News
Category:
Impact on Landscape
Note: counts do not include items in sub-categories
|
Ocotillo wind project advances despite tribal objections
May 12, 2012 by Morgan Lee in San Diego Union-Tribune
May 12, 2012 by Morgan Lee in San Diego Union-Tribune
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed off on the project's Environmental Impact Statement over the objection of Native American tribal officials who remain concerned about the aesthetic impact of the project on ancestral lands and the potential for disturbing cultural and archaeological artifacts, including possible cremation sites.
Senior councillors opted to go into the agreement in February last year, after a report was made to the council's cabinet.
But so far it has not been signed off, with delays put down to the decision to carry out a "fresh internal review", looking at issues including the impact on wildlife and the location of the site.
Also filed under [
Impact on Space|
UK]
Kingsville farmer hamstrung by turbine; Appeals for council help
May 8, 2012 by Sarah Sacheli in The Windsor Star
May 8, 2012 by Sarah Sacheli in The Windsor Star
The town's planner discovered the footings of a wind turbine going up across the road. She insisted that Armstrong, for his half of the farm that falls within 550 metres of the turbine, would have to get the property rezoned to never allow a home to be built on much of it.
Also filed under [
Impact on People|
Canada]
Scotland's wind turbines less eco-friendly than they appear
May 6, 2012 in Public Radio International
May 6, 2012 in Public Radio International
"The initial estimates that this group came up with, I think, were kind of between 3 and 30 years," Simon Drew, biologist at Stirling University said. "Now the operational lifetime of a wind farm is about 25 years, so, potentially, although you have a sort of non-fossil fuel energy source, it's not carbon neutral if it's going to be for that long."
Also filed under [
UK]
Wright captured the bird's-eye view of the development from between 500 and 1000 feet above the construction site, where GMP is rushing to complete the wind project by the end of the calendar year. Wright finds himself on one side of a fierce debate over wind power in Vermont that pits environmentalists worried about habitat destruction against environmentalists worried about renewable energy.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife|
Vermont]
The Campaign to Protect Rural England said the number of turbines over 30 metres high either already built, in construction or awaiting approval has soared to more 4,100
They are concerned parts of the country are being ruined because protected areas and National Parks are becoming ringed by the machines.
Also filed under [
UK]
Wind farms in the wrong places are turning the public against fighting climate change says Bill Bryson
April 30, 2012 by Louise Gray in The Telegraph
April 30, 2012 by Louise Gray in The Telegraph
"This countryside - ‘incredibly beautiful, dangerously finite and infinitely precious' - will continue to change, as it always has. But the speed and scale of the change as a result of the proliferation of wind turbines is immense and threatens to damage the character of many landscapes for at least a generation."
Also filed under [
UK]
'Dumping ground' fears raised over moorland wind turbines plans
April 30, 2012 by Marc Meneaud in Telegraph & Argus
April 30, 2012 by Marc Meneaud in Telegraph & Argus
Countryside campaigners have warned that vast swathes of tranquil landscapes could be blighted by a "hurricane of wind farms" as it emerged new plans have been put forward for more turbines in Bronte Country.
Also filed under [
Impact on People|
UK]
"We attribute this warming primarily to wind farms," the study said. The temperature change could be due to the effects of the energy expelled by farms and the movement and turbulence generated by turbine rotors, it said.
"These changes, if spatially large enough, may have noticeable impacts on local to regional weather and climate," the authors said.
Large wind farms raise temperature near ground
April 29, 2012 by Robert Lee Hotz in Wall Street Journal
April 29, 2012 by Robert Lee Hotz in Wall Street Journal
Despite long-standing interest in the environmental impacts of such large-scale alternative energy installations, this is the first time anyone has measured how wind turbines can alter local temperatures over the long term, the scientists said. So far, the scientists don't know if these higher temperatures affect local rainfall or other weather patterns.
Applicants want to put another 194 of the turbines in Northumberland, Gateshead and County Durham, according to local councils.
About 109 of these applications come in addition to farms that have already won planning permission, our survey discloses.
Also filed under [
UK]
The Oireachtas is to consider in detail shortly a Bill, tabled by Labour Senator John Kelly, that would impose restrictions on the location of wind turbines near people's homes.
Under the Bill, ...larger turbines of 50m-150m would have to be a minimum of 1km to 2km away.
Also filed under [
Impact on People|
Ireland]
The landscape that inspired the Bronte sisters to pen some of English literature's most enduring works is now the center of a brewing storm in Britain over wind power.
Thornton Moor, near Haworth in West Yorkshire, is the subject of an application by energy company Banks Renewables to build four wind turbines.
Also filed under [
UK]
Wednesday's hearing at the Rock Falls Community Building was the first in Whiteside County for the planned wind farm, known as the Green River project. About 70 people attended, with the Rock Falls police chief and the Whiteside County sheriff on hand for security.
Also filed under [
Impact on People|
Illinois]
Banning turbines in Litchfield maintains town's 'well-being'
March 24, 2012 by Amanda Fries in Observer-Dispatch
March 24, 2012 by Amanda Fries in Observer-Dispatch
If industrial wind turbines set up shop in her community, however, she said they'd be destroying a community that is "so peaceful and relaxing."
In a 4-1 vote Thursday night the Litchfield Town Board passed a local law that will ban construction of industrial wind turbines.
Also filed under [
Impact on People|
New York]
Scotland to become a 'wind farm landscape', warn planners
March 20, 2012 by Simon Johnson in The Telegraph
March 20, 2012 by Simon Johnson in The Telegraph
Scotland's countryside will become a "wind farm landscape" as hundreds more turbines are built to meet the SNP's radical green energy targets, the country's most senior planning officials have warned. Scotland's senior planners have warned "less sensitive" sites for building wind farms are running out.
Also filed under [
UK]
The town says that the forest clearing and earth moving necessary for the construction of the project could have a substantial adverse impact on soil and water quality, and create an increased risk of flooding. "As proposed, the Deerfield Wind Project may result in increased flood risk."
Also filed under [
Vermont]
"Without listening to us, without recording what we have to say, without putting those in the environmental impact study, the archeological study, they're not understanding where we're coming from," Pico said.
The chairman said Ocotillo wind's designation as a BLM priority project has led to a "fast track" process that has restricted public participation and consultation with affected parties.
Also filed under [
Impact on People|
California]
With legislative session ended, wind turbine placement rules take effect
March 15, 2012 by Clay Barbour in Wisconsin State Journal
March 15, 2012 by Clay Barbour in Wisconsin State Journal
New statewide wind siting rules - stuck in the Public Service Commission for a year - are now law, after the Legislature gaveled out of session Thursday without passing a replacement.
Also filed under [
Impact on People|
Wisconsin]
Heritage in danger from wind farms warns National Trust
March 13, 2012 by Louise Gray in The Telegraph
March 13, 2012 by Louise Gray in The Telegraph
Heritage sites around the country will be ruined by wind farms, the National Trust has warned after 300ft turbines got the go ahead near Lyveden New Bield, one of England's most important historic ruins.
Also filed under [
Impact on Views|
UK]
| << Impact on Wildlife | Impact on People >> |