GREENIE VERSUS GREENIE: WINDFARMS VERSUS BIRDS

You may remember the early computer game called "Spy versus Spy". Truth is stranger than fiction

"The Center for Biological Diversity ("CBD") filed a lawsuit today against Florida energy producer FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE symbol: FPL) and Danish wind power company NEG Micon A/S for their part in the illegal ongoing killing of tens of thousands of protected birds by wind turbines at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area ("APWRA") in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Through their subsidiaries and associated entities, FPL Group and NEG Micon own or operate roughly half of the approximately 5,400 wind turbines at the APWRA. Each year, wind turbines at the APWRA kill up to 60 or more golden eagles and hundreds of other hawks, owls, and other protected raptors. These bird kills have continued for 20 years in flagrant violation of the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and several California Fish and Game Code provisions. The lawsuit alleges that these violations and bird kills are unlawful and unfair business practices under the California Business and Professions Code.

"Altamont Pass wind turbines are causing extremely high levels of bird mortality along a major raptor migration route and are likely depleting eagle, hawk, and owl populations not only locally but throughout the western U. S.," said Jeff Miller, spokesperson for CBD. "We absolutely support wind power, but it is past time for the primary turbine owners, FPL Energy and NEG Micon, to address this problem.... "Altamont Pass has become a death zone for eagles and other magnificent and imperiled birds of prey. Recent studies have proposed numerous recommendations for mitigating the devastating effect of Altamont Pass wind turbines on birds, yet the industry is blindly charging ahead replacing existing turbines with new and much larger turbines without any requirement of effective preventative measures or remediation for ongoing bird kills," said Richard Wiebe, attorney for the plaintiffs....

The extraordinary numbers of raptor deaths continue unabated, due in part to the complete regulatory failure by federal, state, and local officials to enforce wildlife protection laws. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U. S. Attorney's Office, California Department of Fish and Game, and Alameda and Contra Costa Counties bear equal responsibility for the ongoing bird atrocity at Altamont for their failure to impose any meaningful mitigation requirements or protective measures on the Altamont Pass wind power industry," stated Miller.

To add insult to injury, the Altamont Pass wind power industry has been receiving massive tax credits as well as government cash grants funded by surcharges imposed on California's electricity consumers as part of the state's flawed deregulation plan, all of which serve to subsidize the killing of birds. "The wind power industry receives tens of millions of dollars in revenue from California's consumers, as well as enormous tax credits and government subsidies, based on the perception that it provides `green' energy, yet continues to kill thousands of protected birds annually," said Miller. "The Altamont companies routinely kill rare birds that are the natural heritage of all Californians, and take taxpayer subsidies home to Florida and Denmark." According to wind industry reports, the Altamont Pass fiasco has tainted public perception of wind energy and hampered wind power development, as concerns about bird impacts has delayed or discontinued other wind facilities."

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WIND FARM BLOWN AWAY

It's slowly happening

A Brisbane wind-farm company has bowed to community protest and withdrawn from a controversial $100 million project on Victoria's picturesque western coastline. The move comes as the Victorian parliament this week prepares to debate a new bill on wind energy development.

However, the Bracks Government denied the scrapping of Nirranda Wind Farm, 20km east of Warnambool, was a setback to its plans to have 1000 megawatts of wind generating capacity installed in Victoria by 2006. Energy Minister Theo Theophanous said the decision not to go ahead with Nirranda was in keeping with the Government's "appropriate and sustainable development of the Great Ocean Road" area. Mr Theophanous said the Government preferred wind farms to be located inland and Brisbane company Stanwell's decision meant there was now only one coastal farm among nine proposals before the state Government. However, of the three wind farms already operating, two are on the coast and another three have been approved for coastal areas.

The decision to abandon the Nirranda plant, at the scenic Bay of Islands, is believed to be the first time the company has withdrawn a wind farm application. Geelong Ocean Road Marketing chairman Roger Grant led the community campaign against the Nirranda development. He said the decision was "a victory for common sense and for the protection of one of the most beautiful places in the world". It is the second proposed wind farm to be axed in Victoria this year. Plans for a wind farm being built by a different company at nearby Nirranda South were scrapped in September.

Another coastal wind farm at Bald Hills, in South Gippsland, is embroiled in a wave of protest that became an election issue in the federal seat of McMillan and helped the Coalition's Russell Broadbent oust the sitting member. At the height of the campaign, British environmentalist David Bellamy visited Bald Hills and spoke out against wind farms.

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"GREEN" TREES! CAPITALISM CATERS TO A GREENIE FAD

But they're not rushing to buy. How surprising.

There are tall, thick alders and gargantuan maples on John Henrikson's land that could line his pockets handsomely if he cut them for timber, but he leaves most of them standing - cutting only the ones nearing the end of their life span. "I'm not going to touch this," he said, admiring one of the red alders on his 100 acres in this tiny town in southwestern Washington. "This is an unbelievably healthy tree." That attitude goes along with his desire to get "green certification" - sort of like an "organically grown" label on produce - for his trees.

He's thought about trying to do that through the environmentally strict Forest Stewardship Council, an independent group based in Germany that promotes environmentally appropriate and socially beneficial use of forests, but he can't afford it. It can cost thousands of dollars just to get a tract of land checked out for that organization. Soon, though, Henrikson and several other western Washington forest owners will band together in their own certification group. At most a five-year contract will cost him $1,000, and he he'll get help marketing his eco-friendly wood to mills. "This is a good opportunity for me," Henrikson said. "The alternative prior to this was doing it on my own, which would be too expensive and a difficult process trying to figure out by myself."

Green certification of forest products is an emerging market that's gaining ground in places like Washington state that encourage environmentally sound building techniques for big public projects. In addition, major retailers including Home Depot and Lowe's have buying policies that favor certified wood. Most of the flooring Starbucks buys is green certified, and Swedish furniture retailer IKEA is a big buyer, said Michael Washburn, vice president of forestry and marketing for the U.S. chapter of the Forest Stewardship Council.

Landowners aren't expecting to make a quick buck because most mills aren't yet clamoring for green-certified wood. They see green certification as more of a rewarding seal of approval for the extra care they take logging their land than any sure economic bet. "Making forestry profitable is a lot tougher than it used to be, but this program gives landowners a new opportunity to connect with consumers that value their work," said Ian Hanna, who will run the group certification program Henrikson plans to join when it launches early next year. Homeowners planning do-it-yourself projects are not likely to find a neat stack of certified 2-by-4s at the local lumber yard. In most cases, it has to be specially ordered. It's often around 10 percent more expensive, industry experts say.

Eric Fritch, a mill owner in Snohomish, has been buying and selling certified wood for about three years and sees it as a promising product - especially in a region as eco-friendly as the Pacific Northwest. He's already told the Northwest Natural Resource Group he's eager to buy more certified wood and will pay an extra $25 for every 1,000 board feet over what he pays for noncertified wood. As long as he breaks even, he said he's willing to give the market time to mature.

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Many people would like to be kind to others so Leftists exploit that with their nonsense about equality. Most people want a clean, green environment so Greenies exploit that by inventing all sorts of far-fetched threats to the environment. But for both, the real motive is to promote themselves as wiser and better than everyone else, truth regardless.

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