A Small Update To The Previous Post.

OK, well, literally 5 minutes after I posted the last article, I came across this article, totally by chance. (CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE) So, it appears that some wind turbines have killed goats. Yes, yes, I know, its horrible. We let those turbines run wild and look what happens. All joking aside, the farmer who owns the goats said that after 8 ( yeah, just 8) turbines were placed by his farm, his goats became malnourished. The reason they were malnourished? The farmer claims that the noise from the turbine's interrupted the sleeping patterns of the goats, making them...I don't know exactly, unable to handle waking up? I mean, I understand that some animals have very peculiar patterns as far as habitats and tendencies go, but, let be real here: THEY ARE GOATS. They AREN'T indigenous. They can live pretty much ANYWHERE. Since when have we listened and responded to the sleeping demands of goats? I mean, goats people. And the whole thing is, the company that made the turbines, offered to pay for part of a new farmhouse for the farmer.

OK, yes, I understand there are two sides of this story. Obviously, the farmer makes a living through those goats, and that must be incredibly hard to lose half of your inventory. Imagine if half of Best Buy's gadgets suddenly went missing, they would be pretty upset too. But, what we are concerned about is the negative publicity towards the turbines. Yes, there will have to be sacrifices. But those turbines are leading the way toward a future of 100% renewable energy. And to make this an issue without even finding out WHAT KILLED THE GOATS. All the article said was that the farmer thinks its because they are too loud, so the goats couldn't sleep. I mean, what? They couldn't sleep? Has that ever been brought up in a scientific journal, that goats are really light sleepers? I understand if the goats are falling asleep under the turbines, but, in that case, lets herd them somewhere else.

To me, it just sounds like a way for people to look negatively upon alternative types of energy. I'm sure there will be a compromise worked out. The company obviously doesn't want their name put out on such negative connotations. So, just more of a funny update than anything. Hope all is well. See you tomorrow.

A Thought or Two on Wind Farms

So, I came across this article about the wind farms in southern Scotland that were just approved to add 36 more, making the Whitlee wind farm the largest onshore wind farm in the UK. Now, onshore wind farms have caught the same slack in the past as offshore farms have, namely in the Cape Cod area and off the coast of Los Angeles. And Scotland is not early the size of LA of Massachusetts, but still they have felt the need to change the way they get power. And guess what? WIND IS TOTALLY FREE. No one has to give anyone any cash to generate wind...so why not harness it? It's just like solar power. And now, I'm not saying wind turbines aren't flawed, but they are a step in the right direction to eliminate the carbon from our atmosphere. The change we need to accomplish, as far as the environment goes, is not attainable over night. We simply cannot expect the scientists and engineers of the world to solve this problem, that has taken hundreds of years to come to fruition. We are responsible for it as humans, and now, as humans, we are trying to dig ourselves out of this hole.

Back to the wind... while people have legitimate arguments for not wanting to plot down 36 110m high poles in the middle of the countryside, but lets also think about the numbers:

That will allow the £300m wind farm to power 250,000 homes and could create up to 300 jobs, Mr Salmond said.

Now, 300 jobs isn't a huge amount, but it is 300 jobs that weren't even available before. That means 300 people who couldn't work, can work now. Lets focus on the real number, which is 250,000, as in the wind farm will be able to power all those homes, with only 140 turbines. Now, that is a lot, but this is ONSHORE. Just think if we plopped down 600 of those things offshore somewhere? Because, lets be honest, the ocean is huge, and for people to complain about the "eye-sore" factor of these wind turbines is just childish and sophomoric. By those calculations, 600 turbines would be able to power over 1 million homes. Now, this is assuming our technologies don't improve in the coming 10 years, (which, is HIGHLY and BASICALLY unlikely...scratch that, we are getting better information and knowledge everyday, so 10 years will make a difference) hence, that number can only grow. I understand there are opponents of the farms, people who are involved in a few nature societies, and I understand why they would be upset. But, YOU LIVE ON THE PLANET TOO. You want to drive your car, to turn on your lights, to e-mail your kids, etc. It seems ridiculous to complain and lash out against these sources of alternative energy, because then nothing is getting accomplished. Instead of just saying " oh, that idea is dumb, that won't work"...suggest something. Do your own research. Be your own scientist if you think no one else can do it right. Because lashing out against people who are TRYING to think of new and still profitable ways of changing the way we consume and deliver power to the ever-growing population of the world is just counter-productive, and for lack of a better word, DUMB. So, let's at least applaud the efforts of people trying to make a difference, trying a new pathway, learning something new about themselves and about all of us. We can all envision the end of fossil fuel mass-consumption, but can we do anything about it? Sure, just go look outside. Any thoughts?