Let's set this baby up in some nasty drought parched chapparal.

[NNadir]

http://wind-energy.gemzies.com/show/entry_9073/Fire_in_an_Wind_Turbine.html

I'd say, like, say, some place like Cajon Pass.



http://drought.unl.edu/DM/MONITOR.html

[Chulanowa]

1. Nah, I'd rather have an oil derrick in my backyard. You?

:sarcasm:

[Sal Minella]

2. Yup. Or a Liquified Natural Gas depot.

[The Traveler]

4. I wanna a uranium mine

'Nuff of these half measures. :rofl:

[TheWraith]

3. If I had to guess, I'd say the rev limiter failed.

That can lead to the turbine spinning faster and faster until either it lights itself on fire from the friction, or it literally flies apart, or both.

[joshcryer]

6. Interestingly, most of the ideal spots for wind turbines are not currently under drought.

Though the OPs statement is mostly inflamatory because drought can happen anywhere and this is an exceptional case of a turbine failure.

I expect the anti-nukers to post pictures of nuclear accidents soon enough.

[joshcryer]

5. Colorado is getting some awesome rain finally.

We had a pretty dry winter, with a rather dry summer last year, we thought that water reserves would be way below estimates. Now Colorado is helping the countries wheat production because of our better than normal rains.

[RC]

7. Does this mean we should ban wind power and use

hand cranked generators instead?

[Sal Minella]

9. No, no!

BUY your electricity from monster companies that burn high-mercury coal!!!

[RC]

10. Hey yeah! We have plenty of lignite here in North Dakota.

That'll work, correct?

[Sal Minella]

11. I think Dick Cheney wants to strip all the oil sands oil in Canada first,

but then your high-sulphur, high-carbon lignite would probably be just the ticket. Why should the heavy-hitter power guys knuckle under to the looney libs who think air pollution is a bad thing?

[RC]

12. Well yah. They need to build nuclear power plants up there for the energy

to get the asphalt... no tar... hmmm... oil. Yeah we'll call it oil, oil out of the sand.

[Sal Minella]

14. Not even to mention diverting a few pristine rivers to get adequate water for

the tar sands projects. But if Dick thinks it's a good idea, Dick and his boys will find a way to gitterdun, betcha.

[RC]

15. Human's ignorant arrogance is destroying this planet, usually for the almighty dollar.

The human race will die out with a whimper when there is nothing left to burn for warmth in the caves we will be forced to return to for shelter.

[Sal Minella]

16. I really think some form of microbe will do us in first.....

A million years ago there was a book (and a film I think) called "Andromeda Strain." That has stuck with me all these years.

The little critters are such adaptable opportunists, and we are so dense and so slow -- the new dinosaurs.

But one of us was John Keats. And one was Auguste Rodin. And one is Joan Baez. We ain't all bad, just most of us.

Just today, I was talking to a man who helped get a couple coal-fired electricity plants nipped in the bud. So I do get glimmers of hope now and then.

And the wren was singing in the back yard this afternoon.

[RC]

17. I need to remember that there are a few things that are good about us.

I saw the Andromeda Strain If I remember correctly, they 'thought' that it had evolved into something benign. My thought was why should it stop there? The next step would for it to evolve into our own cells, with what results. It has already happened, many eons ago.
With our over use of antibiotics causing more and more super bugs, you could be correct. There are more than a few stories about pathogens being our end.

[Fotoware58]

13. Pedal-powered computers?

I would probably be willing to demo a prototype computer which runs solely on pedal power. Have a battery that only holds 5 minutes of standby power so if you want to be on the internet, or play computer games, you have to keep pedaling. I'd burn a lot more calories that way.

Could TV's be far behind?

[eppur_se_muova]

8. The greater danger probably comes from distribution lines and transformers ...

after all, there are far more of them, and because they are so widely dispersed it is harder to monitor them. See, e.g. http://cuspsandiego.org/CUSP%20The%20Sunrise%20Powerlink%20Fire%20Hazard.pdf for some indication of the magnitude of the problem:

How significant is the risk? CDF statistics from 1998 indicate that 155 fires in their jurisdiction were ignited by power lines, representing a fraction of 3% of the total <7>. However, if we look at only major fires (leading to the greatest structure losses or acreage burned), the fraction caused by power lines seems to be higher – approximately 10% or more. Examining the 20 historically largest fires in terms of area gives three started by power lines: Laguna (San Diego, 1970), Campbell Complex (Tehama, 1990), and Clampitt (Los Angeles, 1970) <1>. In terms of structure loss, there were also three fires started by power lines: Laguna (San Diego, 1970), City of Berkeley (1923), and Sycamore (Santa Barbara, 1977)<2>. If we examine the top five fires for acreage and
structure loss in the years spanning 1999 and 2004 <3,4,5> we find a similar pattern emerge: 5 of the 60 top slots were power line fires (the Geysers, Pines, and Poe fires).

The Pines fire was near Julian, not far from the proposed routes, and was the largest fire in terms of structure and acreage loss in California during 2002. The probability of seeing 10% of large fires caused by power lines while only 3% of smaller fires were caused by power lines could be a statistical fluctuation, but this is somewhat improbable. Two possible causal connections can also be suggested here: 1) Power lines are more likely to be near human habitation than other ignition sources, thus making structure loss more likely. This would not explain the enhancement of large acreage files, though. 2) As noted in the CDF/USFS/SDG&E/PG&E guide <12>, power lines are more likely to be a source of combustion during high wind conditions. These are the very conditions under which catastrophic wildfires take place <20>.

[The Croquist]

18. Way to get around that block Nnadir!

XemaSab started it but it got blocked before you could get into the action. I think I'll just sit back and watch the carnage!
Actually I'll probably dive it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x201193

[hunter]

19. I enjoyed XemaSab's locked thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=201193&mesg_id=201193

[XemaSab]

20. I have no idea why it was locked

I didn't start it as a callout.

I think NNadir makes more sense than half the people in this forum. :shrug:

[The Croquist]

21. I thought it was funny and I bet Nnadir did too

but I doubt he would admit it. It would ruin his image.