I saw on the network news tonight that oil billionaire T. Boone Pickins will commitment some of his own fortune to the creation of wind power farms in the United States. As much as I distrust the petrochemical industry, it's good to see Mr. Pickin's on the alternative energy bandwagon. He wants this to be the number one issue on the agenda of our next president (I'm going with Barack Obama on that one).

In the end though, I hope that the world of alternative energy doesn't become an arm of the petrochemical industry. When it comes to a history of unbridled greed, the petrochemical industry is tops.

Speaking of wind power, a firm wants to build a wind power farm in the Gorge but some environmentalists are opposed to it. There has to be a meeting of the minds on this matter. What sights are we going to arbitrarily blacklist? I would think that the two sides should work together on this issue -- it's vitally important to everyone.

Now, obviously, I do not live in The Gorge. But I have to say, this fight that some are fighting seems to be taking place purely out of habit for them. I mean, " becasue it's visible from the protected area " is now a standard to be met? And frankly, wind turbines, while obvioulsy not natural, I would not classify as ugly or detrimental. It's off the protected zone. AND I like what it actually DOES and SAYS about that area; We have found a way to produce clean energy in a place that is privately held. See? We're finding compromise.

But no. I saw some guy on KATU saying " We'll go the mat on this one." Really? This is a fight you feel is worthy to win? Why? Because you can see it?

I hope the Gorge residents loosen up a bit. Their habitat is being preserved to the degree they campaigned and won. Now they seem to be just pushing it. They don't get to call the shots on private land too just because it BORDERS the protected area. It's friggin' modern, sleek looking WINDMILLS. It's not oil wells that spill into the water. It's not some pop art project that serves no good. It's a PRIVATE venture on PRIVATE land. If I was not from this area and saw those 44 or so turbines on the crest of the hill proposed, I would think, " Wow. Good for them. Our community should do something like that."

T. Boone Pickins bring to mind Slim Pickins, the name of the unforgettable actor playing the pilot of the B-52 in the movie "Dr. Strangelove." Kind of hard to take T. Boone Pickins seriously. Having said that, I have to agree with chickenjuggler on this.

Damned right you do. Because I am right. As usual. About all things. Especially this creative burst I get while on 2 ambiens.

Get these spiders off of me.

Ha!!

I agree as well.

Thinking of Thomas Dolby - "Windpower" from "The Golden Age of Wireless", right now.

Wind turbines are horrible. They're noisy, they're unfriendly to wildlife, the animals they don't kill they torture and harass with their incessant vibration, and that's not even getting to their unsightliness. Give me a nice quiet inobtrusive nuke plant any day.

Oh yeah. I forgot about that; Someone will find a species that needs to be protected from flying into them. Torture and harass.

So there is nothing good about turbines. Got it.

I'll be the first to buy stock when someone invents the highly efficient super solar cell...then of course John McCains new super battery too!

It seems to me that solar is something that should get more attention. We could set up 1000's of acres of solar panels in the deserts where no one lives.

Vitalogy,
would be interesting if that was ever experimented with...acres of cells in unpopulated areas of the sun belt...to see how much power it could actually generate. The modern day solar cell is not very efficient but have read that there is lots of research ot improve...just makes sense to collect free/clean energy from the sun

Solar is getting a *lot* of attention right now. There has been some recent materials science advances that will make the cells flexible, far more efficient, and longer life.

I don't think we will be waiting all that long for significantly improved solar products to arrive.

Been following solar for years, and largely for exactly the reason Vitalogy stated. Those things can be parked where there is little activity.

On a personal scale, solar can power a lot of portable, minor league appliances and electronics. The flexible ones are gonna help big with that.

Intel to Produce Solar Panels in Hillsboro:

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2008/06/intel_goes_green_with_so lar_ce.html

What if we propose that 10% (or whatever percentage) of BLM land nationwide be used for both wind and solar projects?

What was it I saw on the news last night about a Corvallis sewer treatment plant converting part or all of its green space to solar panels.

Oh and are those old hippies in the Gorge really that brain dead?

The whole "but not in my backyard" attitude has got to go if we are to move forward on this oil dependency problem.

Exactly.

There is NOTHING that's going to do what oil does in terms of it's overall portability and wide applicability.

Future energy options are going to have to be more distributed and diverse, leveraging the strengths of the region they serve. That's just a given. Physics and the development of our planet are dictating that.

That means backyards, or dark ages. Pick one.