I am in no way an environmentalist. This may strike you as odd, considering how far left I generally lean. My general opinion on the subject, though, is that it is a morass of competing goals and that humans are terrible at doing anything preventative, especially for altruistic motives. We might be able to solve our environmental crisis after the fact, but there is absolutely no way you’re going to get everyone on earth to drastically change their behaviors on the timescales required. (read: yesterday)
This is not to say that I’m in support of dumping my garbage in a river and clubbing baby seals. I just think that environmentalism, is, in general, a lost cause. We should be preparing for the eventualities rather than trying to prevent them. I’d rather invest my energy where it can actually do something productive.
For this reason, I’m a huge supporter of renewable energy, particularly in the form of solar and wind. Both of these resources, are, for practical purposes, infinite and free. You’d think that would make them absurdly compelling, even if your only motive is greed. It is for this reason that I am continually amazed by the efforts the big energy industry to cast doubt on these technologies.
Yesterday, for example, I came across this article in Power & Energy Magazine on the advantages and disadvantages of wind power. The highlight was the following infographic. (Click to see original.)
Ah, yes. Nothing like the clean lines, good design and extensive use of green to aid you in your straw man argument. I don’t want to accuse the fine folks at Power & Energy Magazine of being industry stooges, but come now. Let’s look at some of their “disadvantages” of wind power, according to the article:
Unreliability
The main issue concerned with power from the wind, is that of its unreliability. Wind strength cannot be controlled and in some areas it is just not a viable source of power.
So, um, here’s a crazy idea: Maybe don’t put wind farms in places where they won’t work. Then you wouldn’t have that problem! Also: Don’t put a hydroelectric power plant in the desert.
Lower Electricity Output
Wind power generates significantly less electricity than its fossil fuel equivalent, meaning more turbines are required to generate the same amount of power. Wind turbines are also highly inefficient in terms of output capacity.
This would be a really good point, if it weren’t the fact that energy efficiency concerns kind of don’t matter when your fuel source is free and nearly infinite.
Costly to surrounding wildlife
With demand for renewable and cleaner energy sources growing it is likely that the need for land for wind farms will increase, which will potentially damage a high percentage of local wildlife In the process. It is also estimated that each wind turbine kills over 4 birds a year.
Really? Really? Compare wind farms to say…coal mining. I’m just guessing here, but I’m guessing coal mining probably kills more than four birds a year. Hell, Thanksgiving kills a hell of a lot more birds than that.
Noise Pollution
The noise produced from a singular wind turbine is similar to that of a small jet engine and can be a cause of major concern for those living near a wind farm.
Again, let’s compare this to the relative concerns of living near a coal-fired power plant. Coal plants are known to expose people living near them to elevated levels of radiation, airborne toxins and smog. Granted, you probably wouldn’t want a wind turbine in your back yard, but I can’t imagine this is any different than living near an airport. Even so, airports tend to be in populated areas, whereas wind farms tend to be in very rural areas.
So it’s probably fair to say the “disadvantages” listed in this article don’t stand up to even casual scrutiny. Just to put things into perspective, I’ve prepared my own infographic for you, breaking down the advantages and disadvantages of another energy source: coal. Click for the larger version.
On October 21st, 2009 at 12:54 pm Rich Joslin said:
“Wind power generates significantly less electricity than its fossil fuel equivalent, meaning more turbines are required to generate the same amount of power. Wind turbines are also highly inefficient in terms of output capacity.”
Related fact: Conveying a large group of people from home to work by bicycle rather than by bus could take as many as FORTY TIMES the number of vehicles!
On November 28th, 2009 at 7:01 am ecoInfographics « ink + carbon said:
[...] this site, comes two infographics – the first made by Power & Energy Magazine and the second is a [...]