Picture the forests of wind turbines — giant metal and polymer structures breaking the horizon at every turn — secured with tons of concrete planted in giant holes dug into the “rural natural scenery.” And just below that, a chunk of once scenic mountainside, farm, or field will need to be cleared for solar panel farms that will make the earth beneath them useless for much else.
The following commentary by Steve MacDonald has been republished with permission from GraniteGrok.
Fifty-five years ago, the state of Vermont became the first in the nation to ban roadside billboards. I didn’t know that, but now that I do, celebrating the “accomplishment” — and they are — given the current direction of state energy policy is ridiculous.
In the late 60s and early 70s, state lawmakers examined a number of environmental bills including Act 250, the bottle bill, and a billboard ban. Former state Representative Ted Riehle, R-South Burlington, spearheaded the initiative to ban off-premise advertising. The landmark law is widely credited with helping Vermont maintain its rural natural scenery.
Environmental groups today say the tourism industry saw the bill as an economic opportunity. “I can’t tell you how many people visit me and say, ‘Wow, something’s really different here, I can’t put my finger on it’ — for days. Or, they will say, ‘Wow, there are no billboards. All of a sudden, I’m not attacked by advertising by every turn in the road,‘“ said Brian Shupe with the Vermont Natural Resources Council.
Rural natural scenery. Environmental groups say. Something’s really different here.
If you missed it, the Democrat-run state of Vermont has been on a fast train to a California-style green energy utopia. Electric everything, and you can’t use nuclear. Hydro is bad (for reasons still unclear). Still, they need to produce enough electricity from the sun and the breeze to power everything, so the state will need to erect a significant number of scenery-disrupting solar and wind farms.
It’s the law, and rather than repeal that or rewrite it, they are committed to ending fossil fuel-powered cars and replacing gas, coal, and oil with electricity. To do that, the landscape will need to be thoroughly transformed. Picture the forests of wind turbines — giant metal and polymer structures breaking the horizon at every turn, secured with tons of concrete planted in giant holes dug into the “rural natural scenery.” And just below that, a chunk of once scenic mountainside, farm, or field will need to be cleared for solar panel farms that will make the earth beneath them useless for much else.
And don’t forget the new infrastructure to store or carry all this scrumptious planet-saving “green” energy. You will need banks of batteries, transfer technology, quite a few additional transformers (at nearly every turn of the road), and more or newer overhead transmission lines crisscrossing the state.
But hey. Congrats on the billboard ban thing. Great work.
Great idea for billboards! Just makem’ look and act like a windmill!
https://choiceclips.whatfinger.com/2023/05/22/crime-of-the-century-top-10-memes-watch-maga/
For your viewing pleasure.
In a matter of weeks the headlines in Vermont will read:
Untreated Sewage Dumped into Lake Champlain!
Who would of thought that would happen, again? Wait for it or make it a real issue. The ‘Progressives’ and so called ‘Environmentalists’ have been in charge of Burlington for decades so there is no deflecting on who is responsible.
Wait there’s more, lets dump PFAs into the Winooski River from waste ‘juice’. The environmentalists in Montpelier seem to be alright with that…but WE shouldn’t be.
I can’t imagine the thought process behind allowing this ‘juice’ to happen in the first place. Maybe once or twice but to keep doing it and then change the subject instead of planning for containment and further treatment, these people are a joke.
Let’s get passionate about it, be real about it. We need to save the great state of Vermont from these progressive environmentalists before they turn it into a toxic waste dump!
What is the recycling plan for all this junk when it goes bad?
Vermont can hardly deal with the trash now.. as with all of New England for that matter.
So ain’t it something that the state that thinks billboards are so ugly then thinks loping off mountain tops to install dozens of massive wind turbines is a thing of beauty.
There is nothing I’ve seen more unsightly than stunning fields destroyed by solar arrays.. an occasional billboard here and there is about 1000 times less offensive than a state paved by solar arrays.
And where is this all going to go at the end of it’s lifespan?
Will the state that chases out big box stores then create massive dumps for this biohazardous waste or will they go NIMBY and dump their toxic waste in another state like Wyoming?
And what does that cost to do by the way… ya know, how much gas does it take to get all this junk across the country?
When will people see this for the scam that it is?
China laughs at Vermont all the way to the bank..
As a Master PHVAC tech, with a MEd, I can tell you S.5 is a terrible piece of legislation that will cost us all far too much money and do nothing to mitigate worldwide climate change. The only sector that has been advising and upgrading equipment and efficiencies for 40 years now is the PHVAC sector, and we are unified in our opposition w/ good reason and common sense but the legislature is not listening as they push they’re idealism into mandates that should remain choices with rebates and tax breaks. It will be as if we’re all being taxed to spit into the desert in hopes of creating a lake.
Solar panels should be required to be on top of buildings, residences as well as businesses, storage facilities, car ports, garages, etc. Wind turbines should be shorter or designed to be lower to ground to not disturb scenery like those built this far.
Please advise a company and location of a manufacturing plant run solely on solar or wind that generates enough power to produce solar panels, turbines or electric vehicles. Please advise how the resources are acquired and transported to the manufactures? Please advise the composition of wind turbine blades and how they are disposed of when spent or damaged? Please advise the composition of your smart phone, where it is manufactured, and what fuel was used to make the components. How are batteries and chargers made and where? How many solar panels does it take to generate enough power to service metropolitan city, the costs associated, and resources needed to accomplish the task you speak of? I’ll wait.
Your well intended..but do you think you could give me a better solution?
Let’s employ a bit of iterative development and listen to constructive feedback before we commit to outdated solutions. Practical, simple, easy, all natural. Efficiency and exploring better practices should be the focus..not mass producing all of this junk thinking it’s wonderful for 10 years until it becomes very undesirable.
I like solar panels..if people want to invest in them that’s wonderful but tax dollars shouldn’t have anything to do with it. Government shouldn’t be investing by subsidizing solar or wind. Battery storage is about to be revolutionized…but you know what slows down development? Large investments in infrastructure that someone sells you and your very committed to.
Oh come on, you want to stop the tax payer gravy train supporting the lobbyists and their best friends? We’ve got a crony capitalist system we must support in this state!
Next thing, you’ll want accountability for money spent.
Or worse yet a look into grant money.
Vermonters are having a rough enough time trying to make ends meet, now they want us to buy new heating systems, electric cars, solar panels, where do they suppose we’re going to get the money to do this. Vermont is a beautiful state and I love being here, but it is also one of the most expensive states to live in. I think the people in Montpelier are out of touch with what it’s really like to be a Vermonter.
Yup at least the billboards had nice pictures. I always remember waiting to see a new picture on the one going north out of Shelburne. Now we get bird killing wirrly gigs who’s vibrations also effect humans and animals alike. We have moving black rectangles covering what was productive fields and animal habitat. All this blight for limited life objects that produce sub par power. So much foresight was put into this NOT..
And again I say it all could be eliminated with a new efficient clean Nuke power plant. Hell you can even have them underground now so you don’t see much at all.