FROM
How Environmentalists Plan to Control Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them
Now that the most absurd but potentially catastrophic junk science in human history is unraveling and we are preparing to declare victory over gorebull warbling we can devote more attention to neglected junk. Taking Liberty -- How Private Property is being Abolished in America Click here to jump straight to the global warming (a.k.a. "climate change", "global weirding", "people are icky, nasty, weather-breaking critters"... ) section if you so desire.Feel free to post your opinions over on the forum (self-register for your free account if you haven't already done so).
More Inconvenient Obamacare Truths
Last week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final cost projections for Obamacare, finding that, contrary to White House claims, the legislation will increase national health spending by $311 billion over the next decade and will cause 14 million Americans to lose their current employer-based health coverage. President Barack Obama unleashed his staff to attack Foster’s work. Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, and White House Communications Director Dan Pfeifferdownplayed and criticized Foster’s analysis on the White House website. As Heritage’s Rob Bluey reports this was not the first time the author of the report, Medicare and Medicaid chief actuary Rick Foster, had been attacked by a White House: Continue reading... (The Foundry)
Standing Up To Obamacare: What The States Can Do
Due to the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the nation’s health care system is on its way to undergoing a tremendous overhaul. The impact of the implementation process will be felt by all, but state and local governments will play a significant role. As former Heritage senior fellow Dennis Smith writes in a recent paper, “While the White House would like to give the impression that the debate on health care is over, the truth is that it has just begun. Like welfare reform legislation in the past, there are really three phases to reform. An act of Congress is just the first; now reform passes to the state level and eventually to the local level, and it is at the state and local levels that the real impact on the country’s citizens will become apparent.” Continue reading... (The Foundry)
VIDEO: GM Repaid Taxpayers with Tax Dollars
You probably have seen that new General Motors ad were CEO Ed Whitacre claims his company has repaid their taxpayer bailout “in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule.” Don’t believe it for a second. Nick Gillespie explains why in the video to the right. The New York Times is also calling out the Obama administration for signing off on GM’s Enron-style accounting: But what neither G.M. nor the Treasury disclosed was that the company simply used other funds held by the Treasury to pay off its original loan. Continue reading... (The Foundry)
Development is the new green? We certainly hope so! Turning to Greener Weapons In the Battle Against Malaria Insecticides such as DDT have long been used to combat the scourge of malaria in the developing world. But with the disease parasite becoming increasingly adept at resisting the chemical onslaught, some countries are achieving striking success by eliminating the environmental conditions that give rise to malarial mosquitoes. (Sonia Shah, e360)
Mission Creep Causes Amnesty International to Lose Focus Charities have bureaucratic imperatives to grow, and they do so by moral
imperialism. Amnesty is no exception.
Dopey buggers are at it again: NRDC releases new atrazine report today For our new 2010 report on atrazine water contamination, I have reviewed the studies on the environmental impacts and health effects of atrazine and many other agriculture chemicals. The findings confirm our 2009 report that showed widespread water contamination, but also provide a summary of the new science showing harmful impacts from atrazine. I have included studies of wildlife, of lab science, and of human epidemiology. The evidence just keeps growing. Atrazine shouldn’t be in our rivers, streams, or tap water. (Press Release)
Dispatch: Re-re-evaluating Atrazine An editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal notes,
“With the headlines full of oil spills and immigration, the Obama Administration's
regulatory agenda is getting little attention. That's a mistake. Consider the
Environmental Protection Agency's effort to revive an assault on atrazine, one of the
oldest, most well-established agricultural chemicals on the market. Just this past week,
the EPA held its third ‘re-evaluation’ hearing on atrazine.”
What about fixing those Chinese drywall-contaminated houses? I was down in Florida last week, where the subject of Chinese drywall is never far from anyone's thoughts. Outside the Sunshine State, though, media coverage has been a bit spotty, for two reasons: The victim group is wrong, being comprised mostly of middle class white people; and the extent of this environmental and financial disaster has proven (if such proof were even needed these days) that the Feds are far better at collecting tax revenue than actually solving the problems these tax dollars are supposed to solve. Upwards of 60,000 homes are affected in Florida alone, with one of the hardest hit cities being Cape Coral. I spent three days there last week to observe the situation first hand. For most of the trip, I tagged along with Michael Foreman ofForeman and Associates, the state's leading purveyor of remediation for Chinese drywall problems. Given that Florida is already home to countless scam artists, there are probably hundreds offering a panacea to this problem. Let me assure you: Foreman is the real deal, and he's racking up the successfully treated homes to prove it. Remediation consists of removing all the drywall, insulation, wiring, ducting, and furring strips, cleaning the place up, and then treating all remaining surfaces with a proprietary chlorine dioxide solution from AbissoCleanse, Inc. After this treatment, core samples are taken from block and wood, and only after these pass muster does reconstruction of the house begin. This is all good news, but it is overshadowed somewhat by the fact that so far, anyone who wants to clean up his tainted house is doing it on his own dime. That's right. Currently, there is no help whatsoever for those poor souls, who—through no fault of their own—got stuck with a contaminated house. Foreman and others are working to change this. Thousands are hoping that they will succeed. Check out my HND article, that covers this in more detail. (Shaw's Eco-Logic)
Krugman loves pollution as a social engineering tool: BP oil spill: A very visible disaster If Obama can seize the moment, this oil spill could help reverse the slide of US
environmentalism
But: Obama's Katrina Media Bias: As the Gulf Coast faced ecological disaster, the president yukked it up
with White House correspondents. His Saturday radio address didn't even mention the oil
spill. President Bush, call your office.
“Taxing the Heart out of Australia.” The Carbon Sense Coalition today claimed that the Rudd Resource tax was just another in
a long line of taxes helping to depopulate rural Australia.
Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe The world may be on the brink of biological disaster after news that a third of US
bee colonies did not survive the winter
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
UN: No comprehensive climate deal this year KOENIGSWINTER, Germany (AP) — Outgoing U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer shot down
expectations of a climate treaty this year, saying Monday that a major U.N. conference in
December would yield only a "first answer" on curbing greenhouse gases.
Kyoto Risks Collapse; U.N. Urges Government Action Governments must confront risks that the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol for fighting climate change will collapse because of splits about a successor treaty, the U.N.'s top climate official said on Monday. (Reuters)
Interacademies panel announced H/T to Marcel Crok, who has noted the announcement of the Interacademies Panel, the group appointed by the UN to look at management and organisational issues at the IPCC in the wake of Climategate. There is a dedicated website for the review here. Click to read more ... (Bishop Hill)
State attorney general demands ex-professor's files from University of Virginia RICHMOND -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II is demanding that the
University of Virginia turn over a broad range of documents from a former professor to
determine whether he defrauded taxpayers as he sought grants for global warming
research.
Virginia vs Michael Mann: Ken Cuccinelli is right
» Don't Stop Reading » (The Reference Frame)
Thanks to Glenn Beck, we get bit more insight into the tangled web that The House of Global Warming was built on. Who would have thought? Goldman Sachs has been working hard to save the environment for years. Generation Investment Management (GIM) was founded by Al Gore, and a few friends, which included David Blood (former Goldman executive), Mark Ferguson (Goldman) and Peter Harris (Goldman). They are the fifth largest shareholder in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). Then in 2006, when the CCX needed some extra funding, who should step up to buy 10% of the company – Goldman Sachs. CCX is an exchange that won’t be doing a heck of a lot if carbon trading doesn’t become mandatory. All of these players have a vested interest in Cap N Trade legislation. More » (Jo Nova)
Goldman & Gore cash out of CCX? ICE buys Chicago Climate Exchange An Atlanta-based competitor to CME Group Inc. said Friday it has agreed to pay $604
million for Climate Exchange PLC, the London-based operator of the Chicago Climate
Exchange and Chicago Climate Futures Exchange -- pioneers in emissions trading. The deal
by IntercontinentalExchange, known as ICE, also includes the European Climate Exchange.
Dr Rajendra Pachauri and the IPCC - No Fossil Fool Written by Dennis Ambler Monday, 03 May 2010 11:40 Much has been written over recent months about the enigmatic Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC), Dr Rajendra K Pachauri. He has been labeled a crook and a fraudster by some, because of his extensive interests in companies that stand to benefit from carbon trading, but those searching for direct and actionable evidence of wrong-doing will be disappointed. What they will find is someone who has used his position as IPCC Chairman to attract major funding to his own organization, The Energy and Resources Institute2 (TERI), known previously (and concurrently by some), as the Tata Energy Research Institute. Read more... (SPPI)
No change at the Royal Society Under the leadership of Lord Rees, the Royal Society's reputation has sunk dramatically, with this once august body now widely seen as a political body and a surrogate arm of the government, more interested in the next tranche of funding than truth. Their role in Lord Oxburgh's whitewashing may well hang over them for a long time to come. Click to read more ... (Bishop Hill)
Lots of Ice—But No Media Coverage The global warming crusade was delighted to report that the Great Lakes ice cover from
the late 1990s to the mid-to-late 2000s was much lower than normal. The reason? Clearly
the ongoing buildup of greenhouse gases. Now, however, they are troubled and keeping
quiet. The reason is that the “Great Lakes experienced extensive ice cover during the
2008-2009 winter.
Lawrence Solomon: Arctic ice sets records in April, could auger global cooling The Arctic ice set 30 records in April, one for each day. According to satellite data received by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Arctic was more ice bound each day of April than it had been any other corresponding day in April since its sensors began tracking the extent of Arctic Ice in mid 2002. Click here to see this tracking on the Japan Aerospace website, run jointly with the International Arctic Research Center. While Arctic ice has always varied greatly, expanding and contracting during the course of a year and also from year to year and decade to decade, the expansion of the Arctic ice this decade is significant in one respect: It acts to disprove the models that had predicted that the Arctic ice in this century would not recover as it had in previous centuries. The expansion of the Arctic ice also acts to support a growing number of reports that Earth could be in for a period of global cooling. In one recent example, on April 14 New Scientist in an article entitled “Quiet Sun Puts Europe on Ice” warned its readers as follows: “BRACE yourself for more winters like the last one, northern Europe. Freezing conditions could become more likely: winter temperatures may even plummet to depths last seen at the end of the 17th century, a time known as the Little Ice Age. That's the message from a new study that identifies a compelling link between solar activity and winter temperatures in northern Europe.” New Scientist, a widely respected magazine that until recently had blamed human activity for the global warming, is now advising its readers that climate scientists may have had their blinders on in ignoring a dominant role for the Sun. New research, the article explains, “is helping to overcome a long-standing reticence among climate scientists to tackle the influence of solar cycles on the climate and weather.” The new study that New Scientist refers to, which appears in Environmental Research Letters, a journal of the Institute of Physics, is entitled “Are cold winters in Europe associated with low solar activity?” (Financial Post)
Species Safe Even If World Warms, By: Dennis T. Avery Churchville, VA—Biologists are again predicting massive species losses as the
world warms. But where are the corpses? There have been few findings of extinctions among
continental bird and mammal species over the past 500 years. The species extinctions have
been virtually all on islands, as humans have brought such alien predators as rats, cats,
and Canadian thistles to places where they had no natural enemies.
Eye-roller: CO2 effects on plants increases global warming Palo Alto, CA— Trees and other plants help keep the planet cool, but rising levels
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are turning down this global air conditioner.
According to a new study by researchers at the Carnegie Institution for Science, in some
regions more than a quarter of the warming from increased carbon dioxide is due to its
direct impact on vegetation. This warming is in addition to carbon dioxide's better-known
effect as a heat-trapping greenhouse gas. For scientists trying to predict global climate
change in the coming century, the study underscores the importance of including plants in
their climate models.
Dying Shell Fish Larvae: The Story of a Scam Written by Dennis Ambler Monday, 03 May 2010 13:28 Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator, is keen to expand her role, get more funding and enlarge her organization. She sees “Acid Seas” as a suitable vehicle and has given interviews claiming that the oceans are becoming more acidic and “threatening much of the life in the oceans.” Read more... (SPPI)
Oh dear... NASA, Purdue study offers recipe for global warming-free industrial materials WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Let a bunch of fluorine atoms get together in the molecules of a
chemical compound, and they're like a heavy metal band at a chamber music festival. They
tend to dominate the proceedings and not always for the better.
Sigh... Scripps researchers outline strategy to limit global warming Fulfilling Copenhagen Accord will require variety of efforts ranging from 'Herculean' to the readily actionable, scientists say Major greenhouse gas-emitting countries agreed in December climate talks held in
Copenhagen that substantial action is required to limit the increase of global average
temperature to less than 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F).
Review of Mike Smith’s Book “Warnings” – A Truely Exceptional Contribution To Meteorology About two weeks ago I was sent a copy of the book Warnings: The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather by Mike Smith (Hardcover – May 1, 2010) [Mike's weblog is http://www.mikesmithenterprises.com/blog.cfm]. I was asked to review, and, as a courtesy to a professional colleague, I agreed to do that. I did not expect, however, that I would be riveted to such a truly outstanding contribution to the history of meteorology! His autobiographical discussion of his experiences, as well as others, with tornados, microbursts from severe thunderstorms, and hurricanes, and the development of improvements in the monitoring and dissemination of their threats that the public and commerce face with this weather feature is as interesting as the best fiction novel! He presents the plot, provides the (real world) characters, and builds each story in the book to its climax event, whether it is a tornado, a microburst or a hurricane. After reading, you learn quite a bit about not only the science of forecasting, but also the people who were involved. Mike also candidly illustrates serious issues with bureaucratic involvement with the development of the improvements in forecasting and the distribution of weather information, including examples from the National Weather Service, the Air Force, Federal Emergency Management Agency and others. He presents an effective, and very well written, evolution of how the work of the National Weather Service, private corporations and others has prevented thousands of deaths. Ted Fujita (who I was also fortunate enough to know also) was appropriately recognized for his seminal contributions to severe thunderstorm knowledge. The Greensburg, Kansas tornado of 2007 is presented at the end of the book to illustrate how far the meteorological community has come in alerting us to the deadly threat of F4 and F5 tornadoes. Mike was (and remains) a major contributor to why we have made so many improvements to severe thunderstorm forecasting and why so many lives have been saved. I highly recommend this exceptional book. (Climate Science)
Touched a nerve? Massive capacity for CO2 storage exists in the UK We are sure that carbon capture and storage can stall the effects of climate change
Uh-oh... Carbon dioxide capture and cancer. Full stop at Mongstad This is a guest post by Geir Hasnes. In 2006, the Norwegian government embarked on the world’s most ambitious carbon capture project – a system that would capture the CO2 produced at gas-fired power stations. The system had a projected cost of 27 billion NoK, roughly equivalent to US$5 billion. The two power stations concerned are situated at Mongstad near Bergen on the west coast and Kårstø, somewhat further to the south. Mongstad had been chosen as the starting point. Click to read more ... (Bishop Hill)
Michael McCarthy: So far BP has said the right words – but its actions will be measured now BP's statement yesterday obeyed PR rule No.1 for a firm which, directly or not, has outraged the public: don't quibble (The Independent)
BP Moves to Fix a Leak as Obama Warns of Damage NEW ORLEANS — BP prepared Monday to install a shutoff valve on one of three leaks gushing from an oil spill off the coast of New Orleans, in a bid to stem what President Obama called a "potentially unprecedented environmental disaster." (NYT)
BP Reels As Spill Advances, Fallout Widens Energy giant BP Plc was under siege on Monday over the catastrophic oil spill from its
ruptured Gulf of Mexico well, as its shares fell and the U.S. government pressed it to try
to limit a major environmental disaster.
Hmm... They wait for oil. But the sea brings death instead A dead sea turtle lies on a beach in the small town of Pass Christian, Mississippi,
approximately 55 miles east of New Orleans. Twenty dead turtles were washed up on beaches
in the state at the weekend. Five of the seven species of sea turtle live in the Gulf of
Mexico ? leatherback, hawksbill, green, loggerhead and Kemp's ridley. All are threatened
or endangered.
Terence Corcoran: Why BP should pay spill’s full cost
By Terence Corcoran By some merciful force or just good luck, the giant BP oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico
yesterday remained the greatest environmental disaster that hasn’t happened.
Fishing banned in Gulf of Mexico for 10 days The US government has banned for 10 days all commercial and recreational fishing in parts of the Gulf of Mexico due to health risks from the massive crude oil spill. (TDT)
Obama Says Oil Drilling Must Be Done Responsibly President Barack Obama said on Friday that domestic oil drilling remains an important
part of energy policy and is important to U.S. security, but must be done responsibly.
Oil Spill: Focus on Containment, Clean Up, Causation The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an unfortunate and terrible accident that poses economic and environmental challenges to the Gulf coast. The fact that the explosion took eleven lives is regrettable and condolences to friends and families who lost their loved ones. Many questions are yet without answers; the most general and pressing being: what went wrong? Along with stopping the leak and containing the oil slick to minimize, the imperative concern is to figure out what went wrong. There will be lots of finger pointing and calls for action but Members of Congress and the White House should refrain from making any rash political decisions. Despite accusations that BP cut corners on preventative measures, BP America Inc. President Lamar McKay maintains that’s not the case saying, “My belief is that that does not have anything to do with it. I believe we’ve got a failed piece of equipment. We don’t know why it failed yet in this contracted rig.” Whether that’s the case remains to be seen and will require a thorough investigation. The company is spending $6 million a day to reduce the environmental impact with burnoffs, oil booms, chemical-filled barriers and other dispersant chemicals and is attempting to activate the blowout prevention mechanism that was supposed to go into effect when the rig exploded. Answering this question must be at the top of the priority list. After the “what happened and why” questions follow the “who’s to blame” ones. The obvious responsible party is BP and the company has vowed to pay for the clean up costs for “legitimate and objectively verifiable claims for other loss and damage caused by the spill.” This should include reimbursing the taxpayers for government resources allocated towards the problem, which thus far includes the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Minerals Management Services. Continue reading... (The Foundry)
by Richard W. Fulmer April saw two devastating disasters in the energy industry: a methane explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia that claimed 29 lives, and another explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which took 11 more. The latter incident, because of the tens of thousands of gallons of oil now pouring from the ocean floor each day, will impact the Gulf region for years if not for decades to come. These tragedies are a terrible reminder of the trial-and-error nature of life. Humans have accomplished many wonders over the millennia – wonders that ended the vicious cycle of crushing poverty that has been mankind’s lot throughout most of history. But these accomplishments have often come at a very high price. Because it is in our nature to strive to better our condition and that of our children, life will never be without risk. As terrible as the consequences of failure can be, it brings with it the seeds of hope. Hope that we can learn from our mistakes and, if not succeed next time, at least not fail in the same way. From such tragic lessons come knowledge and strength. [Read more ?] (MasterResource)
Factually Incorrect With Bill Maher
During the weekly round table discussion on ABC’s This Week, Bill Maher made an astonishing claim. He claimed that Brazil has “gone off oil” in the last 30 years. He said:
Well, Mr. Maher certainly has an odd view of what constitutes “getting off oil” because according to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Brazil is the 13th largest producer of oil in the world, pumping out 2.4 million barrels a day. A lot of Brazil’s oil comes from offshore drilling sites. Since the discovery of the offshore oilin 2008, Brazil has aggressively tried to extract that oil. Continue reading... (The Foundry)
Energy innovation needs investment, not taxation Few issues currently before Congress are more hotly debated and critical to the future
health or our economy than climate change legislation.
UK expects to win reprieve on EU emissions plans Lobbying by Britain looks set to have secured a key concession in EU plans to cut power
station emissions due to be voted through the European Parliament this week.
In the US, birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which dates back to 1918. Over the past two decades, the federal government has brought hundreds of cases against energy companies for killing wild birds in the operation of their businesses. For example, in July 2009, the Oregon based electric utility PacifiCorp paid $1.4 million in fines for killing 232 eagles in Wyoming over a period of two years. The birds were electrocuted by poorly-designed power lines. At the same time, wind-powered turbines are killing a vast number of birds each year yet their owners are not being prosecuted. While the total number of birds killed in the US each year fluctuates, Michael Fry of the American Bird Conservancyestimates that US wind turbines kill between 75,000 and 275,000 birds per year. Yet the Justice Department is not bringing cases against wind companies. “Somebody has given the wind industry a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Fry said, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “If there were even one prosecution,” he added, the wind industry would be forced to take the issue seriously (see “Windmills Are Killing Our Birds”).
 A dead white-tailed eagle killed in the Smøla wind-farm, off the Norwegian coast. Photo Espen Lie Dahl. According to the American Wind Energy Association, each megawatt of installed wind-power results in the killing of between one and six birds each year. If environmentalists, lobby groups and some government officials have their way, the U.S. will be producing 20% of its electricity from wind by 2030. Meeting that goal will require about 300,000 megawatts of wind capacity, a 12-fold increase over 2008 levels, according to the DOE. If that target is achieved, at least 300,000 birds will be killed each year by wind turbines. Even so, wildlife enforcement officials do not expect to see any prosecutions of the politically correct wind industry. America isn't alone in creating avian carnage, people across Europe have started to take notice of the true cost of “environmentally friendly” wind power. An energy company has admitted that endangered Red Kites are at significant risk from its planned new wind farm complex in South Wales. Other reports place the kestrel and plover in danger from wind turbines as well.
While some experts have downplayed the danger to birds it seems that bats are taking a greater hit—often in a literal sense. Bats, being a rather unloved species compared to birds, do not seem to carry as much weight with the eco-conscious. Two separate sets of researchers have reported two different ways that wind farms, with their rotating turbine blades, are dangerous, even deadly to bats. One report shows that bats, with their amazing flying and hunting abilities, are none the less being struck down by slashing turbine blades. It is hard to believe that these adept, acoustic radar-equipped flying mammals simply fly into the blades, but a surprising number of bats are being killed by wind turbine farms. A study was prompted by recent finding that forest-dwelling bats are often found dead beneath operating wind turbines at wind energy facilities. Thermal infrared video cameras were used to record the flight behavior of bats at night near these turbines in an attempt to understand the cause of these fatalities. Quoting from the study report:
This followed previous research that showed that bats can have their lungs ruptured from the sudden low pressure of passing turbine blades: the bats are actually drowning in mid-air. It is not necessary for the bats to collide with the turbines, bats don't even need to come in physical contact with the turbine blades. A blade passing close by is enough to be fatal—an unexpected hazard that was previously unsuspected. For more on the bat deaths, including infrared video footage, see “Wind Turbines Spread While Bats Take Beating.” Earlier this year, Judge Roger W. Titus of the US District Court of Maryland has “reluctantly” enjoined construction of a West Virginia wind farm under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to protect the Indiana bat. “Like death and taxes, there is a virtual certainty that Indiana bats will be harmed, wounded, or killed imminently by the Beech Ridge Project,” Titus wrote in a 74-page opinion. “The development of wind energy can and should be encouraged, but wind turbines must be good neighbors.”
Wind power projects in a large part of the US may now need to add Fish and Wildlife Service permits to development financing and cost estimates. Greens may be about to do to wind power what they have previously done to the nuclear industry, creating red tape and legal barriers to green energy deployment. It seems that some greens oppose any energy project supporting the “unsustainable” Western lifestyle. Wind power, like every other source of power, has its hazards and negative effects on nature. There is no free lunch, ecologically speaking. Every action by man—or any other species for that matter—affects the environment in some way. We are all for wind power where it is appropriate and can operate economically. If appropriate means not along known bird migration routes, near nesting sites or areas with a lot of bat activity the potential for wind power may be a lot smaller than even moderate estimates. It may, however, be impossible to avoid the impact widespread use of wind power could have on the environment. Analysis from MIT researchers suggests generating electricity from large-scale wind farms could influence climate—and not necessarily in the desired way. Scientists have discovered that directly interfering with wind on a sufficiently large scale affects the climate of the atmosphere. In a paper published online February 22, 2010, in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, MIT researchers Chien Wang and Ronald Prinn suggest that using wind turbines to meet 10% of global energy demand in 2100 could cause temperatures to rise by 1°C in regions where land based wind farms are installed, with a smaller increase in surrounding areas. Their analysis indicates the opposite result for wind turbines installed in water: a drop in temperatures by 1°C over those regions. According to the paper:
What the true impact of widespread, large scale wind turbine deployment will be is uncertain. What is certain is that the environment will be affected. The MIT researchers also suggest that the intermittency of wind power could require significant and costly backup options, such as natural gas-fired power plants. For more information about the reliability of wind power and the costs associated with its intermittency, see my previous post, “Energy Answer Not Blowin' In The Wind.” An Ill Breeze In January 2008, two giant Vestas wind turbines in the UK collapsed within weeks of each other. An executive from Vestas Wind Systems gave reassurances after it emerged that one of its turbines had fallen in Scotland just weeks before an incident near Caldbeck in Cumbria. The global manufacturer has produced about 35,000 turbines since being formed in the 1970s. These were the first such incidents in the 29-year history of wind energy in the UK, and have prompted safety fears to be raised by anti-windfarm campaigners. This, and similar incidents around the world have raised questions regarding the safety and durability of wind turbines. Wind power is usually thought of as being totally safe and benign, not a source of industrial accidents or even death. The truth is rather startling: since the 1970s there have been 482 reported accidents resulting in 49 deaths. Of the known deaths, 35 were wind industry workers—installers, maintenance engineers, etc—and one farmer attempting to maintain his own turbine. The most common cause is falling from turbines. Working on wind turbines is a dangerous profession. It begins with a climb up the supporting tower, as much as 300 ft (90 m) straight up. A fit maintenance worker can make the climb from ground to turbine in perhaps five minutes.
At the top awaits a room the size of a small bus, filled with a large generator, motors, gears and electronics. A typical turbine contains 8,000 parts, and the largest models can generate 3 MW of electricity. The turbine technician works in a cramped space, filled with complicated machinery and high voltage circuitry. A gentle wind at ground level can be a near gale 27 stories above the surface. Like a ship at sea, the top of a wind turbine can sway from side to side, with the generator housing constantly shifting to keep its blades facing into the wind. Under strong winds, technicians have been known to vomit. In all, not a job for the weak or faint of heart. Outside of wind industry workers, there were 14 public fatalities reported over the past four decades, three of which were from road accidents attributed by police to drivers being distracted by the turbines. One was from a road accident collision with a turbine transporter in which a driver was killed, while in another, the road collapsed and a transport driver drowned. Among the stranger circumstances was an aircraft accident where a pilot flew into a new, unmarked anemometer (a device used for measuring wind speed) that was mounted atop a turbine. Four people died in another aircraft accident when a plane collided with a turbine in fog. A 16-year old boy strangled after his necktie became tangled around an unprotected turbine shaft and a farmer killed himself because of public opposition to his proposed wind turbines. Perhaps the strangest incident of all was when a German skydiver drifted into an operating wind turbine on her first unassisted jump. In doing so she became the first woman killed by wind energy. A further nineteen accidents resulting in human injury are documented. Thirteen accidents involved wind industry or construction workers, and a further five involved members of the public: one lost a leg in a transport accident, one was hit by thrown ice, one suffered spinal injuries from a falling turbine part, one fell from 100 m tower during an accompanied visit, and another flew his aircraft into a wind farm site. One 2003 accident resulted in two industry workers receiving appalling burns. By far the largest number of incidents are due to blade failure. Blade failure can arise from a number of possible sources, and results in either whole blades or pieces of blade being thrown from the turbine. A total of 122 separate incidents have been documented. Pieces of blade are known to have landed over 1300 feet (400 m) from the turbine. Most of these were from older turbines that are much smaller than those being built today.
In Germany, blade pieces have gone through the roofs and walls of nearby buildings. Safety experts believe that there should be a minimum distance of at least 3000 ft (1 km) between turbines and occupied housing. European countries mandate at least 6500 ft (2 km) in order to address other problems such as noise. Surprisingly, fire is the second most common accident cause in incidents found. Fire can arise from a number of sources and some turbine types seem more prone to fire than others. The biggest problem with turbine fires is that, because of the turbine height, the fire brigade can do little but watch it burn itself out. While this may be acceptable in reasonably still conditions, in a storm it means burning debris being scattered over a wide area, with obvious consequences. In dry weather there is obviously a wider-area fire risk, especially for those constructed in or close to forest areas and/or close to housing. A total of 104 fire incidents have been reported. Structural failure, like the incident in Cumbria, is the third most common accident cause, with 58 reported instances. Structural failure implies major component failure under conditions which the turbine should be designed to withstand. This mainly occurs during storms, which can damage turbines and even cause tower collapse. Dramatic footage was captured of a Danish wind turbine collapsing during a storm in February, 2008. The blades and generator housing practically exploded under the strain.
While structural failure is far more damaging than blade failure, the accident consequences and risks to human health are most likely lower, as risks are confined to within a relatively short distance from the turbine. However, as smaller turbines are now being placed on and around buildings, including schools, the accident frequency is expected to rise. A related type of incident is ice being thrown from the rotating blades, with distances of up to 450 ft (140 m) being reported.
The wind power industry is fond of showing tranquil scenes with contented cows munching grass underneath soaring turbine blades in a wind park. Little did we know that the cows were in such danger. Being an engineer as well as a scientist, I accept that humans will have an impact on nature and other living things. What I cannot abide are those sanctimonious, greener-than-thou conservationists who are mindlessly devoted to “green power” while becoming apoplectic at the mention of building new nuclear power plants. I am all for clean energy, but only if it is safe energy. So let's be realistic here, birds and bats do not get hacked from the air by nuke plants. And I know from personal experience, living on Chesapeake Bay near the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, that fish love the warm water outlets from such installations. Over the past 40 years there have been more deaths attributed to wind power than to nuclear power, yet nuclear power is the one always called “unsafe” by conservationists. It's time to grow up children—if you want to save the birds, the bats and the humans, embrace the power of the atom. Be safe, enjoy the interglacial and stay skeptical.
(Doug L. Hoffman, The Resilient Earth) |
