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Archive for November 1st, 2012

Nov 1

Study links wind turbines to illness, previously brushed aside by Ontario Liberals

Jonathan Sher — QMI Agency — November 1, 2012

LONDON, ON — They live in the shadow of wind farms, and their stories of turbine-induced illness have been brushed aside by the wind industry, Ontario regulators and the province’s Liberal government.

But now, researchers have published the first ever peer-reviewed study linking wind turbines and ill health — giving opponents of wind turbines their heaviest arsenal in a fight that could shape the landscape of rural Ontario and perhaps political fortunes in the next election. Read more

Nov 1

UK wind turbines
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UK — This Addiction to Wind Farms has been a Disaster

Leo McKinstry — Express.co.uk — November 1, 2012

THE rash of wind farms across Britain represents the triumph of environmental dogma over common sense.

Wrecking the countryside, reducing our energy security and driving up our household bills, these ugly structures are nothing more than monuments to political folly. Read more

Nov 1

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FINALLY! Advertising Standards Authority makes wind developer withdraw leaflet with false information

Auslan Cramb — The Telegraph — November 1, 2012

Developer drops claim wind turbines do not hit house prices

A wind farm developer has withdrawn a leaflet claiming wind turbines do not affect house prices following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority.

The move follows an objection from an anti–wind farm campaigner who complained about material handed out by Wind Prospect Developments Ltd at an exhibition on a proposed 12–turbine development in Midlothian, Scotland. Read more

Nov 1

DelingpoleBooks

James Delingpole — Wind energy claims are just a lot of hot air

The Telegraph — November 1, 2012

The case for winds farms is all but lost, as the Tories inject a welcome dose of reality into the debate

Have I just broken the record for the shortest and most successful election campaign in the history of politics? Well that’s one way of looking at my incredibly brief walk-on role in the Corby by-election. A month ago I announced that I was standing – as the anti-wind farm candidate. And now I’m announcing my withdrawal. Why? Because as far as I’m concerned, my battle to save the British countryside from one of the ugliest and most pointless outbreaks of vandalism in our history has now been all but won.

The good news came yesterday in the form of some very forthright words from John Hayes, the Coalition’s new minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change. “We can no longer have wind turbines imposed on communities. I can’t single-handedly build a new Jerusalem but I can protect our green and pleasant land,” he stirringly declared, adding: “I’m saying enough is enough.”

Rumour has it that the minister – a robust, old-school, churchgoing Tory – had intended to go even further. At a conference in Glasgow staged by Renewable UK on Tuesday evening, Hayes had apparently intended to declare a moratorium on all future onshore wind farm projects – on the grounds that Britain has already met its wind energy targets. Unfortunately, his fervently green departmental boss, Lib Dem Ed Davey, got to see the speech beforehand and vetoed it. Yesterday, a clearly furious Davey slapped him down again by declaring that there had been absolutely no change in Coalition policy on wind.

In theory this ought to be a crushing blow for Hayes and his many sympathisers within the Conservative Party, among them the Chancellor George Osborne, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, and MP Chris Heaton-Harris, who has been co-ordinating the Tories’ anti-wind resistance. After all, as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, it’s surely Davey who has the final say on Britain’s energy policy.

(To continue reading, click here)

Nov 1

money tree

Emails Catch White House Lies on Green Energy Loans

Marita Noon — Townhall Finance.com — November 1, 2012

When he is confronted about the failed green-energy loan program, President Obama deflects blame—pointing to “career bureaucrats” in the Department of Energy (DOE) who supposedly approved the loans that have become an embarrassment to the White House.

For months, along with researcher Christine Lakotos, I’ve been reporting on, first, the junk-bond rated projects (such as Solyndra) that received fast-tracked approval from the DOE and, then, the failed and troubled stimulus funded companies. Solyndra was just the tip of the iceberg. Embarrassment after embarrassment has come to light as the projects touted as the hope for America’s future have filed for bankruptcy, sent money and jobs overseas, and faced technical difficulties.

The 1705 loan guarantee program had 460 applicants, but only 7% were approved—26 projects were funded. Of those 26 projects 22 were junk-bond rated—meaning private investors wouldn’t fund them. So why did we, the taxpayers?

Our research showed that at least 90% of the projects had close ties to the White House and other high ranking Democrats. Despite the obvious connection, President Obama has repeatedly denied any involvement—preferring to blame “career bureaucrats” who could take the fall with no political consequence.

(To continue reading, click here)

Nov 1

zombie turbines

Green Zombie

Tom Adams — Special to Financial Post — October 31, 2012

56,000 documents reveal Ontario’s energy disaster

After Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty started handing out billions, green carpetbaggers around the world smelled the money and came running.

Over the course of his nine years as premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty’s electricity policies gradually transformed from a loose grab bag of good intentions into a zombie. Today, ­McGuinty’s zombie, green on the outside only, grows by the day, feeding on rivers of future ratepayer cash. A preliminary analysis of 56,000 documents that the government recently released reveals that the government’s handling of the energy file is a disaster. Read more