Hi Hawkmoon,
I recently watched a press conference featuring the CEO of the American Windpower Association. Interestingly enough, the issue of bird kill is a red herring, according to him. It was an issue in the very early days of wind generation, in the early '80's, but today environmental impact reports are required before a windmill farm can be sited. The conspiracist would say that the fossil fuel dinosaur crowd may well be spreading some disinformation in the hope to "steer" an ecologically concerned citizenry. I wouldn't put it past 'em. <bg>
As far as nuke power, I'm pretty much a fan of the new PWRs that are TTBOMK failsafe. However, the residual waste issue with windpower, vis a vis radioactive isotopes with half lifes greater than the term that homo sapiens has inhabited the planet, is, ummm, negligible.
But Hawkmoon, you really are missing the point here. Windpower and nuclear energy both have the potential to produce cheap energy in massive quantities. This is bad. What is good is producing expensive power by converting a depleting asset, which can be speculated upon, such as natural gas, and making the nation dependent on it. It is so much better for the market. Don't you see? Too much power - bad. Too little gas - good. You really need to think about this the way the guys on the trading desks at ENE, WMB and the rest of their ilk do. Shortages - good. Stable markets - bad. Volatility - good. Long term contracts - bad. Spot markets jerked around by rumors - good.
Get the picture?
Ciao! |
