Friday, December 16, 2005

Who Said It?

Even though renewable energy sources like wind are environmentally friendly, not all environmentalists are so broad-minded when it comes to its construction in their own backyard. The following is just another example of this sort of NIMBYism:

[The] proposal involves construction of 130 giant turbines whose windmill arms will reach 417 feet above the water and be visible for up to 26 miles. These turbines are less than six miles from shore... Hundreds of flashing lights to warn airplanes away from the turbines will steal the stars and nighttime views. The noise of the turbines will be audible onshore. A transformer substation rising 100 feet above the sound would house giant helicopter pads and 40,000 gallons of potentially hazardous oil.
It's important to keep in mind that every kind of electrical generation is bound to arouse some opposition, even ones normally best known for their environmental benefits.

If you're wondering who's responsible for the above quote, it appeared in today's edition of the New York Times and was written by self-described environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in opposition to an offshore wind farm proposed near Cape Cod.

Over the past few years, he's made his opposition to nuclear energy well known, and often said that renewable sources of energy can be used to make up the gap in electric generation. But in this case, it looks like even a renewable source of energy like wind has an impossible set of hurdles to overcome as well.

Patrick Moore, one of the founders of Greenpeace and now head of Greenspirit Strategies, often mentions the fact that most environmentalists are against so much it's hard to figure out what they're in favor of. I guess this is another example.

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1 comment:

Stewart Peterson said...

Well, you've got to admit that nuclear energy doesn't kill birds, make huge amounts of noise, flash hundreds of lights at night, pose a navigational hazard, and only produce small amounts of intermittent energy.