Left environmentalists critical of electrified America must have mixed emotions this time of the year. It may be the season of good cheer and goodwill toward all, but it is also the time of the most conspicuous of energy consumption. America the Beautiful is at her best come December when billions of stringed light bulbs on buildings and trees turn the mundane or darkness itself into magnificent beauty and celebration.
Holiday lighting is a great social offering—a positive externality in the jargon of economics—given by many to all. it makes one wish for more lighting all months of the year in urban centers–for ease of movement, for safety, for better moods. “Here Comes the Sun,” a favorite of so many, could be joined by “Here Comes the Light.”
While energy doomsayers such as Paul Ehrlich have riled against “garish commercial Christmas displays,” today’s headline grabbers (Grist, Climate Progress, where are you?)…
The free-market energy blog MasterResource is nearing its second anniversary (first post: December 26, 2008). Our viewership has steadily grown, and we have reached as high as #7 on the “green blog” list of Technorati (as of 11/24: #32 out of 6,246).
The strength of MasterResource is the quality of our bloggers, some well-known names in the free market movement and others new names with now uncovered expertise. In particular, we have tapped into a talent base of individuals who are critics of industrial windpower, many of whom come from an environmental background and now appreciate the free market perspective.
We also appreciate the hundreds of comments that our blogs are generating, which is more talent bubbling to the top. In addition to supportive comments, we post critical comments that are in good taste.…
“Citing a dearth of applicable wind-generation modifications, Dick Anderson of the California Energy Commission suspects that current bird fatality levels in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (WRA) will mirror those revealed by a 1991 CEC study. ‘Very little has been done by the wind companies to effectively change the situation,’ Anderson recently said. Though studies have yielded a ‘better understanding’ of avian causalities, few measures appear to be reducing avian impacts.”
– Staff Article, “Altamont Avian Mortality Continues; Improvements Grounded,” California Energy Markets, January 23, 1998, p. 2.
Last week, my post “Cuisinarts of the Air” (Revisiting an environmentalist term for windpower)” ended with the question and a request for readers:
…So what has happened in the last decade regarding industrial wind in bird-sensitive areas? Comments and updates welcome!