“A Jill Stein Administration will advance the ecosocialist Real Green New Deal that the Green Party made its signature issue in the 2010s.” (Green Party Platform, below)
The Green Party’s candidate Jill Stein (with running mate Butch Ware) is taking climate more seriously than Kamala Harris. In the Presidential debate, Harris did not dare pronounce the climate-change issue as an “existential threat” as done by her boss, Joe Biden. No mention of a domestic CO2 tax; border tariffs to prevent “leakage”; or global climate governance either. No reference to California, the leading climate state with gasoline prices 50 percent higher, electricity rates double, the national average. And Harris even bragged out the increase in domestic oil and gas production, even though this positive development occurred despite, and not because of, Biden-Harris policy.…
“In areas where wind farms are being developed, invasive species can harm … industries by reducing fish populations, damaging habitats, and deterring tourists who seek intact and diverse marine environments.” – Kieran Kelly, Ocean Integrity (below)
‘It is hard being green, particularly when “green” means being one-dimensional against carbon dioxide (CO2) at the expense of virtually every other metric. Consider wind power, the onshore problems of which (failed past, government dependency, intermittency, site depletion, local warming, noise, avian mortality, health effects) are only magnified offshore (cost premium, wake effect, blade failure, industrialization, hurricanes, pile driving, political bribes).
Kieran Kelly, CEO of Ocean Integrity, “a global organization that aims to reduce ocean plastic pollution and create positive social impact,” recently reported on social media about a particular ecological issue: invasive filter feeders.…
“Modern wind farms are reliable, safe, state-of-the-art power plants with well-tested technologies that meet approved standards and hundreds of thousands of hours of operating experience,” the U.S. Department of Energy states. Except when they fail under normal conditions–or abnormal ones.
“Wind Turbines Destroyed by Typhoon Yagi,” read one recent headline. This (during peak hurricane season 2024) has wind power in the (not-so-good) news. Not only were older turbines destroyed by the 150 mile-per-hour typhoon (Category 4 in hurricane terms); new “more efficient typhoon-resistant versions” were leveled too. For multi-million dollar structures, the risk and the cost of insurance are major issues.
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The U.S. offshore wind industry will be spared–but only because of projects that have been abandoned or delayed. But what would happen if such naked structures are built, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico or off the Atlantic Coast?…