Environment What do we make of changes we’ve made to improve the environment?

Wind energy is no where near as efficient as coal or other hydrocarbon based energy. In addition the energy and enviromental distruction caused by the mining and production of products you need for producing the wind turbines and more importantly the batteries is high. Also scenic and beautiful landscapes are being ruined by miles and miles of wind farms. An example is in southern Oklahoma. Driving up I 35 from Dallas to OKC you drive through a portion of the Arbuckle Mountains on 35, its truly scenic or was. Now the scenery is ruined by wind farms. Lastly think of how much land has to be used to get such a small and expensive amount of unreliable energy.

 

If people want to waste their time with wind and solar thats their business fine with me. Problem is majority of those people are for getting rid of fossil fuels. They want to control and tell you what you can and cannot do. Live and let live is not in their vocabulary.

 

I take a geo-political view on energy. I am for ANYTHING that will get us out of the quagmire of the Mideast. There is no energy downside that can compare to the downside of war, for oil, in that shit hole. Lose the need for oil and about 1/2 of our problems go away. OVERNIGHT.

 

Its called Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and North Dakota.

We have oceans of black gold brother~!

 

How long has the Earth had weather.....and how long has man been measuring it?

More people, more trash. The "me" generation doesn't seem to care much about anything other than "me". Too busy being snowflakes and helicopter parents to appreciate what God gave us.

Comparing what you see in those countries to the geographic area of the US is no bueno. A 1-day classic in the US wouldn't
get you all that far but if you were in CA, you'd easily see them. Not only that but the windmills in Europe don't generate what we intend for purpose here.

The US probably has around 200 wind farms, but each filled with thousands of turbines. Out of the 10 largest wind farms in the world, 8 are in the US and 5 of those in Texas. In 2016, wind energy (including that supplied by other states) now supplies about 6.9% of California’s total electricity needs, or enough to power more than 1.3 million households. Alta in Tehachapi is the biggest. The good news is it's out in BFE so you don't have to look at it unless you're driving that way. The bad news is, they are fugly.



As for pollution...."A USC study that tracked Southern California children over a 20-year period has found they now have significantly fewer respiratory symptoms as a result of improved air quality.

The finding expands on the landmark USC Children's Health Study, which a year ago reported that kids' lungs had grown stronger over the past 20 years as pollution levels in the Los Angeles Basin declined. In the current study, USC researchers examined a health issue that makes many parents anxious while pulling at their pocketbooks: bronchitic symptoms that could land otherwise healthy children in a doctor's office or hospital."


When I was a kid, there would be "smog days" where we wouldn't be allowed PE or any sports activity. You could take a deep breath at then end of the day and feel the pain in your lungs. We don't have those anymore and my kids have no idea what it feels like. And we are not insulated against global pollution because, well, the wind doesn't stop blowing just because there's no land mass to hold it in. "Filthy emissions from China’s export industries are carried across the Pacific Ocean and contribute to air pollution in the Western United States, according to a paper published Monday by a prominent American science journal.

The research is the first to quantify how air pollution in the United States is affected by China’s production of goods for export and by global consumer demand for those goods."

I do. And with my kids. Beach, parks, reservoirs. My son is nearing his Eagle Scout and Leave No Trace is a big thing to me, to him, to my daughter. The superficial society that spends way too much time taking selfies, at the shopping mall, whining about left/right/gay/straight, just don't get it.

 

We are practically energy independent right now. If the dems get back in power that wont last. We should start using our abundent natural gas and export more of it.

 

Here you go @HalloweenRun this article explains in detail why the Cali fires are impacting the residents as much as they are. Just like the flood of people to the southern beaches is generating more potential and actual damage and cost when a hurricane hits so has migration into wild areas done in Cali.
The reason that California wildfires are worse than ever
The Mercury News

As California grows, people are moving into the rural edges of cities where we weren't before -- creating an "expanding bull’s eye’ effect" of higher wildfire risk, according to a new study by geographer Stephen M. Strader of Villanova University. Read the full story

 

That’s great but a just like with fake news, you need more than one perspective. I’m sure it’s a combo of things, never said it was only global warming. I could only read part of the article, my screen turned blank.

Quick google produced this, from Yale (from last December)

“Six fires are burning right now — in December — even though only seven December fires have burned in total over the past 17 years. The unusual timing of these fires reflects the rapid lengthening of the fire season in the western U.S., which is now 2.5 months longer than it was in 1970. Large and long-duration forest fires have also increased fourfold.

The western U.S. fire season is longer because spring and fall temperatures are warmer than in the past, due to global warming (on average, annual temperatures in California have increased by about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1985). When precipitation is plentiful, warmer temperatures promote plant growth. As hot, dry days also increase through summer and fall, this new growth dries out, creating the optimal fuel for fires. In addition, snow is now melting earlier in the spring, which gives plants even more time to dry out. Global warming also alters atmospheric circulation patterns. A study by Miller and Schlegel (2006) predicted that global warming could shift Santa Ana winds from earlier to later in the fire season (and potentially drier and stronger as well) that could significantly increase fires in coastal California, which is consistent with what is happening right now.......”

And on and on. Google, and an appreciation of sources, are your friend. But I don’t want to argue about it. A reasonable position is that these fires are caused by a number of reasons, including, as documented, global warming. If you don’t agree, that is fine with me.