Friday, July 19, 2002
Stop the Presses!
HokiePundit is actually agreeing with the environmentalists on an issue and siding against the Military-Industrial Complex!
See, one reason conservatives oppose things like recycling and wind and solar power is because they tend to not work, be expensive, and generally suck. Also, we're terrified that the country will turn tie-dyed overnight and will reek of Mary Jane, though you don't hear this argument very much in debate. Moving on, wind power tends to make the countryside ugly without producing an awful lot. Britain's a very pretty country, which I've often compared to Virginia, and it would be a shame to hippy-ize it so wind power can go from 1/2% to 1% of national energy production. However, it occurred to someone that these things didn't have to be built on land. In fact, they could be built on the sea! They wouldn't really be that much of an eyesore, since water tends to look more or less the same wherever you go, and since wind over water is a lot stronger than over land, they could generate a lot more energy. The money to build these bad boys would come from private companies, who would all get rich by tapping an unused and renewable resource. Britain could use nuclear and wind power and tell the Arabs where to stick their precious oil.
However, the Ministry of Defense says that these wind farms will interfere with their radar and may pose a hazard to low-flying RAF planes. First, I don't really buy the radar argument. These things aren't moving, and any benefit a fast jet could gain by moving along these as a screen would be utterly minimal. Furthermore, most of the turbines would be build in the Irish Sea between Wales and Manchester. Unless the Irish start launching airstrikes, I don't think the Brits have much to fear. If push came to shove, I'm sure you could mount radar on these giant pinwheels and float everyone's boat at once. As for the planes, please. These things aren't even moving! The Harrier is an excellent jet, and I'm confident that it can outmaneuver even the wiliest wind turbine.
Advantage: Eco-hippies!*
*Children, I don't ever want to have to do this again, so I expect the right-wing parties to start thinking of these good ideas and not get left having to pick sides in a Left vs. Left battle.
HokiePundit is actually agreeing with the environmentalists on an issue and siding against the Military-Industrial Complex!
See, one reason conservatives oppose things like recycling and wind and solar power is because they tend to not work, be expensive, and generally suck. Also, we're terrified that the country will turn tie-dyed overnight and will reek of Mary Jane, though you don't hear this argument very much in debate. Moving on, wind power tends to make the countryside ugly without producing an awful lot. Britain's a very pretty country, which I've often compared to Virginia, and it would be a shame to hippy-ize it so wind power can go from 1/2% to 1% of national energy production. However, it occurred to someone that these things didn't have to be built on land. In fact, they could be built on the sea! They wouldn't really be that much of an eyesore, since water tends to look more or less the same wherever you go, and since wind over water is a lot stronger than over land, they could generate a lot more energy. The money to build these bad boys would come from private companies, who would all get rich by tapping an unused and renewable resource. Britain could use nuclear and wind power and tell the Arabs where to stick their precious oil.
However, the Ministry of Defense says that these wind farms will interfere with their radar and may pose a hazard to low-flying RAF planes. First, I don't really buy the radar argument. These things aren't moving, and any benefit a fast jet could gain by moving along these as a screen would be utterly minimal. Furthermore, most of the turbines would be build in the Irish Sea between Wales and Manchester. Unless the Irish start launching airstrikes, I don't think the Brits have much to fear. If push came to shove, I'm sure you could mount radar on these giant pinwheels and float everyone's boat at once. As for the planes, please. These things aren't even moving! The Harrier is an excellent jet, and I'm confident that it can outmaneuver even the wiliest wind turbine.
Advantage: Eco-hippies!*
*Children, I don't ever want to have to do this again, so I expect the right-wing parties to start thinking of these good ideas and not get left having to pick sides in a Left vs. Left battle.
