LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME



[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]

Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

Get weekly updates
RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Stripe

Donate via Paypal

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Wind and coal: step-siblings 

Dave Murphy wrote thoughtfully last week about the problems of coal extraction and paper mill exhausts as they create environmental and health problems in the area. We should indeed be concerned about these problems, and work as a community to regulate these industries in ways that reduce or eliminate them. For example, the costs of mountaintop removal coal extraction techniques in terms of environmental destruction are far too high. And we should welcome, not resist, EPA enforcement of air pollution standards.

But then Mr. Murphy veers off path by implying that massive wind technology will do anything about these problems. Perhaps he doesn’t know that wind and coal are step-siblings, related because the corporations that own most of the coal farms are the same ones that own and operate most of the wind plants, such as Florida Power and Light, GE, and our friends nearby at AES. Many of GE’s wind turbines came from Enron, which GE bought after the former company went belly up in 2001. We’ll be hearing a lot from GE this year in praise of wind technology, since NBC is also owned by this corporate giant.

Wind technology has a massive footprint, much greater than any coal mine or paper mill. But it produces no capacity value, meaning it cannot replace conventional power plants that do produce reliably. More wind facilities will likely produce more coal facilities, not lessen their number.

Reasonable people should agree, in any event, that two wrongs don’t make a right – here or anywhere.

Jon Boone

Oakland

The Republican

17 January 2008

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Contributions
   Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)
Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI M TG TS G Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook Wind Watch on Linked In

Wind Watch on Mastodon Wind Watch on Truth Social

Wind Watch on Gab Wind Watch on Bluesky