Why people in eastern Washington don't like wind farms.....

[FinLuver]

Wind energy is not primarily created for economic savings, but because it is less environmentally damaging than dams or coal.

Really...??
I guess from a raptors' perspective you may be...
WRONG.

 

[Driftless Dan]

Really...??
I guess from a raptors' perspective Finluver may be...WRONG.

(FYP)

You are dealing with old, old news. Way back in the stone age, wind turbines were mounted on lattice towers, like power line poles. Birds saw a nice place to set down, and whack, they'd get hit by a blade on the way in. All modern towers, like in the past 20 years, have been mounted on tubular towers, with no such places to land. Also, wind farms are no longer situated in passes that are main migratory routes, reducing bird kill further. I'm not saying zero birds are killed by wind turbines, but compared to the number of birds killed by neighborhood cats, house or skyscraper windows, it's a tiny fraction.

Have a nice day.

 

[FinLuver]

(FYP)

You are dealing with old, old news. Way back in the stone age, wind turbines were mounted on lattice towers, like power line poles. Birds saw a nice place to set down, and whack, they'd get hit by a blade on the way in. All modern towers, like in the past 20 years, have been mounted on tubular towers, with no such places to land. Also, wind farms are no longer situated in passes that are main migratory routes, reducing bird kill further. I'm not saying zero birds are killed by wind turbines, but compared to the number of birds killed by neighborhood cats, house or skyscraper windows, it's a tiny fraction.

Have a nice day.

I did Thank you.

There is nothing "green" about wind turbines, from the ground up.
For that matter, the same goes for solar panels, electric battery cars, etc.
They are "environmental" disasters!!
Your future off-spring(s) and theirs will Thank you, as well.

 

[Driftless Dan]

So now it's not birds, now it's something else? It's not wind, it's batteries and solar power? You have a difficult time staying on topic.

Here is the situation. You can take your airplane and point it straight down, and when you land, there will be nothing left. That's Coal. That's nuclear. That's most hydro.

Or, you can glide the plane down. It might hit hard, and you might get hurt. But it's the better option than pointing it straight down. That's wind energy.

If you think these other forms of electricity generation are environmental disasters, it's because you're drinking the Kool-Aid that Big Industry is serving you. Because your statements are, simply, objectively, false.

 

[Timbow]

So now it's not birds, now it's something else? It's not wind, it's batteries and solar power? You have a difficult time staying on topic.

Here is the situation. You can take your airplane and point it straight down, and when you land, there will be nothing left. That's Coal. That's nuclear. That's most hydro.

Or, you can glide the plane down. It might hit hard, and you might get hurt. But it's the better option than pointing it straight down. That's wind energy.

If you think these other forms of electricity generation are environmental disasters, it's because you're drinking the Kool-Aid that Big Industry is serving you. Because your statements are, simply, objectively, false.

The problem is that you can't look at it solely from an environmental perspective. Wind energy is not economical without significant subsidies and even if it were, turbines can only spin when the wind is blowing and that's doesn't always coincide with peak demand. Until technology allows for electricity to be stored in large quantities, solar and wind are not viable solutions.

Another issue is the sheer amount of wind farms that would be needed to meet energy demands. The typical onshore windfarm can produce about 6 million kWh per year. The US's current demand is around 4 billion kWh per year. Which would equate to over 65,000 windfarms operating with 0 downtime to meet demand.

You may want to check your glass, as it may have some kool-aid in it from the "Big Green Energy" industry.

 

[PezVela]

Yeah.... and how about ethanol....!

 

[Gene S]

Wind turbines are a visual blight on the landscape

 

[Buzzy]

Yeah.... and how about ethanol....!

You are ripping of this thread, @PezVela but man, I HATE ethanol! Can't for the life off me understand how this product can be considered green.

 

[PezVela]

You are ripping of this thread, @PezVela but man, I HATE ethanol! Can't for the life off me understand how this product can be considered green.

Haha... just trying to keep it from getting ugly!

 

[HBB]

I always thought Kittitas County was somewhat of an outlier on wind energy. I don't know if its the result of a more affluent population that has greater sensitivity to aesthetics or what, but projects in Kittitas seem to draw far more opposition than those in Klickitat or Columbia counties.

 

[Gene S]

but man, I HATE ethanol! Can't for the life off me understand how this product can be considered green.

more expensive tortillas....

 

[Skip Enge]

Migratory Bird Sushi...I went to visit my oldest daughter when she lived in Brentwood, CA...as we drove toward that suburb...on the hills were a gaggle of windmills...we could make out in the distant a distinct glint of red on the blades

 

[Vladimir Steblina]

I always thought Kittitas County was somewhat of an outlier on wind energy. I don't know if its the result of a more affluent population that has greater sensitivity to aesthetics or what, but projects in Kittitas seem to draw far more opposition than those in Klickitat or Columbia counties.

It is because Kittitas County is closer to Puget Sound so it makes the west-side news.

Pretty much everybody in Columbia and Garfield counties is fed up with them.

I posted this link on the discussion on salmon, but it is worth looking at. You can turn on each layer and see the relative contribution to the Northwest grid.

https://www.nwcouncil.org/energy/energy-topics/power-supply/map-of-power-generation-in-the-northwest

 

[msteudel]

I did Thank you.

There is nothing "green" about wind turbines, from the ground up.
For that matter, the same goes for solar panels, electric battery cars, etc.
They are "environmental" disasters!!
Your future off-spring(s) and theirs will Thank you, as well.

So what are you suggestions for better alternatives?

 

[WT]

If I told you that Columbia river dams were heavily subsidized and sent half their electricity to CA would you want to remove them?