[LMB] "Civilization isn't just electricity."

[anmar mirza]

On 2/8/08, Tora K. Smulders-Srinivasan <tora.smulders at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 2/7/08, anmar mirza <anmar.mirza at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Wind, on an appropriate site, is actually one of the best and least
> > environmentally damaging alternatives we have.
>
> Windfarms seem to be more abundant here in the UK and in Europe.  But
> what seem to be the biggest problems (not an expert, but I've hear)
> are actually ecological.  Birds get caught in the blades and that can
> be huge problem for the killing of certain species.


*Any* form of energy we use will have some type environmental cost!
One of the environmental impact studies for wind farms involves not
placing them in the path of migratory birds.

When you compare it to coal, oil, or even nuclear (waste aside, mining
nuclear fuels and processing it is incredibly polluting), wind and solar
are very low, lower than hydro even.  We humans can't avoid having
some type of impact.  What we can do is minimize that impact.
If we all want to live a stone age level of society we'd be far more
environmentally damaging per capita.


> Coincidentally, my husband was just telling me about a PhD student who
> came to talk to him yesterday or the day before.  She's trying to
> study the electromagnetic effects of the huge cables going from land
> to the windfarms on the animals in the ocean.  Perhaps another big
> consideration.


In almost five decades of studying this problem, there has been no
conclusive data to date.





-- 
Anmar Mirza EMT, N9ISY, Central Region NCRC Coordinator, Owner Lost Creek
Packs, blog.myspace.com/anmarmirza)