01-07-2008, 06:50 PM
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| Junior Member | | Join Date: Jun 2008
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| Communities sending mixed messages about alternative energy
 Communites sending mixed messages about alternative energy Every week in the media it seems that there are plans by a local authority or energy company to turn areas of the coast or countryside into windfarms, solar panel arrays or something which will prevent future problems with carbon and use some of the gigawatts of energy which the sun constantly throws out into the universe every second. (which something should be done about) But every week we see hoards of angry locals, who don't want to see windfarms messing up their local area. They usually complain that a 50 metre wind turbines will mess up the view of what is usually a pointless piece of grassland which has no use apart from giving dog owners somewhere to walk their dogs, or the view of miles of sea water which they probably only look at for less than one-hundreth of there whole life and usually has five or six oil tankers floating around in it. After going to their local town hall or council to protest, these locals then return home,exhausted from their busy day of protesting, switch on their lights, switch on their television, make a snack in their electric oven and sit down in the comfort of their central heating. I am not sure if I understand what these people are trying to achieve. If any of them understood the basic priciples of physics or machines, they would be able to see that what they are proposing is impossible. If all existing 'nice views' where preserved and everybody's pretty local neighbourhood preserved, then there would be nowhere to put any alternative energy generating equipment. And If the remaining areas where used out in the wilderness, they would be unfeasibly far from the consumers of that energy. Essentially, alternative energy machines may look 'ugly' in the context of quaint villages and accepted ideas of architecture, but unfortunately the problem of energy efficiency requires pragmatic solutions. You would not expect astronauts to land on the moon wearing only an evening suit because it looked more presentable in keeping with the importance of the occasion. They would instantly die on attempting to go for a moonwalk. Another confusing aspect of these peoples behaviour is that they seem in some cases, to also then be opposed to nuclear power, nuclear waste dumps, imported French power, ugly watermills etc. Runaway greenhouse gases may cause the seas to boil away, unbreathable air and possibly things like sulphuric acid rain as seen on the planet Venus. This state of affairs would probably wipe all quaint villages from the face of the planet and leave nobody to see the melted lump which might remain. In my opinion, if such people don't want wind turbines and things like that near their house, they shouldn't really be so contradictory and short sighted as to use electricity or gas inthe first place.  |
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