The rapid industrialization of the ocean off Rhode Island has resulted in a wide range of heated discussion and the realization of the existence of a dangerous disconnect between the problem and the solution that we would be well advised to try to understand before it’s too late. On the one hand, we have statements on the record by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which approved all these wind farms that they will have little or no impact on carbon output and airborne pollution worldwide. But scientists believe they will have a potentially massive harmful effect on the ocean environment. We also have statements from Secretary John Kerry over the years admitting that “If all the industrial nations went down to zero emission…. it wouldn’t be enough. Not when more than 65 percent of the world’s carbon pollution comes from the developing world.” And every study I know of that has been done on wind power, such as the ERCOT Bentek IV study of the impact of 2,800 wind turbines on the Texas grid, has reported virtually zero reduction of carbon and fossil fuel use because intermittent wind requires fossil fuel plants to ramp up and down to keep the voltage constant. Meanwhile, a number of new U.S. designed modular nuclear power reactors are now in production in several countries, and can produce far more power, all without creating waste fuel or emissions of any kind. In the interim, of course, natural gas is needed to allow faster replacement of coal use. On the other hand, we have over a trillion dollars allocated to ramp up the implementation of wind power, and its supporters are vehement in their belief that this will “save our planet,” no matter what the facts really are. How does this persist in […]
Click here to view original web page at www.newportthisweek.com