Senator Lamar Alexander fighting windmills

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is raging against the wind. The Tennessee Republican has filed bills, made speeches and taken numerous opportunities to voice his opposition to one of the nation's fastest-growing sources of renewable energy — windmills.

But wind-power advocates say Alexander's repeated flailing at windmills, like the fictional Don Quixote before him, is unlikely to be successful.

"He might not accomplish much of anything except making some noise on the Senate floor. Wind energy is a very popular item with Republicans and Democrats," said Jaime Steve, the legislative director of the American Wind Energy Association.

Alexander this year filed a bill that would give local communities more say in the siting of wind farms, and restrict the federal tax credit that props up many fledgling wind projects. Earlier this year, he introduced an energy bill that backed clean-coal technologies, solar power and other forms of green power — but left out wind.

http://www.djc.com/news/en/11169037.html

[Chauga]

1. And Tennessee isn't even an oil-producing state.

Must be nice to suck up to big oil for big money instead of representing your constituents.

[rodeodance]

4. does the rest of article give his reasons for opposition? I am unable

to access the rest of the article-thanks in advance.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

10. Sorry the article may be for subscribers only

Here's a link to a copy of an article from the Chatanooga Times Free Press that appears on the Senator's web site.

"The idea of windmills," said Sen. Alexander, conjures up pleasant images — of Holland and tulips, of rural America ... My grandparents had such a windmill at their well pump ... But the windmills we are talking about today are not your grandmother’s windmills.

"Each one is typically 100 yards tall, two stories taller than the Statue of Liberty, taller than a football field is long.

"These windmills are wider than a 747 jumbo jet.

"Their rotor blades turn at 100 miles per hour.

"These towers and their flashing red lights can be seen from more than 25 miles away.

http://alexander.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Articles.Detail&Article_id=47&Month=5&Year=2005

[amazona]

19. yeah they destroy our mountain views

People are in denial about what these things really are. I'm not any Lamar Alexander fan but if we don't dig our heels in, are we going to have a scenic mountain left in the east?

[Terran]

20. Which would you rather have?

Scenic views or civilization? I'll put one in my friggin back yard if necessary.

[saigon68]

27. Its about COAL in the Good Senator's Back Yard

Dig up the valley with strip mining.

LOL another Lap Dog of the energy corporations

Bought and Paid for

[hatrack]

30. If coal companies keep on removing those mountaintops, I'd say "no"

But then, I'm just one of those environmental whackos, so what do I know?

[Lars39]

5. Actually, TN does have some oil-producing wells.

[quaoar]

17. Of course Tennessee has oil

What about that bubblin' crude that came up through the ground when Jed Clampett was out huntin' one day?

[NashVegas]

26. More Importantly

Tennessee has millionaires with landscapes, and plenty of them.

[orwell]

7. Oil

There is very little oil used in power generation. Much more important are Natural Gas and Coal.

[420inTN]

8. But we do have the TVA

Interestingly, I've recently received a brochure from the local utility (Memphis Light Gas & Water) saying that for an extra $4/month I can buy 15KWh of "green" electricity (wind, solar, etc.).

[sasquatch]

9. Tennessee is a hydro-electric state

FDR gave those sorry asses TVA years and brought them into the electric age.

[AlCzervik]

2. well windmills are energy's terrorists ya know.

[Kerrytravelers]

3. Will we be invading countries now for their windmills?

[Mark E. Smith]

6. Lame-o Is A Bit Windy Himself

Maybe he just wants to put on one of his signature red checkered flannel work shirts, stand out in front of the house, and do all the wind work himself.

Then again, maybe he'd be better suited for thermal work.

[Kolesar]

11. Activists are concerned about bat deaths

They cannot see the blades since it is dark when they hunt.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

12. They see by using a kind of sonar

If the blades turn as fast as Alexandar says they do the bats should be able to "see" them.

These activists sound like many other animal rights activists. Their mouth is bigger than their brain. I remember reading about one who was mauled by a bear in Montana.

[Jackpine Radical]

14. I imagine the real test would be to see if you end up with

a pile of dead bats under your windmill.

Actually, I hadn't heard about bats but have been told that windmills are pretty dangerous for birds.

[semillama]

15. Windmills are in fact fairly deadly for birds

http://sanfranciscobay.sierraclub.org/yodeler/html/2004/9/conservation5.htm

I support alternative sources of energy, but we need to make sure that we can do so in an ecologically sound matter. I don't think we can count on the energy companies to be pro-active in this matter.

[midnight armadillo]

24. Let's keep it in perspective

Some windmills, such as the ones in the Altamont Pass in CA, have been built along bird migration paths. This is a bad idea.

The amount of birds killed by windmills is minuscule compared to the number killed by other human activity.

According to the US Fish & Wildlife Service...(http://www.fws.gov/birds/mortality-fact-sheet.pdf) annual deaths out of a typical fall population of 20 billion in the US:
* 97-976 million birds dead from window strikes
* 4-40 million from communication towers
* 60 million from cars
* 72 million from pesticides
* 39 million from cats in Wisconsin alone(!)
* 10s to 100s of thousands in fish catching

And the total for wind turbines...wait for it...: 33000!!! So really, unless you're putting the wind turbines on top of the nests of piping plovers on Cape Cod, there are bigger problems for our feathered friends. Like cats and windows.

We cannot harvest energy from our environment without ecological impact. Some methods however (wind,sun,nat gas, tidal, geothermal) have lesser impact than others (coal, etc).

[jpak]

25. I disagree

http://www.climateark.org/articles/2001/4th/dowieatb.htm

http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/15900/

http://www.yes2wind.com/birds_debunk.html

http://www.auswea.com.au/auswea/about/myths.htm

http://www.yes2wind.co.nz/birds.php

http://www.newfarm.org/features/0604/wind3/index.shtml

http://www.cleanair.web.ca/media/nov802.html

http://www.renewwisconsin.org/windfarm/audubon.html

[MisterP]

31. "mouth is bigger than their brain"? bollocks

[DemoTex]

13. Lamar's BIL is the pastor of the 1st Pres. of Dallas Texas: Bill Carl.

Bill's wife is Lamar's sister. In used to be a member of that church. So I know 'em all! Know what I mean, Vern?

[DS1]

16. It's just as bad here in Mass, of all places

People complaining that the windmills will be visible and cut down on their property values - and a seagul might get whacked now and then.

Morons everywhere.

[dbackjon]

18. Why are they morons?

Because they are concerned about wildlife? Concerned about their investment (homes)??

Why is it on this forum that people that don't agree with the "website view" are automatically morons?

Their are legitimite concerns with windpowers - the noise, the visual pollutions, the effect on wildlife that I would hardly consider them benign sources of power. Placed in the right spots, with the right controls (height, etc) they can be effective. In the wrong spot, they are not "green" power at all.

[DS1]

21. Because unless steps are taking like using wind power on a

large scale, they won't have any beach front property to be sitting on and complaining about being able to see the tips of the propellors just over the horizon.

That's why they're morons, and this website has nothing to do with my opinion on the matter.

[One_Life_To_Give]

29. Opposition to Cape Wind is pure NIMBYism

No tower is less than three miles from shore.
It looks to be a good project for generating clean power. If this was someplace other than a rich persons playground. The project would have been built already. But we don't want to spoil the views of the beasuiful people.

[grumpy old fart]

22. Let's not be some lockstep freeper type here, there are legit issues....

just 'cause it's a rethug raising it, doesn't make it automatically moronic.

[DS1]

23. I'm not being some lockstep freeper type here

I haven't even read the rest of the thread, and frankly don't care what anyone else on this site has to say about it.

[RPM]

28. windmills in interfere with lynching.

He is pro-lynching - you must remember