Liberal Environmentalists Killing THOUSANDS of Innocent Birds
By Stephen Bowers / 22 September 2014 / 0 Comments
Now ...this is funny. A friend sent me the story below about one of those creepy solar mirror projects. According to the envirocreeps, solar and wind power are going to save us from our destructive and over-consuming selves. These envirojerks won't be happy until indoor plumbing is a thing of distant memory. In my fifth grade class (which was conducted in a classroom in an old school house in Clarksburg, Indiana...and which was shared by my intellectual superiors...the sixth graders) one class mate mentioned one day how his grandpa had commented about how unsanitary "indoor toilets" always seemed to him. Although I was personally familiar with "outhouses," we nevertheless thought the grandpa's statement uproariously funny. Strangely, although modern envirodorks would agree with the grandfather's conclusion that "outdoor plumbing" was preferable, their conclusion is not based on considerations of sanitation. They just dislike technology (excepting the vast array of electronic gadgets they probably tote around in their backpacks made of "renewable" something or other, which are sewn together in Chicomm sweatshops).
As always, these people (a usually smelly sub set of standard liberals) filter all their "thinking" through their ideology before they do anything else. Unfortunately, none of them considers the ideology controlling their lives may be in conflict with the ideology of another liberal subset of envirogeeks, the "wind and solar" folks. Not to mention another subset of enviroputzes who are intent on saving all animals appearing in nature (ie; birds...and other stuff), but excluding the cows who donate (involuntarily and non-renewably) the steaks they secretly consume, not to mention the leather from which those same Chicomm sweatshops artfully stitch together their stylish footwear.
solar farmBriefly, the story below tells about one of those "mirror farms" which are stealing the light of the Sun to generate energy. The farm is five square miles of BLM land (ever notice how these words are the "lead in" for many stories about gross mismanagement and corruption), but this story is simply about how free from scrutiny any government sponsored project is if it simply wears the aegis of "environmentalism." (Did you know BLM does not own "BLM Land?" Nope. That land is owned by the States. I had for a long time believed all that public land was owned by the Federal Gov'mint simply because they acted like they owned it. All their arrogant and high-handed tactics (see; Bundy Ranch) smacked of ownership. Who knew?)
Apparently, the mirrors work well...unless you are a passing and unsuspecting bird on the migratory route your ancestors used for ...well...since the beginning of time (and there is considerable controversy on that exact moment in history...except among enviroboobs, they know everything...and are never wrong).
It seems that so much heat is generated by the concentrated light between the mirrors and the collecting tower that unsuspecting birds are frequently seen suddenly incinerated in mid-flight (referred to as "puffers" as distinguished from "poofters") which then tumble unceremoniously (referred to as "streamers," not to be confused with "screamers") to the seething earth below. A friend (who was also at the BLM Bundy Ranch Debacle and armed with a shofar and an AK 47 ...don't I have the most interesting friends and readers?) has traveled past the "mirror ranch" in question and has witnessed the heat emanating from the facility. Creepy, huh? I wonder what the envirodips running these projects will call passing motorists when the heat becomes so intense that cars and occupants apparently spontaneously combust?
The story below then recounts how some concerned Birkenstock clad earthies have offered to donate to have cats "fixed" to avert unplanned (and definitely "renewable") kitty births. It is thought among these Ivory Towered thinkers that a reduction in feline populations would encourage the bird populations. This thinking seems dubious. The birds getting "puffed" include Golden Eagles and Peregrine Falcons. When was the last time you saw your cat nibbling on the carcase of a Golden Eagle? These experts would probably be surprised to learn ...it's usually the other way around. Enviroexperts may be excused for not knowing such things because the cats are seldom eaten in your back yard. They are usually killed on initial contact with the raptors and carried quickly off to the eagle/falcon's nest. But, like "weapons of mass destruction" in Saddam's arsenal, if a liberal doesn't see it, it doesn't/didn't exist (unless the liberal wants it to exist). If the cats are not observed being eaten because it happened out of sight, for a liberal, it didn't happen.
This same strange mental phenomenon is also always observable in another type of liberal ..."evolutionists." They didn't see the creation of the World by a Loving and All-wise Creator ...so it didn't happen. In fact, it couldn't have happened. They are extremely certain of that. Science (with a capital "S") has convinced them, and Science is never wrong. Even though true science insists anything that is accepted as fact must have been observed...usually several times. Evolutionists always insist their version of Science informs them the Earth was formed of congealing gases untold (and unobserved) eons ago. They are always certain of this...even though they didn't see it.
Like the Birkenstock bumper sticker says "Question Authority" ...or...rather "Question Your Unwarranted and Unsupported Assumptions."
Read the story below. It's funny. And note how the different envirogroups are at odds with each other because of the unintended consequences of the mirror farm. The conflict reminds me of a question that came to mind when, as a kid, I first saw a picture of Medusa's serpentine locks. While I was sure Medusa's intent was to kill all she gazed upon, I wondered how those malevolent snakes on her head got along amongst themselves. Did they "bite and devour one another?" Hopefully, if federal agencies or quasi government groups (the Solyndra sort) are involved, they will. Bon appetite.
California Solar Towers Blamed for Massive Bird Kill
This article originally appeared at the Heartland.org
A giant, state-of-the-art solar power complex in the Mojave Desert is incinerating birds and drawing close scrutiny from federal wildlife officials and environmental groups.
In operation since February, the $2.2 billion Ivanpah solar energy project has achieved notoriety far beyond the expectations of its developers, BrightSource Energy, NRG Solar, and Google. Instead of kudos for producing green energy, Ivanpah is rapidly becoming a symbol of a technology that poses a lethal threat to wildlife and a safety hazard to passenger jets using the busy Los Angeles and Las Vegas international airports.
The project was made possible by a $1.6 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, as part of the Obama administration’s support of renewable energy.
300,000 Mirrors
Located on five square miles of federal land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, Ivanpah uses 300,000 seven-by-ten-foot mirrors to redirect concentrated sunlight upward toward three 459-foot boiler towers, dubbed power towers. The water inside the towers is heated to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, producing steam that turns turbines to generate electricity.
The bright light created by the reflecting mirrors attracts huge numbers of insects, which in turn attract birds, and both are burned in mid-air by Ivanpah’s intense heat. Estimates of the number of bird kills vary from 1,000 a year by BrightSource to 28,000 annually by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Federal and state wildlife officials have confirmed birds flying over Ivanpah are being lethally singed, with numerous reports of puffs of smoke suddenly appearing, followed by dead birds, called “streamers,” falling to the earth. Nonetheless, the California Energy Commission is considering an application by Oakland-based BrightSource to build another mirror field with a 75-story power tower near Palen, California, between Joshua Tree National Park and the California-Arizona border. The plant would be on a flight path for birds between the Colorado River and California’s largest lake, the Salton Sea.
‘Highest Lethality Potential’
solar farm birdsThe area contains protected golden eagles and peregrine falcons as well as over 100 other species of birds. In July, U.S. Fish & Wildlife (FWS) officials warned California power-tower style solar technology holds “the highest lethality potential” of any of the solar projects planned for the Golden State’s deserts.
The July warning followed a federal report calling the Ivanpah facility a “mega-trap” for birds and recommending steps to reduce solar power tower bird deaths.
Responding to the bad publicity from Ivanpah’s bird deaths, BrightSource has proposed donating $1.8 million to programs that spay and neuter cats, claiming the program will protect birds because cats sometimes kill small birds.
In response to this proposal, Jay Lehr, Heartland Institutes science director said , “That’s like a drunk driver who caused an accident offering to pay to educate teen drivers concerning the perils of driving intoxicated rather than being punished for his crime. BrightSource’s offer may reduce bird deaths but it doesn’t make up for the birds it kills.”
The Fish & Wildlife Service remains concerned. Pete Sorenson, division chief of the FWS Palm Springs office, posted a letter on the California Energy Commission website urging extreme caution before approving more power tower projects.
“We are concerned about the increasing number of power tower projects that are proposed or undergoing permitting review, given the outstanding questions about the impacts of utility-scale application of the technology,” Sorenson wrote. “As such, it would be beneficial to the permitting process for pending and future projects, including the Hidden Hills and Rio Mesa, to gather monitoring data that answer some of the questions about avian physiological tolerance and behavioral response to power towers, from already approved projects, before approving more projects.”
Beyond merely researching the bird impacts, “we suggest that the Agencies limit the number of power tower projects that are considered for permitting and development until we obtain a more detailed understanding of this technology and its impacts, based on at least a couple years of scientifically robust monitoring,” Sorenson explained. “Deploying technology of this scale in multiple places and on a short timeframe without such an understanding compromises our ability to make informed decisions on projects that would permanently and cumulatively impact species and the extensive tracts of desert habitat upon which they depend.”
FAA Warning
Ivanpah’s power towers also interfere with aviation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued warnings to pilots who fly in and out of Las Vegas and other destinations in Southern California.
“For years, advocates of renewable power have touted a ‘free energy’ narrative in trying to convince the public it is possible to power the world on butterflies, rainbows, and pixie dust,” said Marita Noon, executive director of Energy Makes America Great. “What they have been trying to push on consumers is now exposed as the fairy tale it is.
“While the wind blows and the sun shines for ‘free,’ turning them into electricity is expensive—both to consumers and the avian population,” Noon explained. “There is obviously a lot of money to be made in the solar industry to enable it to offer $1.8 million in compensation for anticipated bird deaths that does nothing to help the poor birds that are instantly fried mid-flight. Where is PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] when you need them?”
Noon concluded, “The California Energy Commission must not approve the proposed Palen Power Tower project that is projected to kill one bird every 30 seconds.”
Read more at
http://eaglerising.com/8795/liberal-environmentalists-killing-thousands-innocent-birds/#OwcbyOvqzXSPpder.99
