Wind Farm Slaughter

[fishinwrench]

Just slap a bunch of turbines in the Missouri river and kill two birds with one stone (pun'ny hu?)

Generate energy and chop up asian carp into blue cat chow.

[Justin Spencer]

You're right, but all is not equal. Wind farms exist because they are visible and in spite of the blight, make people believe they are viable. We raise Cain over animal farms too close to the water and would come unglued if they wanted to cross the NFOW with a rusty pipeline to no where, but don't mind an energy source that is 180 degress with the environment and exists because it's profitable for big business as a subsidy magnet.

The biggest problem with solar is that it doesn't draw the money that wind does, even though in the long run it's more sensible. It's hard to give a substantial subsidy to the XYZ corporation and not one to aunt Martha., especially if Martha's son can build her solar panels with a few tools.

We spend billions make sources as safe as possible, but you can't do much with a meat grinder running 200 or 300 miles an hour sitting high in the sky.

I went out to Wichita the other day for a wedding and there is a wind farm on the south side of highway 400 somewhere before Augusta. There is very little out there and it was pretty cool to see those windmills spinning knowing day and night it is producing power without burning any fossil fuels. I don't find them a blight at all, much more attractive than a power plant, and no worse than all the lines and power poles we have strung all over the country.

Unfortunately the only way that we will take steps forward in energy development is by making the playing field even for new technology that is not yet profitable by subsidizing it. EVERYONE in the world, whether they want to admit it or not (unless they are foolish) knows that fossil fuels are harmful to the environment and will eventually run in short supply while at the same time making the world a less desirable place in the near future. We can keep putting it off until it is forced upon us, or we can spend some money now and improve the technology so when we have to rely on it, it will work. If we kill a few birds in the process so be it, we've killed a lot more with fossil fuels.

[ness]

After about 3-4 paragraphs it was obvious to me that article was a hatchet job. I've gotten to where I just don't read or watch the crap anymore. Biggest problem is finding stuff that isn't crap.

[Wayne SW/MO]

it was pretty cool to see those windmills spinning knowing day and night it is producing power without burning any fossil fuels.

Problem is Justin they don't turn day and night and even while they're turning the power plants are burning fuel. You can't start and start a fuel burning power plant. They have to keep the water hot 24/7. There's no doubt we need alternatives, but wind power is a poor one and as long as they continue to get the lions share of financial help better alternatives won't come about. You talk about trips and windmill farms, you can go to the west coast and not see a power plant, but the same can't be said for windmills.

I wonder how you would feel if you had to hear and see them as part of your permanent landscape.

[Flysmallie]

I wonder how you would feel if you had to hear and see them as part of your permanent landscape.

Even though I think they look really cool, I wouldn't want to look at them all the time.

I can't see where noise would be a problem. I've been right next to the ones Justin is talking about and they were pretty quiet. I spent about an hour out there one evening taking some pictures. I could not believe how slow they turned or how quiet they were.

[MOPanfisher]

I don't entirely disagree with you Wayne but having windmills be "visible" isn't all bad, it keeps us thinking about viable ways to create electrecity, subsidies also help with R&D, so keeping it on the "front burner" of what is generally a 15 minute attention span public can be good. There are ways of making wind turbines that don't have the giant long blades, probably not as effecient as the regular ones but with the right incentive for R&D (insert the word "profitibility" here) they can be the second generation of wind farms. There is no reason it cannot be accomplished except that it isn't profitible yet. Ditto for solar power, I've seen designs for road surfaces made of solar panels, tremendously expensive but technologically doable. 20 years from now I hope to be able to say, I remember when we thought wind and solar were not viable sources of electricity, now look at what we have build sonny!

[stlfisher]

In the US windmills kill 573,000 birds per year, cats kill 500 million, one billion are killed running into windows, this is the kind of stupid propaganda that turns people away from the republican party. No perspective, and false information that the lemmings blindly follow. Pull your heads out and realize what needs to be done to help the environment. Rant over.

Well said. If only Windmill slaughters were our biggest problem.

I like my windows, but I am totatlly cool with gettng rid of cat's.j/k.

[Flysmallie]

but I am totatlly cool with gettng rid of cat's.j/k.

Me too. You would think with the number of Chinese restaurants in Springfield they would be extinct, but nope. They are still terrorizing my dog at 3 am and digging up the wife's flowers to take a dump.

[Mitch f]

Me too. You would think with the number of Chinese restaurants in Springfield they would be extinct, but nope. They are still terrorizing my dog at 3 am and digging up the wife's flowers to take a dump.

FWIW I went to Buckinghams and had a nice lunch last week and reviewed my handiwork

[Flysmallie]

FWIW I went to Buckinghams and had a nice lunch last week and reviewed my handiwork

I can't believe they let you back in.