Wacko Conservationists at it again.

[a_unique_person]

This time, the conservative Australian "Liberal" government has said no to a wind farm and banned it on environmental grounds because it could impact on the threatened orange bellied parrot.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/feathers-fly-over-wind-farm-ban/2006/04/05/1143916593234.html



Senator Campbell said he had reluctantly decided to use the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to block the wind farm because of the small possibility that it could cause "up to one bird death per year" .



Pull the other one, senator Campbell, it has bells on it.

[nightwind]

Yea! Stupid wackos trying to save the environment. What's got into them?

[a_unique_person]

If you read the link, it's not quite what it appears.

[The Fool]

Now if these turbines were coal powered and produced wind the liberal party would probably go for it....

[BPSCG]

From a_u_p's link:
THE future of wind energy in Australia is under a cloud after the Federal Government blocked a proposed $220 million wind farm in South Gippsland to protect a rare parrot — despite a report showing that the bird has rarely flown near the site.Maybe it has rarely flown near the site because it's a rare bird? If it's rare, chances are it has rarely flown near anything.
Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell yesterday sparked a slanging match "Slanging" looks like an excellent word. What's it mean, exactly?

Senator Campbell said he had reluctantly decided to use the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to block the wind farm because of the small possibility that it could cause "up to one bird death per year" . Another way of phrasing it would be "it could cause, at most, one bird death per year."
...Senator Campbell conceded there had been only a few sightings of the parrots in South Gippsland, but said "the failure to identify orange-bellied parrots does not mean they do not use the area".Failure to identify hyper-beings from Planet X does not mean they do not use the area.
According to a consultant's report commissioned by the Federal Government, no orange-bellied parrots were seen near Bald Hills, nor near any other proposed wind farm sites in Victoria apart from Yambuk and Nirranda South, both near Warrnambool.These are excellent names.

[Rob Lister]

A nice nuke plant wouldn't kill any birds and would actually provide a decent source of electricity.

If safety requlations were in line with reality, $220 million could buy a nice sporty little nuke.

[The Fool]

Failure to identify hyper-beings from Planet X does not mean they do not use the area.

Hyper being impact has wrecked a lot of turbines in other areas....you can never be too careful.


These are excellent names.

We are only exceeded in silly place names by the Welsh..

My City is Wollongong but I wish I lived in Woolloomooloo...but not the Welsh village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch which is said to be the result of a town planner dropping dead at work and his head landing on the keyboard.

But back to reality.....there is another place in Australia called Nimby (not in my back yard) Rural folk don't want a windfarm in Nimby and they often vote conservative.....For the liberal party to worry about a rare parrot is quite amusing as endangered animals are often served at thier dinner functions. Its amazing how concern for these parrots suddenly appears when alternatives to good old coal fired australia are trying to get going....

[Manny]

'E's resting.

[BPSCG]

'E's resting.Pining for the fjords?

[BPSCG]

But back to reality.....there is another place in Australia called Nimby (not in my back yard) What a coincidence! There are towns here that have the same name.

(CBS) It reads like a summer novel. The location is one of the nation's prized resort areas, comprising Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket -- playgrounds for the wealthy and powerful.

CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston reports Jim Gordon has an idea that's shaking things up in these New England communities. He's a developer who wants to use wind power to replace electric power plants and the pollution they cause.
But the idea has raised a storm among some residents, because Gordon wants to build his windmills in the middle of Nantucket sound.
State Sen. Rob O'Leary represents the Cape Cod region. He points to a 200-foot weather tower that Gordon built in the middle of the proposed wind farm. It's half as tall as the wind turbines. O'Leary says he support wind power in principle, just not at that location.

"The problem is that they're going to be visible. And they're going to be visible at night and they're going to be visible during the day and they're going to be lit up," says O'Leary. "It's a big problem.
They're going to be visible!!! The horror!!! Massachusetts has the highest electric rates in the country, but we can't build wind turbines to generate more electricity if people will actually have to see them. The campaign to stop the wind farms was started by Cape Cod merchants and wealthy landowners. It's also opposed by almost every town government. Sen. Ted Kennedy, who has a home overlooking the proposed wind farm, also opposes the project. So does one of Martha's Vineyard most famous residents, former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite.

"Our natural treasures should be off limits to industrialization, and Nantucket is one of those treasures," says Cronkite. Link (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/26/sunday/main560595.shtml).
If it's a natural treasure, then people shouldn't be allowed to build houses on it. You don't see suburban subdivisions going up in Yellowstone National Park. When can we expect Cronkite and Kennedy to tear down their mansions and return the area to its pristine natural state?

[Beerina]

Don't do as I do; do as I say.

We've got ours, we feel guilty, therefore we'll stop you from getting yours.

We've mowed down our forests twice; don't you in South America do it once!

We've completely decimated hundreds of square miles building our giant concrete canyon called a city; let us tell you how you sparse states should develop your land because we have more people than you and it's natural we should boss you around from the safety of our concrete buildings. Ow! I accidentally smacked my hand against the wall while pontificating to Montana.

[jj]

A nice nuke plant wouldn't kill any birds and would actually provide a decent source of electricity.

If safety requlations were in line with reality, $220 million could buy a nice sporty little nuke.

Sometimes you're right, when you're not acting out your sadistic streak.

Indeed, and what do you think about fuel reprocessing, etc, using chemical methods that segregate all the heavy elements, not just the 235?

[DanishDynamite]

Sorry, AUP and Fool, I fail to see the conspiracy. Could you explain why you think this decision was made to further local politics and in what way this would occur?

[a_unique_person]

It's simple NIMBY. The locals don't want a wind farm, the local political representative is from the same party as the 'conservation' minister. He was just fishing for an excuse to block the wind farm, and found that 'up to one parrot' a year was reason enough to do so.

[The Fool]

Sorry, AUP and Fool, I fail to see the conspiracy. Could you explain why you think this decision was made to further local politics and in what way this would occur?
Well normally our liberal party would not be interested in parrots, unless it was looking into "sustainable parrot harvesting" Normally, they are lampooning green members for suggesting that developments be delayed or reviewed due to the green gimlet frog or the black moochie bug or the whatever breasted parrot. To see them suddenly dumping a windfarm because a parrot that nobody has ever seen in the area that may get wacked by a turbine blade is amusing in the extreme.

Farmers do not like windfarms...They do not want them in thier backyards. Farmers (politically) are rusted onto the conservative party so if they don't want them the conservative party is going to toe the line.

we like coal, we have lots of it....so we will use coal....windfarms are for tree hugging whimpy Chardonay swilling socialists.

[lostnick3]

why not let each community/county decide what kind of power plant they want. before rural electrification i think there was a 33v or 66v wind battery system that ran the homestead. and the shorter distances for the lines is a money saver. it would make local politics less of a rubber stamp.

[The Fool]

why not let each community/county decide what kind of power plant they want. before rural electrification i think there was a 33v or 66v wind battery system that ran the homestead. and the shorter distances for the lines is a money saver. it would make local politics less of a rubber stamp.
Each community/county does not have its own power generation. Powerplants are integrated into a national grid, all power generation capacity is pooled. We like large coal fired mega generators....big coal turbines for big men...we are not hippies.

[BPSCG]

We like large coal fired mega generators....big coal turbines for big men...we are not hippies.Kyoto?

[lostnick3]

just another commodity to sell to the unwashed masses

[The Fool]

Kyoto?

What about Kyoto? we don't need no steenkin Kyoto..
My car runs on coal....as do all the kids toys and both my PCs...
I had a piece of coal for breakfast....

[lostnick3]

What about Kyoto? we don't need no steenkin Kyoto..
My car runs on coal....as do all the kids toys and both my PCs...
I had a piece of coal for breakfast....

can i interest you in a solar array that can cut 3/4" steel to floss with when u come out of the mine. if the suns shines.

[The Fool]

can i interest you in a solar array that can cut 3/4" steel to floss with when u come out of the mine. if the suns shines.
No...solar energy is a known source of tooth decay.

[a_unique_person]

No...solar energy is a known source of tooth decay.

And impotence.

[lostnick3]

No...solar energy is a known source of tooth decay.
how often do you get your lungs x-rayed? can they still see through them?

[Gargoyle]

Just curious... I wonder when the Australian government show the aborigines the same concern as the parrots...

[a_unique_person]

Up to one may die this year, so I assume they will be taking immediate action.

[Rob Lister]

Just curious... I wonder when the Australian government show the aborigines the same concern as the parrots...

are aborigines are a unique and endangered species?

[BPSCG]

are aborigines are a unique and endangered species?I don't believe so. Aren't they of the species Homo sapiens? Do you think Gargoyle is suggesting they might be of a different species?

[Rob Lister]

That was the implication, unless of course he was trying to hijack the thread.

[Gargoyle]

I don't believe so. Aren't they of the species Homo sapiens? Do you think Gargoyle is suggesting they might be of a different species?

I have never implied that aboriginies are of any other spieces than Homo Sapiens. Period.

What I was trying to say was that there seems to be more concernes about animal rights than human rights. I will not go into this further in this tread.

Go back to the parrot-subject now and forget what I wrote.

[lostnick3]

what do you do with the locals when you steal their Continent? if their left enough land to continue with their culture then the parrots are gonna take care of them selves

[Rob Lister]

what do you do with the locals when you steal their Continent?

Who gave it to them?

All land is for the taking. Your land, my land, all land. All it takes is someone with more will and resources to take than the will and resources of the other side to keep it.

Sometimes reality sucks.

As for the parrot, it is in the unique position of just happening to be a useful resource for certain people in protecting certain land from being used for certain purposes.

Sadly, it his no idea of its overstated influence. I'm sure it would be proud.

[geni]

A nice nuke plant wouldn't kill any birds and would actually provide a decent source of electricity.

If safety requlations were in line with reality, $220 million could buy a nice sporty little nuke.


While central australia would appear to be the idea place to build such a plant (who cares if the sorounding area gets irradated) the lack of water would be a serious problem.

[Rob Lister]

While central australia would appear to be the idea place to build such a plant (who cares if the sorounding area gets irradated) the lack of water would be a serious problem.

Really? I'm thinking a nice helium-cooled pebble bed using geothermal cooling. I'm not sure the geology supports the idea but hugh quantities ground water or not, it should be doable. It does add cost, but still seems doable.

[lostnick3]

in 1982 i went to work for a company that was building a 40 acre solar powered electrical generating plant (4.5MW) that was almost halted because they found Stevens Kangaroo Rat's a endangered species in California during the environmental study. the weird part is that the rat's were occupying a nontraditional habitat, they need at least three quarters brush cover to protect them from raptors and any other predator wandering around and the building site was in the middle of a grasslands.

after we received the go ahead and built the solar arrays the rat's had a population explosion.

put some nice perch's on the back side of the turbines maybe...

[Dcdrac]

Could be wrong here bt i thought this planet has 100, million years left as a viable habitat for multicelluar life because of the suns expansion boiling off the seas and burning off the atmopshere, so is it not futile to worry about hte environment in the long term and instead conentrate all our efforts into leaving this planet and taking what we can with us?

[Rob Lister]

Could be wrong here bt i thought this planet has 100, million years left as a viable habitat for multicelluar life because of the suns expansion boiling off the seas and burning off the atmopshere, so is it not futile to worry about hte environment in the long term and instead conentrate all our efforts into leaving this planet and taking what we can with us?

Depending on the extent of not worrying, I think so. I don't think most enviromental laws are out of whack...

Well, yes I do but there are many that I think are both useful and necessary.