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Broken down and rusting, is this the future of Britain's 'wind rush'?
daily mail ^ | 18 March 2012 | Tom Leonard

Posted on 03/18/2012 11:31:42 PM PDT by george76

A breathtaking sight awaits those who travel to the southernmost tip of Hawaii’s stunningly beautiful Big Island, though it’s not in any guidebook. On a 100-acre site, where cattle wander past broken ‘Keep Out’ signs, stand the rusting skeletons of scores of wind turbines... a technology that is supposed to be about saving the environment is instead ruining it.

In other parts of the U.S., working wind turbines are killing hundreds of thousands of birds and bats each year, but here the wildlife can perch on the motionless steel blades.

...

No one who has driven past one of America’s mega wind farms today can fail to be struck by how few have blades that are turning, even in strong winds.

The truth is that even fewer may be producing electricity than it appears. Many are switched to a mode in which the blades continue to turn just to keep oil moving around the mechanism, but no electricity is produced.

Unfortunately, the frenzy of windmill building during the wind rush didn’t just ruin the view, but also devastated the wildlife.

No one noticed until far too late that the 5,000-turbine wind farm at Altamont Pass is on a major migratory path for birds. The National Audubon Society, America’s RSPB, has called it ‘probably the worst site ever chosen for a wind energy project’.

An estimated 10,000 birds including up to 80 protected golden eagles, 380 burrowing owls, 300 red-tailed hawks and 330 falcons were being shredded each year in Altamont’s massed banks of turbine blades

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; US: California; US: Hawaii; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: corruption; energy; wind; windfarms; windfraud
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To: Islander7

Scrap metal opportunity!


21 posted on 03/19/2012 12:45:15 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (FOCUS ON FACTS: 0bamaCare Hated. Worst Recovery. Failed Stimulus. Worst Deficits.)
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To: george76; sickoflibs; stephenjohnbanker
havin a hard time picturing birds even gettin hit, much less being 'shredded' by a windmill...

i believe its probably the same rhetoric as the poor carribou that dont like snuggling against the warm pipelines...

all energy is bad...

22 posted on 03/19/2012 12:58:15 PM PDT by Gilbo_3 (Gov is not reason; not eloquent; its force.Like fire,a dangerous servant & master. George Washington)
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To: george76

http://www.dialight.com/Assets/Application_Notes/Signaling/Obstruction%20Lighting%20Bird%20Strike%20Study.pdf


23 posted on 03/19/2012 1:06:12 PM PDT by SZonian (Throwing our allegiances to political party's in the long run gave away our liberty.)
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To: Gilbo_3; jazusamo; girlangler; Flycatcher; SierraWasp

Nationwide, about 440,000 birds are killed at windfarms each year, according to the (Federal) Wildlife Service.

environmentalist wackos have remained silent about the slaughter of birds by dangerous and unproductive windmill farms.

wind turbine blades spinning at up to 200 mph

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/08/environmentalists_give_pass_to_eagle-killing_windmills.html


24 posted on 03/19/2012 1:20:50 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76
Take it from a former boat builder:

saltwater + machine + time = rusty junk
25 posted on 03/19/2012 1:34:38 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The RNC would prefer Obama to a conservative nominee.)
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To: george76

That’s correct as far as I’ve read and the bird kill facts have only been reported for the last year or slightly longer. I can only believe the enviro wackos knew about it and were silent because of their beloved wind energy.

Money going into wind energy may as well be flushed down a toilet. Without govt subsidies these wind farms would not exist and in the Western states there’s not just fed tax dollar subsidies but state subsidies also. The power being produced and sold at todays cost pkh isn’t enough to keep the existing fields going so they can make a profit. It’s a huge investor and taxpayer ripoff.


26 posted on 03/19/2012 2:18:00 PM PDT by jazusamo (Character assassination is just another form of voter fraud: Thomas Sowell)
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To: george76
GREEN POWER is not for generating electricity; they are machines for pumping money --

Ratepayers and Taxpayers are being hit by a triple whammy - FedGov, StateGov, and Suppliers are all scamming more funds to pay off the Green Nazis! Shut them all down.

27 posted on 03/19/2012 3:58:55 PM PDT by brityank (The more I learn about the Constitution, the more I realise this Government is UNconstitutional !!)
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To: george76

admittedly i have never seen a live monster windminll in action, but i ASSumed a much slower, lumbering RPM than 200 ‘mph’...


28 posted on 03/19/2012 6:01:07 PM PDT by Gilbo_3 (Gov is not reason; not eloquent; its force.Like fire,a dangerous servant & master. George Washington)
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To: Gilbo_3
Your failure of vision is not reason to question the mortality rates of birds to windmills. When spinning at useful rates the tips of blades are moving at over 200 mph, far faster than birds could avoid them. These raptors and other birds are important predators of vermin and insects harmful to agricultural produce.

Of course, if you are one of the modern Americans who think food comes from supermarkets instead of farms, this may not impress you much

29 posted on 03/19/2012 9:49:01 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: radioone

And, every wind farm has to have a 90 percent backup electrical source. That is, a power plant and that means it is either coal, natural gas, or nuclear power.

Windmills are also hideously maintenance intensive and require servicing on a three or four month cycle. They are rated to last about 20 years before replacement.


30 posted on 03/19/2012 11:42:32 PM PDT by MasterGunner01 (11)
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To: george76

Engineer I know was making 200k on the windmill scam.


31 posted on 03/20/2012 8:18:38 AM PDT by junta ("Peace is a racket", testimony from crime boss Barrack Hussein Obama.)
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To: steelyourfaith

Ping.


32 posted on 03/20/2012 10:32:20 AM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: george76
The purpose of wind energy is not to produce energy. It is to give taxpayer money to the politically connected. It is as simple as that.

As long as the slimeballs got their money nobody cares about anything else.

33 posted on 03/20/2012 10:43:34 AM PDT by detective
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To: george76

We need to take the environmentalists to the Hague for their continuing and deliberate genocide against our avian brothers!

Death to the genocidal fascist swine!!!

:-P


34 posted on 03/20/2012 12:31:43 PM PDT by gogogodzilla (Live free or die!)
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To: jazusamo
Money going into wind energy may as well be flushed down a toilet. Without govt subsidies these wind farms would not exist and in the Western states there’s not just fed tax dollar subsidies but state subsidies also. The power being produced and sold at todays cost pkh isn’t enough to keep the existing fields going so they can make a profit. It’s a huge investor and taxpayer ripoff

Damn straight.

The whole premise of cost-effective wind power is a lie built upon a foundation of half-truths, misdirection, and bald-faced dishonesty. I hate these monstrosities -- and the filthy leftist stooges and idiots that promote them -- with every fiber of my body.

I'm glad to see that this supreme boondoggle is now being exposed for what it is. Fewer and fewer people seem to be sold on this lie now.

Thanks or the ping, George! I'm back for a few days before I'm off again. Jaz: Got a lifebird about a week ago. A male Lawrence's goldfinch. Check out your Sibley guide. It's quite an awesome bird!

All the best, FRiends!

35 posted on 03/31/2012 3:10:53 PM PDT by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: george76
Oops.

Meant to ping you too, George, to the above post.

Thanks for the ping!

36 posted on 03/31/2012 3:12:50 PM PDT by Flycatcher (God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)
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To: Flycatcher
I'm glad to see that this supreme boondoggle is now being exposed for what it is. Fewer and fewer people seem to be sold on this lie now.

Amen to that! It's a shame that billions of taxpayer dollars have already been wasted on this "green" venture. Let the free market determine the eventual costs, not subsidies and tax credits to whoever is sitting in the WH and their thug friends.

Most happy to see you spotted the Lawrence's goldfinch, checked it out and it's a beautiful bird. Also glad to see you have a few days off before heading back out.

All the best, Fly!

37 posted on 03/31/2012 6:16:47 PM PDT by jazusamo (Character assassination is just another form of voter fraud: Thomas Sowell)
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