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How do you feel about homeowners protesting electric generating wind turbines?

How do you feel about homeowners protesting electric generating wind turbines?

  • Wiind energy is great & complainers should adapt.

    Votes: 20 35.1%
  • Wiind turbines are good & property owners should be justly compensated for decrease property value

    Votes: 8 14.0%
  • I think Obama is an idiot

    Votes: 5 8.8%
  • I'd be upset if wind turbines went up interfering with my view

    Votes: 3 5.3%
  • The wind turbines should not be allowed to disrupt views

    Votes: 1 1.8%
  • I think George W Bush ruined this nation

    Votes: 3 5.3%
  • Other, please explain

    Votes: 17 29.8%

  • Total voters
    57

MyOwnDrum

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There is a windy area in this general area. The homeowners lost their fight against the wind turbines, and they are going up.

This is green energy compared to other sources. The turbines are immense and the homeowners object based on ascetic considerations. They value their view.

What do you think. This has been a huge controversy in these parts.
 
There is a windy area in this general area. The homeowners lost their fight against the wind turbines, and they are going up.

This is green energy compared to other sources. The turbines are immense and the homeowners object based on ascetic considerations. They value their view.

What do you think. This has been a huge controversy in these parts.

Wind turbines are a failed technoledgy, and have no place in a neighborhood. They're an eyesore, a noise poluter, and do not genorate electriciy relyably.
 
Wind turbines are a failed technoledgy, and have no place in a neighborhood. They're an eyesore, a noise poluter, and do not genorate electriciy relyably.

Is that so? Do you have documentation supporting this?
 
I think their concerns should be more than just aesthetic reasons. They should also be concerned about a storm--tornado,etc--slinging one of those 90 foot blades through their living room.
 
I put other. I've heard that windfarms cause a constant humming noise that can drive some people crazy. That would be worse than just the looks of them. Besides they kill birds. Where's the outrage from the environmentalists.
Also, I thought progressives were all about moving forward instead of back.
 
apdst does have a point, if a high wind was to damage one or more of these structures, they may fall and in doing so may indeed damage houses and even damage someone..
Jerry first of all needs to return to school and learn not only how to spell but also to learn that Wind Turbines can and do generate electricity, so long as a wind is blowing.
Naturally if they assemble and site many of these wind turbines in a single area, they will also need to erect power lines to take the generated power to the consumers.
These will also be unsightly and perhaps dangerous to the bird population.
 
Hrm.. they sound like a bunch of windbags, not terribly intelligent ones ether.
 
apdst does have a point, if a high wind was to damage one or more of these structures, they may fall and in doing so may indeed damage houses and even damage someone..
Jerry first of all needs to return to school and learn not only how to spell but also to learn that Wind Turbines can and do generate electricity, so long as a wind is blowing.
Naturally if they assemble and site many of these wind turbines in a single area, they will also need to erect power lines to take the generated power to the consumers.
These will also be unsightly and perhaps dangerous to the bird population.

Advice from an Expert - Putting Wind's Impact on Birds in Perspective
This report states that its intent is to "put avian mortality associated with windpower development into perspective with other significant sources of avian collision mortality across the United States."14 The NWCC reports that: "Based on current estimates, windplant related avian collision fatalities probably represent from 0.01% to 0.02% (i.e., 1 out of every 5,000 to 10,000) of the annual avian collision fatalities in the United States."15 That is, commercial wind turbines cause the direct deaths of only 0.01% to 0.02% of all of the birds killed by collisions with man-made structures and activities in the U.S.
 
I actually think they are visually stunning and understanding that we are generating power from the wind... seems like an intelligent way to generate power to me.

EDIT:Interesting design for wind power generation.

 
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last easter i stayed in a motel that was only a few hundred metres from a wind turbine, the things aren't loud, and the only problem i have with them is that they kill bats in a rather horrible way.

Wind Turbines Kill Bats Without Impact : Discovery News

Aug. 25, 2008 -- Researchers have found the cause behind mysterious bat deaths near wind turbines, in which many bat carcasses appeared uninjured.

The explanation to this puzzle is that the bats' lungs effectively blow up from the rapid pressure drop that occurs as air flows over the turbine blades.
 
I voted other, I think aesthetic impact is a credible objection. Further, with the ever increasing efficiency of solar panels they would be a far better option for dense suburban areas.
 
Personally, I think we should outfit the wind turbines with vuvuzelas just to give the bastards something to whine about.

Look, as long as we're using as much electricity as we do to maintain our high-energy lifestyles, we're going to have to generate that electricity. You see people complaining about building wind turbines and nuclear power plants-- the two greenest forms of electricity-- in their neighborhoods, but you never see the same people cutting back on the amount of electricity they use in their houses, or cutting back on disposable products that were manufactured using electricity. Something has to give, and as someone who enjoys the marvels that electricity produces, I prefer building more power plants.
 
property owners should be justly compensated for decrease property value

I personally think this is a completely rediculous argument. Just sayin.
 
The homeowners should be paid royalties by the owners of the windmills.
 
I personally think this is a completely rediculous argument. Just sayin.

Why is that? Purchasing a home is major investment, usually the largest investment of the lower and middle economic classes. If someone comes along and decreases the value of your investment, why shouldn't they be at least somewhat liable for the damage?
 
Why is that? Purchasing a home is major investment, usually the largest investment of the lower and middle economic classes. If someone comes along and decreases the value of your investment, why shouldn't they be at least somewhat liable for the damage?

It's like saying.. there is a garage in the next yard that is unattractive.. or a tree.. maybe the neighbours have kids.. maybe they should compensate one another when the have to mow their lawns. Dogs.. cats.. dogs and cats.. gardens.. kids play parks.. endless possibilities.
 
Animal Legal Defense Fund is sueing BP for violating the Endangered Species Act. Can we look forward to a suit against the wind turbine industry?
 
Animal Legal Defense Fund is sueing BP for violating the Endangered Species Act. Can we look forward to a suit against the wind turbine industry?

are the turbines killing endangered species?
 
Animal Legal Defense Fund is sueing BP for violating the Endangered Species Act. Can we look forward to a suit against the wind turbine industry?

umm only if you want to create a suit for all the other instances which appear to cause much more bird deaths. Please if your going to make arguments against this new power generation at least make it a viable argument.

Advice from an Expert - Putting Wind's Impact on Birds in Perspective

This report states that its intent is to "put avian mortality associated with windpower development into perspective with other significant sources of avian collision mortality across the United States."14 The NWCC reports that: "Based on current estimates, windplant related avian collision fatalities probably represent from 0.01% to 0.02% (i.e., 1 out of every 5,000 to 10,000) of the annual avian collision fatalities in the United States."15 That is, commercial wind turbines cause the direct deaths of only 0.01% to 0.02% of all of the birds killed by collisions with man-made structures and activities in the U.S.
Death by….

Utility transmission and distribution lines, the backbone of our electrical power system, are responsible for 130 to 174 million bird deaths a year in the U.S.1 Many of the affected birds are those with large wingspans, including raptors and waterfowl. While attempting to land on power lines and poles, birds are sometimes electrocuted when their wings span between two hot wires. Many other birds are killed as their flight paths intersect the power lines strung between poles and towers. One report states that: "for some types of birds, power line collisions appear to be a significant source of mortality."2

Collisions with automobiles and trucks result in the deaths of between 60 and 80 million birds annually in the U.S.3 As more vehicles share the roadway, and our automotive society becomes more pervasive, these numbers will only increase. Our dependence on oil has taken its toll on birds too. Even the relatively high incidence of bird kills at Altamont Pass (about 92 per year) pales in comparison to the number of birds killed from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. In fact, according to author Paul Gipe, the Altamont Pass wind farm would have to operate for 500 to 1000 years to "achieve" the same mortality level as the Exxon Valdez event in 1989.

Tall building and residential house windows also claim their share of birds. Some of the five million tall buildings in U.S. cities have been documented as being a chronic mortality problem for migrating birds. There are more than 100 million houses in the U.S. House windows are more of a problem for birds in rural areas than in cities or towns. While there are no required ongoing studies of bird mortality due to buildings or house windows, the best estimates put the toll due collisions with these structures at between 100 million and a staggering 1 billion deaths annually.4

Lighted communication towers turn out to be one of the more serious problems for birds, especially for migratory species that fly at night. One study began its conclusion with, "It is apparent from the analysis of the data that significant numbers of birds are dying in collisions with communications towers, their guy wires, and related structures."5 Another report states, "The main environmental problem we are watching out for with telecommunication towers are the deaths of birds and bats."6

This is not news, as bird collisions with lighted television and radio towers have been documented for over 50 years. Some towers are responsible for very high episodic fatalities. One television transmitter tower in Eau Claire, WI, was responsible for the deaths of over 1,000 birds on each of 24 consecutive nights. A "record 30,000 birds were estimated killed on one night" at this same tower.7 In Kansas, 10,000 birds were killed in one night by a telecommunications tower.8 Numerous large bird kills, while not as dramatic as the examples cited above, continue to occur across the country at telecommunication tower sites.

The number of telecommunication towers in the U.S. currently exceeds 77,000, and this number could easily double by 2010. The rush to construction is being driven mainly by our use of cell phones, and to a lesser extent by the impending switch to digital television and radio. Current mortality estimates due to telecommunication towers are 40 to 50 million birds per year.9 The proliferation of these towers in the near future will only exacerbate this situation.

Agricultural pesticides are "conservatively estimated" to directly kill 67 million birds per year.10 These numbers do not account for avian mortality associated with other pesticide applications, such as on golf courses. Nor do they take into consideration secondary losses due to pesticide use as these toxic chemicals travel up the food chain. This includes poisoning due to birds ingesting sprayed insects, the intended target of the pesticides.

Cats, both feral and housecats, also take their toll on birds. A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) report states that, "recent research suggests that rural free-ranging domestic cats in Wisconsin may be killing between 8 and 217 million birds each year. The most reasonable estimates indicate that 39 million birds are killed in the state each year."11

There are other studies on the impacts of jet engines, smoke stacks, bridges, and any number of other human structures and activities that threaten birds on a daily basis. Together, human infrastructure and industrial activities are responsible for one to four million bird deaths per day!
 
are the turbines killing endangered species?

I don't know. What kind of birds are they killing? What kind of bats? Are they going to be allowed to break the law just because they are the servants of the environmental movement and the oil industry is not?
It just stands to reason that if we are going to have these things all over the country they will be killing endangered birds or bats maybe to the point of extinction for those really rare birds that may only inhabit a small area of the country. The Animal right groups should be outraged. Where's PETA?
 
I don't know. What kind of birds are they killing? What kind of bats? Are they going to be allowed to break the law just because they are the servants of the environmental movement and the oil industry is not?
It just stands to reason that if we are going to have these things all over the country they will be killing endangered birds or bats maybe to the point of extinction for those really rare birds that may only inhabit a small area of the country. The Animal right groups should be outraged. Where's PETA?

Maybe they are not killing endangered species in sufficient numbers to warrant concern for the viability of those species. Do you have links which indicate that they are? It sounds like you're trying to claim hypocrisy without showing that it actually exists.
 
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