Warren Buffet is making a huge investment in our future.

[ErikJ]

[bWarren Buffet is making a huge investment in our future.

Buffet's company, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, is about to spend $1.9 billion on new wind farms in Iowa. That investment could fund the construction of more than 650 new wind turbines by 2015, which means more green energy and more green jobs for that state.

And, our government is helping to encourage more of these investments through green energy tax credits. Considering that we recently passed the 400 parts per million threshold of carbon in the atmosphere, we need green energy sources like this now more than ever. These wind farms will be a major stepping stone for breaking our addiction to toxic fossil fuels, and the additional jobs will be a much-needed boost to our economy.

It's great news that Warren Buffet is leading the way in wind energy production. Hopefully, more companies will see the economic and environmental benefits of green energy, and follow in Warren Buffet's footsteps.

http://www.thomhartmann.com/the-news

[Bannakaffalatta]

1. Good intentions, bad idea

Wind farms have several problems.
Many people complain about health hazards and discomfort - i don't know how valid those complaints are, but if the neighbours are unhappy, that's bad news in itself, and if they protest, bring lawsuits and try to stop construction, that's worse.

The really big problem, though, is that the energy generated is then tied into the existing grid - which is inefficient, wasteful, outdated, error-prone, vulnerable to sabotage and weather, expensive, exploitative, and basically the whole wrong way to go.

Wind generators ought to be independent and local. No giant bird-killing turbines, no wires, no towers and poles, no seven cities going dark every time an elderly relay station blows a fuse, no repair crews risking life and limb after every ice-storm - just a little quiet windmill on top of every barn, show factory and hockey arena, supplying as much power as the facility needs, directly to where it's used. Integrated with solar, hydro, methane and geothermal.

[ErikJ]

2. I get MY electricity from a wind farm and its great

The PNW wind farm grid is growing rapidly and these wind farms are way out where very few people live. They often pay the farmers for the use of the land, which they love also.
The amount of birds killed by wind farms is a tiny fraction that killed by domestic cats every year and even less than the amount of fish killed by dams every year.
My sister said she had a neighbor with a wind turbine and it made so much noise the neighbors made him take it out.

[Bannakaffalatta]

3. The problem isn't so much the equipment -

- though we need to keep making improvements and variations, especially in the small units and their mounting structure. They could also be made safer for air-traffic. Comparing what kills more birds (climate change, obviously! and the extirpation of habitats, as domestic cats pose no danger to a pelican or bald eagle) is not a good reason to add a new, if statistically lesser, hazard, since the statistics will grow along with the wind-farms.

The much greater problem is the grid itself. Old and often long neglected infrastructure will not bear the increased loads. And, aside from the difficulty and expense of maintenance - let alone up-grading - the system is prone to cascading failure. Also, of course, clients are dependent on the competence, integrity and billing policy of a business enterprise.