The NIMBY factor on renewables

CURRENTS: "Renewable Energy, Meet the New Nimbys: Solar and Wind-Power Proposals Draw Opposition From Residents Fearing Visual Blight; a Dilemma for Some Environmentalists," by Jeffrey Ball, Wall Street Journal, 4 September 2009.

Almost everything, whether wind or solar-mirror projects, draw protests from locals who fear a permanently scarred landscape.

Me? I think the windmills are quite beautiful, almost as pretty as putting those CFL in antique chandeliers in my house--they feel very Kubrick/2001.

One possible answer is geo-thermal (not the kind that pushes water): very low footprint above ground and secondary uses of all sorts are permitted.

The more I investigate, the more I am certain this is the way to go, along with small wind turbines on individual buildings for self-powering. The smart grid requires local distributed production.

Comments

[Louis Heberlein]

Even Ted Kennedy threw a hissy when an ocean wind farm was proposed off his community's properties. More media and political attention needs to be focused on the continent wide opportunities for efficient energy networks now becoming available to existing and emerging energy generation methods.

[Petrer]

This is why there are too many "environmentalists" I don't like. Too many are Luddites who can complain to their representatives and in city council meetings about destroying the environment, but the actual solutions are a no go....which is why I like nuclear, because the amount of power from one plant is so large. But I like the idea of having my own electric power, and not being beholden to a huge regulated electric utility, something very American about that....in the mean time we scar the environment with coal, and that substance actually releases more radioactivity than any other source!