Proposed wind farm in Lake O - a big one - environmental assesment?

[kemper]

Speaking of alternative power, I saw an interesting creation on a house that was hard on the shore of Lake O. Solopaddler, maybe you can chime in here as I am sure you have seen in walking to a certain trout fishing spot that you gave me. ( I have been sworn to secrecy)

 

It was like a watermill on a long pole that moved up and down with the waver and spun forwards and backwards as the waves moved in and out.

 

 

okay that was the worst description ever.

[Headhunter]

Unfortunately for Toronto, our glorious Mayor has decided that there will be no burning/incineration of Toronto waste! I think our mayor is a waste!

HH

[joonmoon]

Any time you burn anything it will emit gases, CO2 usually is the biggest emission. Isn't CO2 the greatest factor in global warming...? Correct me if I'm wrong but a windmill doesn't have any emissions or nasty bi-products. Just pure energy, free and ready for human usage. Who cares how they look...eye-sore shmeye-sore. If the production of hydro electricity out weighs the consequenses of costs...even if it takes a decade or two to pay for it, doesn't it seem just right and ethically, morally and environmentally the thing to do. In my opinion build the windmills everywhere theres a fairly consistent breeze. They are huge and look a lot nicer than breathing in lousy polluted air from burning fossel fuels or garbage or anything for that matter. I say do just do it.

[Ramble]

The bio digestors don't burn anything its microbial direstion that produces heat as a by product.The bacteria doing the digesting create heat. Using organic sources utalizes carbon already in the environment, not pumped from a contained source like fossil fuels. The creation of the carbon dioxide comes from burning the methane, if thats what you mean by CO2 creation. Its "better" for global warning then methane. Methane is 4-5 times worse in its "green house gas" properties then carbon dioxide propeties.CO2 is a major factor in global warming because of the burning of fossil fuels. Were adding more Carbon dioxide into the global system that wasnt already there, that's why its a problem. Incineration of garbage is the source for a whole kalidoscope of nasties, the americans are trying to deal with the emissions becuase they do it a lot more then we do here.

 

-R-

[joonmoon]

I see what you're saying but wouldn't it make more enviromental sense to produce energy without producing any more greenhouse gases. Using windmills doesn't produce any...its how we choose to use the energy that can produce a bi-product. Burning methane gas for heat for example.

[bigugli]

Organic materials, as they decompose, will produce methane, whether we use it or not. By choosing to harness methane, as a biofuel, we are choosing the lesser of two evils. CO2 has a lesser ecological impact.

Only other way to significantly diminish our output of methane, globally, would be to reduce the human population by 20%.

Edited November 26, 2008 by bigugli

[Ramble]

Depending on how you energy production depends on how you measure about the envirmental impact. Windmills can be hard on birds, there is health effects associted with low frequency emissions, and if you examin production costs. The is an environmental cost associated with the materials wind mills are made from, same with digestors. Smelting of metals, trasportation costs mantainance. There is no such thing as no-emission technology if you factor in the materials used to make them.

 

-R-

[pikehunter]

First time I ever saw a windfarm was in southern California 1989. Pretty neat sight, come along the highway and round a hill and there were hundreds of windmills on the hill sides. I didn't look at it as an eyesore but something really neat and unexpected to see. No more of an eyesore than the CN Tower is or any other man made structure that blights the earth. If we can capture the wind and harness it why not? Hell of a lot better than nuclear or coal generated electricity.

[JohnF]

The oceans waves will provide us with all of the power that we will ever need, with much less of an eyesore. There's lots and lots of power in those never ending waves. Pretty simple technology too.

 

 

Haven't they been doing that in the North Sea for quite a few years now (flappers on the ocean floor that react to the ebb and flow of tides)? There should be some data available by now on it's practical functionality.

 

JF