Environmentalists Oppose Obama's Green Energy Plan

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Wolverine

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[SIZE=14pt]HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!![/SIZE]

Might I borrow "The Dude"s tagline here?

WHAT NOW, BITCHES?

[SIZE=14pt]Parts of Obama's Green Energy Plan Fuel Discontent Among Environmentalists[/SIZE]

Many local activists say the rush to renewables, backed by Obama, risks trading one power problem for another

A key part of President Obama's energy plan -- replacing fossil fuels with green alternatives -- is facing increasing opposition from an unlikely source: environmentalists.

Some environmentalists, who have successfully fought a wind farm on the border of Oregon and Washington, are trying to block a massive solar plant in the Mojave desert. And now an Oregon county is considering a ban on wind power in the foothills of the blue mountains.

"We all want to be as green as we can be. But at what cost?" Richard Jolly of the Blue Mountain Alliance. "To take everything from us? This valley could be surrounded by them."

Jolly says 400-foot wind turbines are a bird-killing eyesore. The developer argues the danger to birds is exaggerated but admits every big energy project has its downside.

"If we hold out for the perfect environmental silver bullet, if you will, it will always be 15 years down the road," he said. "We have to make incremental progress."

For decades, environmental groups have talked about "big oil," painting the petroleum industry as greedy and destructive. Now similar language is being applied to renewables. Instead of eco-friendly green power, increasingly it's "big wind" and "big solar."

Large environmental groups, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, bristle at the idea of dissension in the ranks.

"We are working very aggressively to make a planning process happen with utilities, with industry, with local groups all at the table," said Rick Duke, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Center for Market Innovation.

Obama has set a goal of getting 25 percent of the nation's power from renewable sources by 2025. The White House contends that will create millions of jobs and has the support of business and environmental leaders.

But many local activists say we need to slow this rush to renewables or risk trading one power problem for another.

BANANAS linky

 
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I'm sure skyscrappers were bird killing eyesores when they first went up too, but the birds will learn to fly around windmills just like they fly around buildings. Yes there will be a few sacrificed during the learning curve, but the key is they will learn.

 
Have they demanded introduction of the dilithium crystal yet? Of course, mining for said crystal would probably affect some obscure species of swamp rat and would also be greeted with great consternation from the exact same people that demanded it in the first place.

 
I'm still waiting for the environmentalists to grasp onto the green energy of rainbows and fairy dust.

 
I'm still waiting for the environmentalists to grasp onto the green energy of rainbows and fairy dust.
That would make an awesome SNL skit.

"I'm T. Poone Bickens, and I'm here to tell you that America already has the most abundant, powerful, plentiful source of energy that it could ever need to fuel our rising energy demands, both now and forever. I'm speaking of course about the Power of Rainbows..."

 
A key part of President Obama's energy plan -- replacing fossil fuels with green alternatives -- is facing increasing opposition from an unlikely source: environmentalists.

Hmm. Maybe we should look into how much energy is required to build one of these wind turbines as well as maintaining them. Then look at how much usable energy they can harness. Take a step back and see how long one of these turbines will last, (think of a washing machine running all of the time). I personally don't see how wind works without government subsidies paying for the difference and the "feel good" about it.

 
Have any of you seen the commercial "carbon caps = hard hats." What a joke! It starts out showing an abandoned steel town. Then it talks about how much steel will be produced to make a windmill. Well I am fom a coal STATE not a TOWN a STATE. If they do what they want to do and shut down coal then my whole state will look like that one town. And anyway how long will the steel work last? Once the windmills are built no more work. They are doing what they can to get rid of coal here. The EPA has already nabbed some permits. These politicians have no idea what real America and real workers look like.

 
Have any of you seen the commercial "carbon caps = hard hats." What a joke! It starts out showing an abandoned steel town. Then it talks about how much steel will be produced to make a windmill. Well I am fom a coal STATE not a TOWN a STATE. If they do what they want to do and shut down coal then my whole state will look like that one town. And anyway how long will the steel work last? Once the windmills are built no more work. They are doing what they can to get rid of coal here. The EPA has already nabbed some permits. These politicians have no idea what real America and real workers look like.

Yep, those Chinese steel towns will be bustling, because they sure as hell won't be sourcing it from the US!

 
The latest car and Driver showed how much various electricity producing methods were being subsidized by the gov. Solar and wind were getting something like 50 times the amount coal was getting.

Rainbow power wasn't listed.

 
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