Wind turbines

[excoriate]

Regardless of the other negative impacts, they certainly are not noisy from my up close experience of back garden turbines and the larger hillside variety.

[September]

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

What worries me is when this current interglacial ends and we are plunged back into an age of ice, everyone will foolishly think wind farms have saved the day and their destruction of precious landscapes and habitats will have been worth it.

However it will have been the cycles as descrbed by Milankovitch (variations in the Earth's axial tilt, eccentricity and precession of the Earth's orbit) that have really done the trick, and in a most effective manner.

Regards, Chris

Though the issue of climate change is a big one, subject to much debate, I think the reason our government are choosing to build wind farms is mostly down to our own fuel crisis. Which will become the world's problem eventually. People are understandably sceptical of nuclear power, not least because it has its own dirty by-products. Radioactive waste pumped into the ocean by Sellafield is being detected on Ireland's coastline, and does not degrade easily.

Wind turbines are a help of course, but a small one and not dependable. I believe hydrogen will play a large part in the future of the world's fuel, and I think the progress of developing ways to use it is being held back primarily by those who make profit from fossil fuel (and those who put the money in the pockets of those people - us). But nonetheless, discoveries are being made. Here is a recent example, though one I am naturally sceptical of:

New Scientist Technology Blog: Fire from seawater claim lights up the web

The transition between fossil fuel and other sources is going to require a pooling of many different sources at first. These include wind, hydroelectric, nuclear, solar, and of course fossil. There may be other minor sources depending on location such as geothermal (not here in the UK of course). We've come a long way since the darkness of the industrial revolution, and I'm glad steps are being taken, but there's still a long way to go. The burgeoning global population helps none of course, and I've not even touched on the need of oil for plastic and everything else it is used for.

It's understandable that people might loathe wind farms, and of course there will be an impact on wildlife as with everything humanity does, but we must do something. It's a pickle!

[flowerofedin]

I'm having trouble already with this thread. They may look graceful and claim to help the environment, but what about the problems which wildlife, particularly birds, incurr after falling foul (or should that be "fowl" ) of one. I hope, good people, you will think again about the "grace and beauty" of these monstrosities, and consider again the price wild animals and birds have to pay so that we can have our so-called "precious wind power"

[excoriate]

Originally Posted by flowerofedin

I'm having trouble already with this thread. They may look graceful and claim to help the environment, but what about the problems which wildlife, particularly birds, incurr after falling foul (or should that be "fowl" ) of one. I hope, good people, you will think again about the "grace and beauty" of these monstrosities, and consider again the price wild animals and birds have to pay so that we can have our so-called "precious wind power"

Its a tough argument but I'd rather have wind power than no power...

[flowerofedin]

Originally Posted by excoriate

Its a tough argument but I'd rather have wind power than no power...

Sorry, but I noticed and "I" in the last sentance. Not a good enough argument for hurting wildlife like this

[svenrufus]

Originally Posted by flowerofedin

I'm having trouble already with this thread. They may look graceful and claim to help the environment, but what about the problems which wildlife, particularly birds, incurr after falling foul (or should that be "fowl" ) of one. I hope, good people, you will think again about the "grace and beauty" of these monstrosities, and consider again the price wild animals and birds have to pay so that we can have our so-called "precious wind power"

In an earlier post on this thread I pointed out that the wind turbines are designed to produce energy in a way that does not add to climate change - hence doing their bit to save the global ecosystem from perturbances that they have never seen the like of before. The consequences of allowing climate change to carry on with no effort made to reduce our impact is a future where we may see untold loss of life of not just individual birds but whole species of birds and many other animals, plants etc.

While recognising the horrible things that have happened to some birds in collision with the turbines, I asked people to put aside sentimenality, and make the choice between losing a few birds or a few species of birds. It's that stark a choice. This is the crunch issue. It's not a good choice to have to make, but this is where we are. If we don't grasp the nettle, we will be even more culpable than we already are for the havoc we are wreaking on our environment.

Merely to focus on a few unfortunate birds is to miss the big picture, and to paraphrase your own line from a post above, this is not a good enough argument for allowing the whole planet to go down the pan. Wind turbines are not going to do the job on their own, but they are a vital tool amongst our limited options, and to turn them down on the basis of aesthetics or sentiment is, IMHO, quite simply irresponsible and selfish.

[flowerofedin]

Originally Posted by svenrufus

In an earlier post on this thread I pointed out that the wind turbines are designed to produce energy in a way that does not add to climate change - hence doing their bit to save the global ecosystem from perturbances that they have never seen the like of before. The consequences of allowing climate change to carry on with no effort made to reduce our impact is a future where we may see untold loss of life of not just individual birds but whole species of birds and many other animals, plants etc.

While recognising the horrible things that have happened to some birds in collision with the turbines, I asked people to put aside sentimenality, and make the choice between losing a few birds or a few species of birds. It's that stark a choice. This is the crunch issue. It's not a good choice to have to make, but this is where we are. If we don't grasp the nettle, we will be even more culpable than we already are for the havoc we are wreaking on our environment.

Merely to focus on a few unfortunate birds is to miss the big picture, and to paraphrase your own line from a post above, this is not a good enough argument for allowing the whole planet to go down the pan. Wind turbines are not going to do the job on their own, but they are a vital tool amongst our limited options, and to turn them down on the basis of aesthetics or sentiment is, IMHO, quite simply irresponsible and selfish.

What a pity.... Are you a gamekeeper or something?

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by flowerofedin

I'm having trouble already with this thread. They may look graceful and claim to help the environment, but what about the problems which wildlife, particularly birds, incurr after falling foul (or should that be "fowl" ) of one. I hope, good people, you will think again about the "grace and beauty" of these monstrosities, and consider again the price wild animals and birds have to pay so that we can have our so-called "precious wind power"

But if this is all that's viable and its sustainable what is the other solution.

birds fly into anything tall........

plus it will be whole populations affected and possibly lost as a result of climate change not just individuals perhaps this doesn't bother you?

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by Meles meles

I have to agree, Before these photos i never liked nor disliked wind turbines.
Ok maybe they are bad for the picturesque landscape like pylons and power stations. But always thought they was for the better.
Now though I do feel differently towards them. I assume the kites got sucked into the wind flow?? (apologies amature learning) How else may they effect mammals birds etc??

The small domestic wind turbines seem to suck light creatures in ,like Bats and small birds

[kshotton45]

I wouldn't have thought that the large ones turn fast enough to catch a bird out. The smaller ones however, seem pretty lethal.
I saw one at Bowland recently. It powers the Wild Boar farm. It's larger than a domestic one and it runs at a fair bat ( no pun intended ). I would suspect that these may be a hazard to birds.

Keith.