%26quot;Wind power promises a clean and free source of electricity. A little research, however, reveals that wind power does not in fact live up to the claims made by its advocates, that its impact on the environment and people%26#039;s lives is far from benign, and that with such a poor record and prospect the money spent on it could be much more effectively directed.
Because of the intermittency and variability of the wind, conventional power plants must be kept running at full capacity to meet the actual demand for electricity. Most cannot simply be turned on and off as the wind dies and rises, and the quick ramping up and down of those that can be would actually increase their output of pollution and carbon dioxide.
Despite their being cited as the shining example of what can be accomplished with wind power, the Danish government has cancelled plans for three offshore wind farms planned for 2008 and has scheduled the withdrawal of subsidies from existing sites. Because Danish companies dominate the wind industry, however, the government is under pressure to continue their support. Spain began withdrawing subsidies in 2002. Germany reduced the tax breaks. The Netherlands decommissioned 90 turbines in 2004. Ireland in December 2003 halted all new wind-power connections to the national grid. In 2005, Spanish utilities began refusing new wind power connections. A German Energy Agency study released in February 2005 after some delay [click here] stated that increasing the amount of wind power would increase consumer costs 3.7 times and that the theoretical reduction of greenhouse gas emissions could be achieved much more cheaply by simply installing filters on existing fossil-fuel plants.%26quot;
http://www.aweo.org/ProblemWithWind.html
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1 week ago
Dana, no offense... but that link you supplied is pretty darn desperate. I%26#039;m disappointed. A good selection, Dana still proves immaturity when one of the best answers is not his or one that he likes.Could anyone take this kid seriously?
This is not some sort of game to score points with!
Rather pathetic if you ask me. Report Abuse
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Other Answers (13)
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Also the environmentalist groups are putting a halt on the miles of eclectic cables from the wind mills the the city. Might hurt the critters
I wonder if Mr. Rosenbloom and his anti-wind group are receiving %26quot;donations%26quot; from the coal industry? Stranger things have happened.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=gras...
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-996686... algae ethanol
Now this guy is using a different kind of wind turbine that can be fixed in one place and requires way fewer mechanical components to make it work. In combination with solar cells he is able to generate the majority of his own electricity. A horizontal turbine can handle higher wind speeds and is easier to govern speed on. It does not need to be mounted on a tower and can even be built into a building. But this proves that people do not bother to research things well before pumping money into something most of the time.
Added information on how to change a sheep into a skeptic through enhanced education. Also the truth about why kids can not read or learn. If it was not for their teachers they really could.
http://www.jerrypournelle.com/
And the professor of the skeptical movement who actually worked in the aerospace industry and has consulted with presidents on technology matters. You could spend months here learning and becoming a smarter and more responsible citizen. I do not always agree with some of his political opinions but no sheep can read here for a week and keep his true believer status.
Most of his arguments are completely transparently wrong.
Regarding ethanol, while corn-based ethanol has roughly as many cons as pros, it%26#039;s a good stepping stone to better sources of ethanol like switchgrass.