Harnessing the power of blowhards!

Dannyalcatraz · Mar 6, 2012

New wind turbine tech could be revolutionary:

Japanese breakthrough will make wind power cheaper than nuclear | MNN - Mother Nature Network

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifF-MOuzM_s&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/ame]

(I imagine it's only 6 months before an engine accessory based on this will be on late night TV, claiming to improve gas mileage.)

Relique du Madde · Mar 6, 2012

So... does that mean it's more efficient at killing birds?

Umbran · Mar 6, 2012

Relique du Madde said:
So... does that mean it's more efficient at killing birds?

Nope. Greenhouse gasses still hold the record for efficiency at killing. What they lack in visibility, they make up for in sheer scale.

Dannyalcatraz · Mar 6, 2012

I think he meant vis a vis regular wind turbines.

Umbran · Mar 6, 2012

I understand that. I was merely giving a sidewise comment that, "they kill birds," is a pretty bogus critique of wind turbines when compared to the, "they kill everything," of fossil fuel burning plants.

Relique du Madde · Mar 6, 2012

You may think it's a bogus comment but the fact remains that in California and elsewhere one of the topics covered in an enviromental impact report is how the local wildlife will be affected by construction. One quarter to half inch long fish have stopped the irregation of some farms within the Californian Central Valley, so I'm certain the Californian Condor will prevent wind turbines from popping up in some remote stretches of the siera nevada. Sadly, I think that in itself is wrong since as much as you may want to save every creature, people have to reallize that some losses are acceptable even if the best thought out "safety" measures fail.

Of course, those who don't care about the wildlife impact and still opose it usually fall into the "not in my backyard, the it's ugly, or is it cost effective" camps.

-Sent via Tapatalk

Dannyalcatraz · Mar 6, 2012

Still, though, the bird thing may limit their distribution.

I was just reading about a wind farm that has been held up because of the behavior of an endangered species that isn't much of a flier, but nonetheless would be affected- they avoid tall structures because their main predators favor such things. Wind turbines might interfere with their migrations, feeding, breeding & mating.

Umbran · Mar 6, 2012

Relique du Madde said:
You may think it's a bogus comment but the fact remains that in California and elsewhere one of the topics covered in an enviromental impact report is how the local wildlife will be affected by construction.

It is a bogus as a general critique. But any construction needs to take local conditions int account. You wouldn't want to build a wind farm in the middle of a low-flying migratory path, any more than you'd want to build a nuclear plant on a fault line.