear weapons proliferation. Transporting radioactive materials exposes people to unacceptable risk. Something like Chernobyl will happen again. Wrong. All wrong. But that’s not the point of this post. Such myths are debunked here. …
It’s a good thing the unusually throaty, (AP says it’s Clint Eastwood meets grizzly bear) Christian Bale only had to deal with The Joker in The Dark Knight and not wind turbines. A new study released findings that wind turbines are responsible for causing the lungs of bats to explode; of the 188 dead bats, “they found that 90% of the bats had signs of internal hemorrhaging, but only half showed any signs of direct contact with the windmill blades.” While this is surprising and a bit disturbing, it is …
