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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Orange-bellied Parrots Block Wind Farm |
| 2006-04-06 |
| AUSTRALIA faces having a very limited renewable energy sector because of the Federal Government's decision to block a proposed wind farm, the peak industry body said today. The Australian Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said it was puzzled the Government had decided to knock back an application by developer Wind Power to build 52 turbines at Bald Hills, near Tarwin Lower in East Gippsland. The decision sparked a state rights brawl between Canberra and Victoria. Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell blocked the project this week, citing concerns about the endangered orange-bellied parrot species. The report said only between 99 and 200 of the adult birds remained in Australia, and the wind farm could kill one of the parrots a year due to projected wind turbine collisions. I think the subtext here is that the government is showing the greenies that laws to protect the environment have consequences. Also there is probably an element of frustrating urban greenies, who want 'clean' energy from wind farms as long as they are far away from them. The rural communities that get stuck with the wind farms, hate them. |
| Posted by:phil_b |
| #8 Oops, http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30546/article.html |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2006-04-06 14:07 |
| #7 Should of dropped in a link |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2006-04-06 14:07 |
| #6 wow solar tower? never heard of that but i heard of a space elevator - but thats got nothing to do with it. I'm gonna go find out about this solar tower - sounds like a cool place to live too. |
| Posted by: ShepUK 2006-04-06 12:16 |
| #5 What happened to that solar power tower that they were looking into. IIRC it would of been the tallest free standing structure on Earth. |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2006-04-06 11:25 |
| #4 Parrots are extremely smart. They're not seagulls, to fly blythely into the props. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-04-06 11:20 |
| #3 Birds are actually pretty smart - after a few get whacked by the windmills, the rest (except for a few slow learners) would figure it was better to go around. I mean, the crows learned real fast that if I came out of the house carrying the .22 it was time to flee, but otherwise, 'party on, the garden is great'. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-04-06 08:15 |
| #2 5,000 windmills at Altamont are *claimed* to clip 4,700 birds a year. including 500 raptors such as golden eagles, red-tail hawks and burrowing owls.. the older designed mills are more problematic for our feathered friends, you'd think there should be some work arounds for the boids..like signage for instance. |
| Posted by: RD 2006-04-06 01:52 |
| #1 ROFL |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-04-06 01:47 |