tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post1559036039955135851..comments2024-01-09T17:38:35.707-05:00Comments on This Old State: Readers recall windmill noise over BooneUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-72770901632348196042009-07-28T12:07:24.911-04:002009-07-28T12:07:24.911-04:00There are some major oversights to the original ar...There are some major oversights to the original article that should be addressed. The first would be the negative properties that wind turbines would have on the mountain vistas. I find this an interesting argument against wind power when coal burning plants, and other fossil fuels have done much more damage to our local views then anything else. I implore you to come to the Parkway near Grandfather Mountain and look at the Charlotte skyline. This used to be an easy task. Now it is the rare day when you can see the mere 90 miles. Visibility has decreased dramatically over the last several decades. There are numerous studies on this, and they are not theories. We get air pollution from coal burning power plants funneled through the Ohio Valley constantly. When you can't see Charlotte you can see a layer of smog over the entire area. This of course being the result of the burning of fossil fuels. If people don't think this is a problem try going for a run when it is a red level day. Wind power does not have these effects.<br /><br /> Secondly, why have you not mentioned the negative environmental impact of the coal burning plants? We will ignore the billions of gallons of waste that recently breached a containment pond, because that was an accident. Have you seen a coal mine? Have you seen a wind turbine? Erect a scale that can measure the differences between the two. The renewable argument against coal fits in this as well. Coal is not. It is a dangerous trap to be in when you depend on something that will eventually not be there. <br /><br /> I realize that there are negatives involving wind power. Damage to bird population being the one that is cited the most often. The newer vertical wind turbines hardly have any kill count compered to the horizontal ones. How many birds perish from the result of habitat loss and air pollution directly linked to coal power? If there are any naysayers on the topic of air pollution in the area go to any high peak in the mountains and you will see tree loss due to acid rain. <br /><br /> I understand that your original article was not about the environmental impact of coal burning plants, but it should have been. Do not try to make excuses and condemn a source of power because of what you think it will take away. Think about what we will gain in the long run. I do not blame you for the state of power production in our country, but I do blame your generation. It was the rapid expansion of power grids, the unwillingness to conserve energy and the ability to have the foresight to seek out cleaner and safer technology that has landed us in this situation. We now have the technology to create energy that is renewable, that is clean, and that is much friendlier to the environment then what we have had in the past. Please do not stymie progress in order to save what you believe to be the magnificence of the mountains. If we do not change the way we operate it will be lost.Bradnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-63885380631694472182009-07-28T07:21:53.947-04:002009-07-28T07:21:53.947-04:00Ann obviously didnt read his first articleAnn obviously didnt read his first articleUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09850959197783946712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-77300502967167026812009-07-28T02:39:41.032-04:002009-07-28T02:39:41.032-04:00The two windmills were not compared. Excellent ar...The two windmills were not compared. Excellent article!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06555333190486165367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-10654922841420519812009-07-22T18:00:49.497-04:002009-07-22T18:00:49.497-04:00You like to cite noisy wind technology from the 70...You like to cite noisy wind technology from the 70s which is akin to citing vehicle noise from the 70s a an argument against today's cars. Try harder...<br /><br />John, compare the ecological impact of a strip mine with that of a wind mill or even a large scale wind farm. Western North Carolina gets the vast majority of it's power from coal and as a result has become the ash tray of TVA. Yes, people have thought about the possible ecological impact or lack there of.Lukenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-25512558310530792182009-07-22T16:32:03.429-04:002009-07-22T16:32:03.429-04:00From meteorologynews.com
"But a team of resea...From meteorologynews.com<br />"But a team of researchers from the University of Maryland have found that large-scale use of wind turbines as a power source may have an impact on our environment directly opposite that which they purport to minimize: Climate change."Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-53402333708715431442009-07-22T16:29:11.797-04:002009-07-22T16:29:11.797-04:00I wonder how many windmills it would take, and how...I wonder how many windmills it would take, and how many acres of land... to replace just one power plant? I also wonder what effect that many windmills might have on wind patterns?<br /><br />Make no mistake... no interface between man and nature leaves nature unchanged. We know that already. Windmills on such a scale would have to impact overall wind patterns and some theorize might actually create tornadoes!<br /><br />There is no such thing as a free lunch, and I suspect, no such thing as free energy either.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-21763440839428714472009-07-22T16:20:59.431-04:002009-07-22T16:20:59.431-04:00OK, then let's put these babies on the beach a...OK, then let's put these babies on the beach at Martha's Vineyard, Monterray, Big Sur and everywhere else that all those well-heeled eco-liberals like to call home. Beaches have great wind fields too. Hey, better yet, let's put one in Barbara Streisand's back yard... there's a heck of a lot of wind energy anywhere she goes! ;-)Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-43229483731368858782009-07-22T14:14:42.398-04:002009-07-22T14:14:42.398-04:00The new windmill here in Boone is much smaller to ...The new windmill here in Boone is much smaller to say the least, than the one we saw in 1979. It is very attractive in my opinion!<br /><br />A fun history tidbit: a group of windpower proponents gathered 'round the base of the 1979 windmill, called themselves "Whooshies" and chanted "whoosh!" every time the blade swept near the ground. It was a fun way to make the best of a controversial situation.<br /><br />The new windmill is David compared to that Goliath. Its power may surprise us.Michellenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-84170339968141860712009-07-22T12:17:54.501-04:002009-07-22T12:17:54.501-04:00"Their findings: though the very low-frequenc..."Their findings: though the very low-frequency sound waves (about 2 cycles per sec.) from the windmill are below the usual range of human hearing, they can be amplified by wind and weather conditions and the terrain over which they are directed and thus become powerful enough to vibrate objects in the home."<br /><br />I wonder if anyone has thought about possible effects on local wildlife, which hear sounds outside the normal range of human hearing?Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22040291.post-68938920792260881052009-07-22T12:12:39.772-04:002009-07-22T12:12:39.772-04:00I work right next to the new windmill everyday in ...I work right next to the new windmill everyday in Boone, NC and guess what, it doesnt make a sound! I can walk out to my car everyday and not hear a thing! Alot has improved since the 70s!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09850959197783946712noreply@blogger.com