"I never understood wind"; Donald goes on bizarre tirade against wind power

[TLK Valentine]

‘I never understood wind’: Trump goes on bizarre tirade against wind turbines

He says he knows more about Isis than his generals, and claims to understand politicians “better than anybody”. Now there is another subject in which Donald Trump’s expert knowledge surpasses that of everybody else: wind turbines, though he calls them windmills.

“I’ve studied it better than anybody I know,” the president asserted in a bizarre segment from a weekend speech to young conservatives in West Palm Beach, Florida, close to his winter retreat at Mar-a-Lago where he is spending the holidays.

“I never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. They’re noisy. They kill the birds. You want to see a bird graveyard? Go under a windmill someday. You’ll see more birds than you’ve ever seen in your life.”

This isn't the first time he's rambled against wind power, but if He's going to keep attacking windmills, should we change his name to Donald Quixote?

Thoughts?

 

[Aussie Pete]

‘I never understood wind’: Trump goes on bizarre tirade against wind turbines



This isn't the first time he's rambled against wind power, but if He's going to keep attacking windmills, should we change his name to Donald Quixote?

Thoughts?

Wind Turbines are ugly as, don't last all that long, take up huge amounts of space, take a lot of energy to fabricate, are only good when the wind is blowing (as long as not too strong).............what's not to like?

 

[comana]

‘I never understood wind’: Trump goes on bizarre tirade against wind turbines


This isn't the first time he's rambled against wind power, but if He's going to keep attacking windmills, should we change his name to Donald Quixote?

Thoughts?

It was a completely incoherent rant.

 

[Speedwell]

Wind Turbines are ugly as, don't last all that long, take up huge amounts of space, take a lot of energy to fabricate, are only good when the wind is blowing (as long as not too strong).............what's not to like?

Private equity is moving into the wind energy business in a big way as government subsidies dwindle. As long as capitalists can make money off it and generate renewable energy in the process, what's not to like?

 

[GoldenBoy89]

That’s our Donald!

 

[evoeth]

Wind Turbines are ugly as, don't last all that long, take up huge amounts of space, take a lot of energy to fabricate, are only good when the wind is blowing (as long as not too strong).............what's not to like?

Would you rather live next to a coal plant (TRUMP'S FAVORITE!) or a wind turbine farm?

 

[dzheremi]

No offense, Mr. President, but what you don't understand could fill a warehouse.

Hey, there's a job-creating idea! You know how there are presidential libraries for housing documents and such related to the president? Since Trump's most important, timeless missives are mostly in tweet form or in weird speeches like one, we could have one hard drive for those, and then the rest of building could be taken up by all the things President Trump doesn't understand! Could you imagine how many people could be employed to curate that vast, nearly endless collection of things? Since they'd have to be switched out periodically (not as President Trump learns things, of course, but because there's no way that a mere building could contain them all), why I suppose it could be enough to provide full time employment for darn near every man, woman, and child in America. That would make sure the economy would never stop humming!

Imagine it: an entire economy, running on a truly unlimited resource: Donald Trump's ignorance. If only we could harness that like the wind, we could tear down every last windmill and turbine on the face of the planet, as well as close every power plant and coal mine, and we would still be operating at an energy surplus that would make environmentally conscious people like the Bhutanese green with envy!

Alas, "I've never understood wind" is probably as close as we'll ever get to living out this dream.

 

[Cimorene]

 

[cow451]

Comrades! Presidential Trump is right. They call the wind Mariah Carey and she’s hot.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Wind Turbines are ugly as, don't last all that long, take up huge amounts of space, take a lot of energy to fabricate, are only good when the wind is blowing (as long as not too strong).............what's not to like?

I think they’re kind of neat looking- certainly moreso than regular power plants and especially mines from which their fuel is extracted. They don’t take up much space at all - yes they have a large wingspan, but their footprint on the ground is small. Lots of places have near-constant wind. And while I haven’t checked the numbers, I’d be amazed if they took more energy to produce than a coal plant.

As to Trump’s claim that they’re noisy, he’s delusional. My parents have some neighbors with large windmills in one of their hay fields. I’m a sound designer and was hoping to record them for my library, but when I got close, they were so quiet that it wouldn’t have been worth the effort to set up my gear.

 

[TLK Valentine]

 

[rambot]

I don't know how that couldn't be used as evidence of dementia.

 

[anna ~ grace]

I don't dislike the turbines. I think they're pretty, and they're so flipping massive, a single blade looks like the ginormous flipper from a plane-sized creature that lived under the ocean anteduvelian. But.

I have also heard that they can cause some people to experience nausea, tinnitus, dizziness, and head aches. A very few number of people, but still.

Here's the thing; yes, those turbines create jobs. But skilled jobs, mostly. Unless they're building them here in factories in the US. Are they? Because if they're assembled in the US from foreign-made parts, that's not as great.

 

[Kaon]

This is part of the show.

When the State's collapse, it may be apparent how the past 8 presidents have exploited humans as commodities, the vices, ignorance and indulgence to bleed the land dry and sell the nation piece by piece. But, for right now it is entertainment.

Trump will remain in office.

 

[Aussie Pete]

I think they’re kind of neat looking- certainly moreso than regular power plants and especially mines from which their fuel is extracted. They don’t take up much space at all - yes they have a large wingspan, but their footprint on the ground is small. Lots of places have near-constant wind. And while I haven’t checked the numbers, I’d be amazed if they took more energy to produce than a coal plant.

As to Trump’s claim that they’re noisy, he’s delusional. My parents have some neighbors with large windmills in one of their hay fields. I’m a sound designer and was hoping to record them for my library, but when I got close, they were so quiet that it wouldn’t have been worth the effort to set up my gear.

Many people who live near them hate them. They claim that there is a subsonic sound that affects their health. This includes farmers who lease their land to the wind generators. It may be psychological. Birds are prone to fly into the blades. If we must have wind power, stick the generators offshore where no one lives.
Coal plants produce power 24/7. That is their one and only advantage. I'd prefer to see massive solar farms but that is not feasible in many countries.

I went to visit my childhood region in the UK. It was incongruous seeing wind generators dotted around the landscape. I suppose if I'd grown up with them, I would hardly notice.

I think we have way overreacted with the anti nuclear power lobby in Australia. Nuclear solves a huge number of problems. Solar and wind are now creating headaches because of how hard it is to incorporate them in to the existing power grid. The answer? Batteries. But they are hugely expensive, don't last that long and what do you do with the expired batteries? All the solutions have drawbacks. In Australia, solar has to be the least worst.

 

[Aussie Pete]

Private equity is moving into the wind energy business in a big way as government subsidies dwindle. As long as capitalists can make money off it and generate renewable energy in the process, what's not to like?

What options do they have if they want to invest in power generation? Solar is the other. The world is turning away from traditional power generation and even the banks are reluctant to lend to non-renewables. Electricity is a great investment because demand is high and growing. Choices are very limited. Roll on fusion power.

 

[Aussie Pete]

Would you rather live next to a coal plant (TRUMP'S FAVORITE!) or a wind turbine farm?

I rather like massive coal-powered generators. I used to sell to them. I'd not like to live next to either of them.

 

[Allandavid]

Many people who live near them hate them. They claim that there is a subsonic sound that affects their health. This includes farmers who lease their land to the wind generators. It may be psychological. Birds are prone to fly into the blades. If we must have wind power, stick the generators offshore where no one lives.
Coal plants produce power 24/7. That is their one and only advantage. I'd prefer to see massive solar farms but that is not feasible in many countries.

I went to visit my childhood region in the UK. It was incongruous seeing wind generators dotted around the landscape. I suppose if I'd grown up with them, I would hardly notice.

I think we have way overreacted with the anti nuclear power lobby in Australia. Nuclear solves a huge number of problems. Solar and wind are now creating headaches because of how hard it is to incorporate them in to the existing power grid. The answer? Batteries. But they are hugely expensive, don't last that long and what do you do with the expired batteries? All the solutions have drawbacks. In Australia, solar has to be the least worst.

What a shame that the data doesn’t support such claims...

“Scientific consensus suggests it does not. Twenty-five peer-reviewed studies have found that living near wind turbines does not pose a risk on human health. The studies looked at a range of health effects from hearing loss, nausea, and sleep disorders to dizziness, blood pressure, tinnitus, and more. Recently, a new study using retrospective data reported that stress, as measured by hair cortisol levels, was not associated with proximity to wind turbines.”

Can Wind Turbines Make You Sick?

 

[Allandavid]

And before you become convinced by Donald’s “bird graveyard” gibberish, check out the numbers of birds killed by coal, gas and nuclear turbines. Better still, look up the number of birds killed by flying into glass-covered buildings....just like the ones Donald loves...!

 

[Desk trauma]

Here's the thing; yes, those turbines create jobs. But skilled jobs, mostly. Unless they're building them here in factories in the US. Are they? Because if they're assembled in the US from foreign-made parts, that's not as great.

Low skill factory jobs, or any kind of mass low skill employment, are not coming back to the US, no matter what any politician promises you.