In other words, the ad campaign was little more than "greenwashing" -- disinformation intended to present an environmentally responsible public image. BP wanted journalists, politicians, investors and environmentalists to perceive it as a "socially responsible" leader and reward it accordingly.

...Meanwhile, BP's total wind and solar electrical output last year was barely enough to keep the lights burning in Regina, Sask. -- and thoughtful observers began to realize that wind and solar aren't quite as eco-friendly as activists claim.

"...Merits of the zoning case aside, there are some important facts about Wind Energy that simply cannot be ignored. Wind has long been promoted as a viable, clean alternative to fossil fuels and people have been conditioned to unconditionally embrace it. In fact, the moral justification for wind as the answer to greenhouse emissions has pitted conservationist against conservationist. And this fight has shamelessly been fueled by the misinformation on wind that the wind developers and their advocates promote."

What I would like to propose is that people of good will, who are concerned with our economy and the future of the environment, meet together to balance the needs of industry and the basic realities of environmental concerns. The state could set up a commission or panel of all interested groups in an effort to reach a compromise and then give expert advice to our Legislature.

If we are to spurn the nuclear option, or indeed if we are to embrace it, we must do so only once we have taken all aspects into account. Rigour and honesty is required, too. We must accept the relevance of the subsidies that wind power receives, and the low carbon nature of nuclear energy.

Our state leaders are promulgating a false choice between wind and coal. While wind is renewable and cleaner than coal, wind will never replace coal — wind is too unreliable.

As a tourist who visits the area, I notice what is transparent to most locals, and for me the skyline of Fairhaven is priceless. If the citizens of Fairhaven allow the wind power project to be built at the current proposed location, I believe you will be making a terrible mistake. The town may gain some money in taxes and offset some electrical energy costs, but it will not offset the loss in green space and, more importantly, the beauty of Fairhaven's historic charm.

But the thought of trucks rolling out of Bennington, west into New York state to pick up the wood chips to heat the schoolchildren of Bennington, and back to Bennington — while the Green Mountain National Forest sits off-limits to logging in the school’s own backyard — does not pass the common sense test.

If past experience is suggestive of the future, it’s very likely the State Corporation Commission will support Highland New Wind Development’s proposal to open Highland County up to the business and consequences of industrial wind power. SCC commissioners will be acting under the cover of the recommendation of their hearing officer based on the narrowest examination of the law and the facts. It would be premature, however, to lose hope that justice will not yet prevail. Commissioners are acutely aware of the importance of this decision as the first wind utility proposed in Virginia. They must also be aware that local governments in other mountainous areas of the state where wind plants have been proposed are balking at the prospect. They will not want to be seen as acting like a rubber stamp. And if they do, there remains the Virginia Supreme Court as a hedge against what will prove a terrible mistake in years to come. Those justices will be hard pressed to ignore the manner in which Highland’s supervisors circumvented the county’s planning process in order to impose their will over the objections of the great majority of their constituents.

No matter how important wind power is, not every spot is suitable for a turbine. Conversely, a turbine's visibility from the homes of frustrated neighbors doesn't make its location wrong...........Residents should also take a look at the video expected to be released today by opponents of the Little Bay project on their Web site, WindWiseFairhaven.com. It will document complaints of people who live near the Hull turbines.

Legislation just introduced and slated to move quickly in the U.S. House of Representatives would bring new wind energy development in the U.S. to a grinding halt, AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher warned on May 18. Introduced this week by Congressman Nick Rahall (D. WV), and scheduled for action in early June at the House Resources Committee which he chairs, H.R. 2337 would burden wind power with sweeping new requirements that have never applied to other energy sectors, Swisher said,

Few are aware of the staggering profit by way of contracts payable to avian specialists in an industry borne from wind towers that kill birds. This service industry is referred to as "Adaptive Management," and/or "long-term environmental monitoring." Its value is $2 million to $3 million first year startup for a wind project, based on the value of Altamont, Calif., wind tower monitoring contracts. These contracts represent $1 million per year paid to the monitor during construction phase, and impose terms as Mass Audubon has in their "Challenge" press release: "We also propose adoption of an Adaptive Management Plan that includes a rigorous monitoring program beginning at the construction phase and continuing for at least three years post-construction." ..........Mass Audubon is in a position to profit by counting bird carcasses, "monitoring," while attempting to "solve" this problem; the industry term for this is "mitigation," if Cape Wind is permitted and construction begins.

But the process has become a handy tool for developers rather than a safety net for anyone needing protection.

IT is time for UK governments to take a serious look at how we manage the seas. The current position is shambolic.......The sea is particularly important to Wales because she has a disproportionately long and beautiful coastline and also has a disproportionately high dependency on the tourism industry.

The nuclear industry will pay for a new campaign involving Moore and Whitman. No doubt anti-nukes will accuse them of “selling out.” But that is hard to do here. Both individuals have a strong record of environmentalism.

Since the PSB alone cannot change the system, I hope that it will work with the legislature to change the law, to develop a process for independent review of all the evidence. Conflicting claims should not be adjudicated in an adversarial forum.

Were he to point the finger at the burning of millions of tonnes of hydrocarbons every day by aircraft worldwide, he might be nearer the mark.

Any suggestion by the Bracks Government that the power from wind farms would just supply the grid and offset that used by the desalination plant is clearly a deception aimed at smudging reality. The fact is, wind turbines in South Gippsland, like at many other places around the globe, produce little power and what they produce is unreliable.

A staffer at the Helena-based Montana Environmental Information Center recently professed mystification over state energy policy. “I don't know why we're not putting as much energy behind wind development as we are to coal development,” he said. The answer is simple. Most people want the lights to come on when they flip the switch, and they don't want to go broke when they do.

There were many testimonies as to how wind turbines would ruin beautiful Garrett County's rural landscape. But more importantly pointed out were all the misconceptions and mistruths that the wind companies have been advertising and lobbying. Wind turbines provide meaningless energy because there is no capacity. This means that the wind turbines can produce energy only when the wind is blowing and not provide meaningful energy when it is needed the most, with no possible way of storing the energy for later usage when it could actually help. Therefore, not a single coal-fired plant could ever be replaced or kept from being built by constructing wind turbines. It was clear to me and almost everyone present that the many cons of wind turbine installation on state lands far outweigh the very few pros. It was also crystal clear to me that Garrett County does not want wind turbines.