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Wind-Driven Delusions
Now it’s worth keeping in mind that New Jersey is one of the East Coast States that is on record as not wanting to permit any drilling for oil or natural gas on its part of the continental shelf, presumably because the sight of any rigs might dampen property values or pose a hazard to the "pristine" environment. So, let’s see, a few oilrigs are bad, but miles of wind turbines are good. Each one of the 1.5 megawatt turbines, the most popular size, will cost $2.5 million, including all turbine components and installation. How will utilities pay for them? They will "recover the expense through rate increases, but they first must ask state regulators for permission." Every megawatt of wind capacity "powers roughly 250 homes annually," said the article, but failed to mention that only occurs when the wind is blowing. When it is not blowing, the electricity will have to be supplied by conventional means of generating electricity. To put it another way, no wind, no power, no really compelling reason to bother building a wind farm. If you’re expecting the mainstream media to tell you the truth about wind power, I will be happy to come by and read some fairy tales to you. Wind farms are one of those trendy, environmental fairy tales about "alternative" energy sources that will save us all from burning coal to provide electricity because, according the Great Big Book of Environmentally Bad Things, it’s "a fossil fuel" and it "pollutes." Okay, let’s build nuclear facilities. After decades of opposing nuclear energy the Greens have apparently decided it’s okay, but first we have to do one million environmental studies before actually building a new one. There are a few, teeny-weeny problems with wind farms. First of all, from a purely aesthetic standpoint they are unsightly. There is nothing pretty or inspiring about wind farms. A proposed wind farm, Cape Wind, slated to cover 24 square miles of federally controlled waters in Nantucket Sound has found some powerful opponents such as Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy who lives on the Cape. Loath as I am to agree with anything Teddy says, he’s right when he says the wind farm will destroy some of the most beautiful ocean vistas on the East Coast, not to mention being a danger to sea and air vessels. Even presidential candidate and former Governor, Mitt Romney, opposes this project. Bird lovers hate wind farms. Back in April when the issue of federal tax credits for wind energy was all the rage, the American Bird Conservancy, quoted the National Wind Coordinating Committee whose own estimates reveal that, "this growing alternative energy source is killing between 30,000 to 60,000 birds a year." Yikes! "At the current mortality rate and growth rate of the wind industry," said the bird folks "by 2030 a projected 900,000 to1.8 million birds would be killed per year by wind turbines, unless protective measures are implemented." Considering how Greens go nuts over ordinary hunting and fishing, their indifference to this bird Holocaust is fairly astonishing. Then there’s the problem with the way wind farms play havoc with radar that is used for commercial flight control and by the military as well. It turns out that, if you plant a wind farm anywhere within the proximity of an airfield, it "clutters" the signals needed to guide your flight from Phoenix to a safe landing. This is why the siting of wind farms is subject to Federal Aviation Agency approval. Wind farms are quite possibly the dumbest way possible to produce electricity. Coal, uranium, natural gas, and hydro currently produces 97% of all the electricity used in the United States. Of these energy sources, coal accounts for half of all the electricity generated. It’s abundant and it’s cheap. Apparently that’s a bad thing. Suffice it to say that to replace one traditional 1,000-magawatt power plant you need a lot of wind turbines that, in turn, take up a lot of space whether on land or at sea. Picture in your mind that you’re driving along the shoreline of New Jersey, glancing over at the Atlantic Ocean…and seeing hundreds of wind turbines. These towers can stand over 400 feet into the air, have gigantic blades that make them into bird Cuisinarts, and, in the winter, they throw off big chunks of ice. In addition, the blades have been known to come loose. Lightning has a particular affinity for wind towers. Keeping a respectful distance is a good idea. With wind power advocates pushing for more "renewable energy" by the year 2020, the energy projected would require between 50,000 and 100,000 towers, occupying some 7,500 to more than 10,000 square miles. That’s an area comparable to the entire state of Vermont. So the "wind-power surge" may not be such a wonderful thing in either the short or long run. It is, like so many other strange environmental ideas, a fantasy, a delusion that sounds rational right up to the moment you begin to look at it closely. When you do that, the vision of hundreds of wind towers producing miniscule amounts of electricity—and only when the wind is blowing—seems, well, nuts! If you’re a fan of rational thought and behavior, then demonstrate it by giving a donation to the Center so we can continue our work, making sense out of the craziness that "environmentalists" have been proposing for years. Thanks! Bloggers! Want to share one or both "Warning Signs" commentaries on your blog? Select only those you want to post. You can receive it weekly via email every Sunday by contacting the Center. "In October 2003, a series of explosions rocked the outer surface of the sun. A massive flare flash fried Earth with x-rays equivalent to five thousand suns. A slingshot of plasma barreled toward us at two million miles and hour. The radioactivity it contained was the equivalent, said one scientist, of taking every nuclear warhead that has ever been made—not exploded, mark you, but made—and detonating them all at once.
This is how Gabrielle Walker, the author of "An Ocean of Air", concludes her book and it is a testament to the way we live our lives with constant reports of imminent environmental disaster and remain oblivious to the way the Earth continues to function in a very hostile galaxy, at the center of which is a blazing, thermonuclear star called the Sun. In the short history of civilization the Earth’s climate has surely been the subject of much dread, particularly since most of human history was devoid of the amazing scientific discoveries that have given us—not only the marvels of modern technology we unquestioningly accept as the norm, but an understanding of how the Earth functions that was denied to countless previous generations. In some ways that knowledge is a comfort. In other ways it is a legitimate source of concern. What we know, but apparently refuse to accept, is that the Earth is not only an astonishing self-adjusting mechanism, but is also a place that seems—and probably is—utterly indifferent to our existence. For millions of years dinosaurs dominated the Earth. Where are they now? Extinct. Indeed, scientists calculate that 95% of all species that ever lived on Earth are extinct. The notion that humans might join them at some point is unthinkable, but not unlikely. We are conceited creatures who actually believe we can somehow "save" the Earth or impact its vast, often unfathomable and complex climate patterns. It takes something like a tsunami, an earthquake, a hurricane, or a volcanic explosion to remind us that we are just guests on planet Earth and not its masters. Are there things we can do to protect the environment? Most certainly. Proper management of our forests would be another if only we would do it. Not polluting our air and water is just common sense, but carried to extremes, a vast matrix of laws have been put in place since the 1970s that attack the keystone of our economy, private property, giving the federal government more and more control over the U.S. land mass, removing vast natural resources from use. At the same time these "environmental laws" restrain the development necessary to provide sufficient housing and expand other infrastructure for a growing population and they work to impede the massive industrial and business investments on which our economy depends. In a similar fashion, demanding that we abandon the energy sources on which our economy depends defies common sense. Therein lies the heart of the raging debate over carbon dioxide (CO2). The composition of the air that is central to all life on earth is nitrogen at 78%, oxygen at 20.94%, argon at 0.934%, carbon dioxide at 0.033%, and trace elements at 0.002%. Many aspects of life on Earth emit CO2. It includes all humans and animal species. At the same time, however, all plant life on the planet absorbs CO2 as the most vital element to their existence and growth while giving off oxygen. Had not photosynthesis begun and billions of tiny plant-like organisms generated oxygen, all other life would not exist. We literally live because of an ocean of air that surrounds the Earth. Without it, Earth would look like Mars. Walker writes that early scientists, trying to discover the factors affecting the Earth’s climate determined that, thanks to the Industrial Revolution, "humans were producing carbon dioxide at the same rate" as volcanoes or oceans, or indeed any other natural process." I frankly do not know if this is true or, being true, is not offset by many other natural factors such as the absorption and release of CO2 by the oceans. Moreover, I am inclined to believe that the natural cycles as well as unusual sunspot activity (magnetic storms) on the Sun play a far greater role than anything mankind does. The known cycles, too, of ice ages cannot be ignored. The action of the great wind belts of the world insures the transfer of heat on and from the Earth’s surface. Much about the Earth’s vast ocean currents largely remains a mystery. Changes in these vast forces, including the ocean of air that surrounds the Earth pose a far greater threat to human existence than anything our present lifestyles seem to suggest. We take the air for granted. We take the Sun for granted. We live out our short lives beset by all manner of threats to our health. We live in a human world that history tells us has been forever at war in a quest for power and wealth. Just as the air invisibly surrounds us, so too do myths and ignorance. Life does not come with a guarantee, only an expiration date. The air we breathe is the air that causes our bodies to incur the normal vicissitudes we associate with aging. We rust. The Center is pleased to report that it received enough donations throughout the summer months to maintain our website and communications program. In amounts both large and small, we are gratified by your support. If you are enjoying our weekly commentaries and have not yet become a financial supporter, please consider sending your donation to help maintain the research and other efforts necessary to clarify the issues that will have an impact on the future. Thank you!
©
2007 Alan Caruba. |
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"Wind-Power surge" was the headline of an article by Newhouse News Service reporter, Gail Kinsey Hill. "Demand for turbines generates higher prices" was the sub-title and it noted that, "The supply shortage comes as New Jersey officials have begun planning a windmill farm off the South Jersey coast."
"And yet nobody on Earth felt a thing. The most massive solar flare since records began and one of the biggest radioactive maelstroms in history together met a far more formidable foe. They each arrived and then one by one they simply bounced off…thin air."