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windfarms and Barren Grounds

To:
Subject: windfarms and Barren Grounds
From: Geoff Price <>
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 14:18:21 -0700
I'm concerned the more politicians use environmental issues such as the OBP for "bogus" reasons (such as politics), the majority of our environmentally non-aware population will become even more cynical about such issues. If the OBP is being used now in a situation that really is not critical to that species, most people will just go "Oh yeah, not again, whatever", when the next threat to a genuine area of environmental importance occurs (e.g. Point Wilson). It seems to me the argument against wind farms is aesthetics as much as anything; the OBP has just clouded the issue. Personally, and no doubt I will be corrected, I quite like the look of them; giant triffid-like beasts, like the Martian craft on the cover of "War of the Worlds"!

Cheers,
Geoff.


At 05:08 PM 10-04-06, you wrote:
Thankyou Evan.

Why should the local Victorians not oppose a wind farm in their beloved landscape? I know Capertee well, the Valley is rural but visually unpolluted and a decidedly beautiful Australian Landscape, as opposed to the Great Australian Ugliness, of which windfarms are an extension. Who would favour a windfarm on top of the Capertee escarpments? There's plenty of wind up there, and if you think that the commercial protaganists of windfarms haven't, looked at those escarpments, and aren't still looking, think again. The Wallerawang powerstation you refer to is a long way from Capertee Valley, and set in a relatively indifferent landscape. It also has a large dam associated with it, hosting many birds from Sea-eagles and Great Crested Grebes down. The suggestion that because it and Lithgow are already there doesn't mean that it's OK to have windfarms scattered over really attractive land. The scale of turbine visiblity dwarfs that of powerstations. Wind turbines have sprung up in what once looked like pristine Blue Mountains National Park, visible south of the Great Western Highway from the last corner before Bowenfels (Lithgow), a sight to bring tears to the eye of any environmentalist. These are obvious because they are white (or silver) against the forested background of the mountains, not because they are protruding above the horizon. Maybe they could paint them green so that they would be less apparent. Many developments can be and are hidden, but wind turbines are appallingly intrusive and inescapable to the eye from k's away.


Do the pro-windmillers have a hidden agenda or do they just like the look of wind turbines? Is this discussion about OBPs, aesthetics, or the apparent inconsistency of the Federal Government? How many kilowatts is an OBP worth?




Cheers

Michael







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