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OT: Eminent Oxford Scientist Says Wind Power "Fails On Every Count"

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The contortions some people go through are mind boggling. It's not so surprising, but still highly hypocritical, that I don't recall anyone who loves fossil fuels and hates renewable fuels getting all worked up about the fact that fossil fuel power plants kill far more birds per kwhr than renewables do. So now they've had to move on to making shit up about windmills and whales.

The study estimates that wind farms and nuclear power stations are responsible each for between 0.3 and 0.4 (bird) fatalities per gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity while fossil-fueled power stations are responsible for about 5.2 fatalities per GWh.

https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v37y2009i6p2241-2248.html
They aren't making stuff up about windmill construction and whales. Using sonar disorientates the mammals. People like you are in denial about the whale deaths.

Look at the government proposals for windmill construction. There is a certain amount of Takes (Kills) of marine mammals anticipated during the floor mapping and construction of these farms. The anticipated death of whales and other mammals is right in the proposal but NJ/NY politicians act like there's no proof that the work is killing these animals.

Here is a link to a future work proposal and some of what is written in it.



NMFS has received a request from Sunrise Wind, LLC (Sunrise Wind), a 50/50 joint venture between Ørsted North America, Inc. (Ørsted) and Eversource Investment, LLC, for Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA) pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The requested regulations would govern the authorization of take, by Level A harassment and/or Level B harassment, of small numbers of marine mammals over the course of 5 years (2023-2028) incidental to construction of the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project offshore of New York in a designated lease area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS-A-0487). Project activities likely to result in incidental take include pile driving (impact and vibratory), potential unexploded ordnance or munitions and explosives of concern (UXO/MEC) detonation, and vessel-based site assessment surveys using high-resolution geophysical (HRG) equipment. NMFS requests comments on this proposed rule. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the promulgation of the requested ITR and issuance of the LOA; agency responses to public comments will be summarized in the final rule, if issued. The proposed regulations, if adopted, would be effective November 20, 2023-November 19, 2028.


Purpose and Need for Regulatory Action​





This proposed rule, if adopted, would provide a framework under the authority of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) to allow for the authorization of take of marine mammals incidental to construction of the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0487 and along an export cable corridor to a landfall location in New York. NMFS received a request from Sunrise Wind for 5-year regulations and an LOA that would authorize take of individuals of 16 species of marine mammals by harassment only (four species by Level A harassment and Level B harassment and 12 species by Level B harassment) incidental to Sunrise Wind's construction activities. No mortality or serious injury is anticipated or proposed for authorization. Please see the Estimated Take of Marine Mammals section below for definitions of harassment.



Legal Authority for the Proposed Action​


The MMPA prohibits the “take” of marine mammals, with certain exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain findings are made, regulations are promulgated, and public notice and an opportunity for public comment are provided.


Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or stock(s) for taking for subsistence uses (where relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other “means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact” on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance, and on the availability of the species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to as “mitigation”); and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of the takings are set forth. The definitions of all applicable MMPA statutory terms cited above are included below.


Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA and the implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 216, subpart I provide the legal basis for proposing and, if appropriate, issuing 5-year regulations and an associated LOA. This proposed rule also establishes required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements for Sunrise Wind's activities.


Summary of Major Provisions Within the Proposed Rule​


The major provisions within this proposed rule are as follows:


• Establishing a seasonal moratorium on impact pile driving during the months of highest North Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis) presence in the project area (January 1-April 30);
 
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If they don't care about viruses and bacteria, why would they care about smog?

How much smog does natural gas produce? How much does nuclear produce? They are trying to breach the Snake River hydro dams because it impacts the salmon run, though there still is a salmon run 60 years after they were placed in service. The only nations burning more coal in the industrial world are India, China and Germany. And Germany was forced into it by shutting down almost all their nukes.
 
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They aren't making stuff up about windmill construction and whales. Using sonar disorientates the mammals. People like you are in denial about the whale deaths.

Look at the government proposals for windmill construction. There is a certain amount of Takes (Kills) of marine mammals anticipated during the floor mapping and construction of these farms. The anticipated death of whales and other mammals is right in the proposal but NJ/NY politicians act like there's no proof that the work is killing these animals.

Here is a link to a future work proposal and some of what is written in it.



NMFS has received a request from Sunrise Wind, LLC (Sunrise Wind), a 50/50 joint venture between Ørsted North America, Inc. (Ørsted) and Eversource Investment, LLC, for Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA) pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The requested regulations would govern the authorization of take, by Level A harassment and/or Level B harassment, of small numbers of marine mammals over the course of 5 years (2023-2028) incidental to construction of the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project offshore of New York in a designated lease area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS-A-0487). Project activities likely to result in incidental take include pile driving (impact and vibratory), potential unexploded ordnance or munitions and explosives of concern (UXO/MEC) detonation, and vessel-based site assessment surveys using high-resolution geophysical (HRG) equipment. NMFS requests comments on this proposed rule. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the promulgation of the requested ITR and issuance of the LOA; agency responses to public comments will be summarized in the final rule, if issued. The proposed regulations, if adopted, would be effective November 20, 2023-November 19, 2028.


Purpose and Need for Regulatory Action​





This proposed rule, if adopted, would provide a framework under the authority of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) to allow for the authorization of take of marine mammals incidental to construction of the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0487 and along an export cable corridor to a landfall location in New York. NMFS received a request from Sunrise Wind for 5-year regulations and an LOA that would authorize take of individuals of 16 species of marine mammals by harassment only (four species by Level A harassment and Level B harassment and 12 species by Level B harassment) incidental to Sunrise Wind's construction activities. No mortality or serious injury is anticipated or proposed for authorization. Please see the Estimated Take of Marine Mammals section below for definitions of harassment.



Legal Authority for the Proposed Action​


The MMPA prohibits the “take” of marine mammals, with certain exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain findings are made, regulations are promulgated, and public notice and an opportunity for public comment are provided.


Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or stock(s) for taking for subsistence uses (where relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other “means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact” on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance, and on the availability of the species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to as “mitigation”); and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of the takings are set forth. The definitions of all applicable MMPA statutory terms cited above are included below.


Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA and the implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 216, subpart I provide the legal basis for proposing and, if appropriate, issuing 5-year regulations and an associated LOA. This proposed rule also establishes required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements for Sunrise Wind's activities.


Summary of Major Provisions Within the Proposed Rule​


The major provisions within this proposed rule are as follows:


• Establishing a seasonal moratorium on impact pile driving during the months of highest North Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis) presence in the project area (January 1-April 30);
Though I'm sure you have long been a proponent of saving whales, do you think that sonar and the construction of oil/gas platforms and pipelines at sea also cause the same problems, to say nothing of oil spills? Do you think Exxon Valdez was bad for whales?
 

Plans to build an innovative new nuclear power plant—and thus revitalize the struggling U.S. nuclear industry—have taken a hit as in recent weeks: Eight of the 36 public utilities that had signed on to help build the plant have backed out of the deal. The withdrawals come just months after the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), which intends to buy the plant containing 12 small modular reactors from NuScale Power, announced that completion of the project would be delayed by 3 years to 2030. It also estimates the cost would climb from $4.2 billion to $6.1 billion.

The deal protects UAMPS customers by specifying a maximum cost for electricity from the plant of $55 per MWh, Webb says, which should make it competitive with the future price of electricity from gas. DOE will help ensure that rate, he says, as it recently finalized a plan to bear $1.4 billion of the cost of the plant. "If it's more than $55 [per MWh] we will not build the plant," he says.




NuScale plans to build a demonstration small modular reactor (SMR) power plant at the Idaho National Laboratory. If successful, the six-reactor, 462 megawatt Carbon Free Power Project will run in 2030.

NuScale said in January the target price for power from the plant is $89 per megawatt hour, up 53% from the previous estimate of $58 per MWh, a jump that raised concerns about whether customers would be willing to pay for the power it generates.

the first article was in Nov 2020 and the second one was in March 2023. I think we need to generate as much power with as many sources as possible, wind, solar, gas, oil and nuclear.

China leads the world in wind generation, solar power generation and EV vehicles. The US should be leading the world in these industries.


China plans to build at least 150 new nuclear reactors over the next 15 years, more than the rest of the world in 35 years. 10 new reactors per year, on average.



The Chinese government has approved the construction of six reactors as part of a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than doubling nuclear power capacity this decade.

Three nuclear power plants in coastal provinces will each receive two new reactors, according to local media. Construction costs are estimated at 120 billion yuan ($18.7 billion) for all six reactors combined, Chinese media report.

China ranks third in the world in terms of installed nuclear power capacity after the U.S. and France. But nuclear energy accounts for only a little over 2% of the nation's power generating capacity, and just 5% of overall electricity output last year.
China installing nuclear power plants, a country that can't even make good nails and screws with a government accountable to nobody? What could go wrong? See, Chernobyl.
 
Though I'm sure you have long been a proponent of saving whales, do you think that sonar and the construction of oil/gas platforms and pipelines at sea also cause the same problems, to say nothing of oil spills? Do you think Exxon Valdez was bad for whales?
I have boycotted Exxon (and then Mobil) since that spill as a result of their poor response in Alaska. It makes it even easier as Exxon usually seems to be priced AT LEST 50 cents more a gallon compared to others.
 
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I have boycotted Exxon (and then Mobil) since that spill as a result of their poor response in Alaska. It makes it even easier as Exxon usually seems to be priced AT LEST 50 cents more a gallon compared to others.
Apparently, I have been boycotting Exxon/Mobil also
 
China installing nuclear power plants, a country that can't even make good nails and screws with a government accountable to nobody? What could go wrong? See, Chernobyl.
Oh come on. China has clearly demonstrated a safety-first mindset in other technically dangerous areas. Just look at BSL4 laboratories as an example...
 
You mean purpose-built "generating subs"? My guess is there would be a lot of concerns about that. Foremost in my mind is the fact that building a submarine is a very specific thing - even without a nuclear power plant on board a big sub is a f*ck-all expensive thing.

Maybe we should split the difference with these ideas and go with "offshore nuclear power plants" built on platforms. FWIW, the NuScale SMR containment structure is 75 feet by 15 feet. You could fit that pretty much anywhere, bearing in mind that it's only containment and doesn't include generation and control.
I don't know why my messages Ms went to nuclear subs when a nuclear carrier was more along lines of what I was thinking.

I do think it's a really interesting concept. Why couldn't you position these 50 mikes offshore? The already low meltdown risk would be mitigated because you're over the ocean, the ships could sail to a port to safety remove or process waste, and it's not unprecedented given the large volume of nuclear warships that patrol the seas already.
 
I don't know why my messages Ms went to nuclear subs when a nuclear carrier was more along lines of what I was thinking.

I do think it's a really interesting concept. Why couldn't you position these 50 mikes offshore? The already low meltdown risk would be mitigated because you're over the ocean, the ships could sail to a port to safety remove or process waste, and it's not unprecedented given the large volume of nuclear warships that patrol the seas already.

How about the cost and maintenance of 50 miles of transmission lines?
 
China installing nuclear power plants, a country that can't even make good nails and screws with a government accountable to nobody? What could go wrong? See, Chernobyl.
They already have 48 nuclear power plant. They lead in EV vehicles, wind power, solar power, and are second in nuclear power after the US.

I know they are incompetent but why do we import so much from China?




The AP1000 pressurized-water reactor, designed by Westinghouse, is a 21st-century “new” reactor. It’s been deployed in just two other places, in China, with two AP1000 reactors at the Sanmen Nuclear Power Station in Zheijang province and two at the Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant in Shandong province. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the AP1000 reactors at these locations operate at 1,157 megawatts and 1,126 MW, respectively.

In 2005, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certified the AP1000 design, clearing the way for its sale and installation at these three sites more than a decade later. Last year, Dan Brouillette, the U.S. secretary of energy, wrote in a blog post: “The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is all in on new nuclear energy.”

Sounds like American made nuclear reactors installed in China. I worked at Westinghouse for 20 years in different division.
 
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I don't know why my messages Ms went to nuclear subs when a nuclear carrier was more along lines of what I was thinking.

I do think it's a really interesting concept. Why couldn't you position these 50 mikes offshore? The already low meltdown risk would be mitigated because you're over the ocean, the ships could sail to a port to safety remove or process waste, and it's not unprecedented given the large volume of nuclear warships that patrol the seas already.

It's not without some glamour, but I wonder about the practicalities. What do you do with the transfer conduits when the ship sails to port? You can't very well just drop them in the ocean, which means (for this and other reasons) there would have to be a fixed, anchored power coupling.
 
Though I'm sure you have long been a proponent of saving whales, do you think that sonar and the construction of oil/gas platforms and pipelines at sea also cause the same problems, to say nothing of oil spills? Do you think Exxon Valdez was bad for whales?
Anything that uses sonar and blasting affects whales and dolphins. I've done a lot of salt water fishing inshore and offshore and absolutely love these animals. For the government to deny that the building of the wind farms is hurting them is complete bs. And how will these windmills affect these animals and other marine animals when they are online?

We need to go nuclear to secure our energy future if we are phasing out fossil fuels.
 
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Anything that uses sonar and blasting affects whales and dolphins. I've done a lot of salt water fishing inshore and offshore and absolutely love these animals. For the government to deny that the building of the wind farms is hurting them is complete bs. And how will these windmills affect these animals and other marine animals when they are online?

We need to go nuclear to secure our energy future if we are phasing out fossil fuels.
10 years to build our nuclear plants.
 
It's not without some glamour, but I wonder about the practicalities. What do you do with the transfer conduits when the ship sails to port? You can't very well just drop them in the ocean, which means (for this and other reasons) there would have to be a fixed, anchored power coupling.
Could bouy it, but natal some fixed architecture, etc.

I think the idea sinks because people are scared of nuclear.
 
It's a technical feasibility, although there's been little implementation.

I've personally believed for a long time that the best application for nuclear lies with smaller, more modular power systems as opposed to the very large scale facilities that we typically associate with "nuclear energy". The USN has vast experience in perfecting the art so there's certainly sufficient basis for building something operational that could, for example, power a small city. Much smaller plants means better scalability, IMO.
And reduced time to completion. One of my cringes when people say "just use more nuclear", is the time to design/permit/construct/power up a new nuke plant is measured in decades. Sure lets add nukes, but what are we going to do for the next 20 years until it is actually putting power on the grid.

The concept of smaller/modular/pre-fabbed nukes helps address that.
 
And reduced time to completion. One of my cringes when people say "just use more nuclear", is the time to design/permit/construct/power up a new nuke plant is measured in decades. Sure lets add nukes, but what are we going to do for the next 20 years until it is actually putting power on the grid.

The concept of smaller/modular/pre-fabbed nukes helps address that.
Exactly! I probably won’t be around when the next nuclear age starts. 60% of the posters were be around when the new nuclear reactor is ready.
 
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They aren't making stuff up about windmill construction and whales. Using sonar disorientates the mammals. People like you are in denial about the whale deaths.

Look at the government proposals for windmill construction. There is a certain amount of Takes (Kills) of marine mammals anticipated during the floor mapping and construction of these farms. The anticipated death of whales and other mammals is right in the proposal but NJ/NY politicians act like there's no proof that the work is killing these animals.

Here is a link to a future work proposal and some of what is written in it.



NMFS has received a request from Sunrise Wind, LLC (Sunrise Wind), a 50/50 joint venture between Ørsted North America, Inc. (Ørsted) and Eversource Investment, LLC, for Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) and an associated Letter of Authorization (LOA) pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The requested regulations would govern the authorization of take, by Level A harassment and/or Level B harassment, of small numbers of marine mammals over the course of 5 years (2023-2028) incidental to construction of the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project offshore of New York in a designated lease area on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS-A-0487). Project activities likely to result in incidental take include pile driving (impact and vibratory), potential unexploded ordnance or munitions and explosives of concern (UXO/MEC) detonation, and vessel-based site assessment surveys using high-resolution geophysical (HRG) equipment. NMFS requests comments on this proposed rule. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the promulgation of the requested ITR and issuance of the LOA; agency responses to public comments will be summarized in the final rule, if issued. The proposed regulations, if adopted, would be effective November 20, 2023-November 19, 2028.


Purpose and Need for Regulatory Action​





This proposed rule, if adopted, would provide a framework under the authority of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) to allow for the authorization of take of marine mammals incidental to construction of the Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm Project within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0487 and along an export cable corridor to a landfall location in New York. NMFS received a request from Sunrise Wind for 5-year regulations and an LOA that would authorize take of individuals of 16 species of marine mammals by harassment only (four species by Level A harassment and Level B harassment and 12 species by Level B harassment) incidental to Sunrise Wind's construction activities. No mortality or serious injury is anticipated or proposed for authorization. Please see the Estimated Take of Marine Mammals section below for definitions of harassment.



Legal Authority for the Proposed Action​


The MMPA prohibits the “take” of marine mammals, with certain exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain findings are made, regulations are promulgated, and public notice and an opportunity for public comment are provided.


Authorization for incidental takings shall be granted if NMFS finds that the taking will have a negligible impact on the species or stock(s) and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of the species or stock(s) for taking for subsistence uses (where relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other “means of effecting the least practicable adverse impact” on the affected species or stocks and their habitat, paying particular attention to rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of similar significance, and on the availability of the species or stocks for taking for certain subsistence uses (referred to as “mitigation”); and requirements pertaining to the mitigation, monitoring and reporting of the takings are set forth. The definitions of all applicable MMPA statutory terms cited above are included below.


Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the MMPA and the implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 216, subpart I provide the legal basis for proposing and, if appropriate, issuing 5-year regulations and an associated LOA. This proposed rule also establishes required mitigation, monitoring, and reporting requirements for Sunrise Wind's activities.


Summary of Major Provisions Within the Proposed Rule​


The major provisions within this proposed rule are as follows:


• Establishing a seasonal moratorium on impact pile driving during the months of highest North Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis) presence in the project area (January 1-April 30);
Curious if you read what you posted? From your quote I find the following statement:

"No mortality or serious injury is anticipated or proposed for authorization. Please see the Estimated Take of Marine Mammals section below for definitions of harassment."​

"Takes" as defined in by the MMPA does not mean deaths. A "take" could be a simple as a boat doing construction scaring a whale and making it swim away.
 
Curious if you read what you posted? From your quote I find the following statement:

"No mortality or serious injury is anticipated or proposed for authorization. Please see the Estimated Take of Marine Mammals section below for definitions of harassment."​

"Takes" as defined in by the MMPA does not mean deaths. A "take" could be a simple as a boat doing construction scaring a whale and making it swim away.
He obviously didn't read what he had posted or the link he posted or anything else regarding marine mammal "takes" which are allowed under certain circumstances, as per the MMPA (Marine Mammal Protection Act), excerpted below, as long as the "take" is limited to incidental harrassment. There is no expectation that marine mammals will be killed by the sound studies and construction activities - in fact both are highly regulated to ensure minimal impact. And as many of us have said several times, once in place, the threat of operating offshore windmills to marine mammals is essentially zero. It's astounding how little people actually read and research things before they post them.

https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...ctivities-taking-marine-mammals-incidental-to

The MMPA prohibits the “take” of marine mammals, with certain exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain findings are made and either regulations are proposed or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a proposed incidental harassment authorization is provided to the public for review.
 
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He did that in March 2020, as I recall.

You still lick toilets to show off what an alpha moron you are?
Yes and the Moose remembers everything. I suspect he still does. There’s only one place I put my tongue and that involves my lady but I can’t go into too much detail. We never had “Covid” and are healthy
 
They already have 48 nuclear power plant. They lead in EV vehicles, wind power, solar power, and are second in nuclear power after the US.

I know they are incompetent but why do we import so much from China?




The AP1000 pressurized-water reactor, designed by Westinghouse, is a 21st-century “new” reactor. It’s been deployed in just two other places, in China, with two AP1000 reactors at the Sanmen Nuclear Power Station in Zheijang province and two at the Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant in Shandong province. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the AP1000 reactors at these locations operate at 1,157 megawatts and 1,126 MW, respectively.

In 2005, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) certified the AP1000 design, clearing the way for its sale and installation at these three sites more than a decade later. Last year, Dan Brouillette, the U.S. secretary of energy, wrote in a blog post: “The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is all in on new nuclear energy.”

Sounds like American made nuclear reactors installed in China. I worked at Westinghouse for 20 years in different division.
It's a good question. I've been shaking my head all along, just as I did when I watched the Germans tie themselves to Russian gas. Do people really think these power-mad regimes are always going to play by the rules? Both Russia and China have been using trade to bully others for a long time and have only gotten worse over time because they've gotten away with it. I hope a moment won't come with China like it has with Russia but I'm not hugely optimistic.
 
Oh come on. China has clearly demonstrated a safety-first mindset in other technically dangerous areas. Just look at BSL4 laboratories as an example...
They slap up 30 story skyscrapers in 14 days. I hope they don't try to do the same with nuclear power plants.
 
And reduced time to completion. One of my cringes when people say "just use more nuclear", is the time to design/permit/construct/power up a new nuke plant is measured in decades. Sure lets add nukes, but what are we going to do for the next 20 years until it is actually putting power on the grid.

The concept of smaller/modular/pre-fabbed nukes helps address that.
Not to mention, a lot of this talk about newer, smaller, safer power plants is just that--talk. It's technology that hasn't been developed yet. A lot of green technology has yet to be developed but it's a lot safer and simpler. Any kind of nuclear power plant is going to have to be a complex thing with multiple layers of safety and so is going to take time. Next-generation windmills or solar panels are like Legos in comparison.
 
He obviously didn't read what he had posted or the link he posted or anything else regarding marine mammal "takes" which are allowed under certain circumstances, as per the MMPA (Marine Mammal Protection Act), excerpted below, as long as the "take" is limited to incidental harrassment. There is no expectation that marine mammals will be killed by the sound studies and construction activities - in fact both are highly regulated to ensure minimal impact. And as many of us have said several times, once in place, the threat of operating offshore windmills to marine mammals is essentially zero. It's astounding how little people actually read and research things before they post them.

https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...ctivities-taking-marine-mammals-incidental-to

The MMPA prohibits the “take” of marine mammals, with certain exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce (as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon request, the incidental, but not intentional, taking of small numbers of marine mammals by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographical region if certain findings are made and either regulations are proposed or, if the taking is limited to harassment, a notice of a proposed incidental harassment authorization is provided to the public for review.

You're wrong. For a scientist you don't come off as very smart.

I read this article a month ago. And take means death or injury, not just injury. And injuring them can lead to death. Have you read up on the potential impact the noise from the farms can have on them with how they communicate? How the farms affect fish.

Marine Mammal Authorization Program​

The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits killing or injuring marine mammals except under certain circumstances. The Marine Mammal Authorization Program provides an annual exemption for accidentally killing or injuring marine mammals—referred to as incidental take—during commercial fishing operations.



 
Curious if you read what you posted? From your quote I find the following statement:

"No mortality or serious injury is anticipated or proposed for authorization. Please see the Estimated Take of Marine Mammals section below for definitions of harassment."​

"Takes" as defined in by the MMPA does not mean deaths. A "take" could be a simple as a boat doing construction scaring a whale and making it swim away.
Yes, I read it.

And I've seen the unusual amount of whales that washed up over the last few months. Funny, didn't they start mapping the ocean floor recently. It's known that this type of activity disorientates mammals like whales. This wouldn't have anything to do with the whales dying at alarming rates this year, would it?
 
It could be argued that the basic arithmetic showing wind power is an economic and societal disaster in the making should be clear to a bright primary school child. Now the Oxford University mathematician and physicist, researcher at CERN and Fellow of Keble College, Emeritus Professor Wade Allison has done the sums. The U.K. is facing the likelihood of a failure in the electricity supply, he concludes.

“Wind power fails on every count,” he says, adding that governments are ignoring “overwhelming evidence” of the inadequacies of wind power, “and resorting to bluster rather than reasoned analysis”.
Professor Allison’s dire warnings are contained in a short paper recently published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation. He notes that the energy provided by the Sun is “extremely weak”, which is why it was unable to provide the energy to sustain even a small global population before the Industrial Revolution with an acceptable standard of living. A similar point was made recently in more dramatic fashion by the nuclear physicist Dr. Wallace Manheimer. He argued that the infrastructure around wind and solar will not only fail, “but will cost trillions, trash large portions of the environment and be entirely unnecessary”.

In his paper, Allison concentrates on working out the numbers that lie behind the natural fluctuations in the wind. The full workings out are not complicated and can be assessed from the link above. He shows that at a wind speed of 20mph, the power produced by a wind turbine is 600 watts per square metre at full efficiency. To deliver the same power as the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant – 3,200 million watts – it would require 5.5 million square metres of turbine swept area.

It is noted that this should be quite unacceptable to those who care about birds and other environmentalists. Of course, this concern does not seem to have materialised to date. Millions of bats and birds are calculated to be slaughtered by onshore wind turbines every year. Meanwhile, off the coast of Massachusetts, work is about to start on a giant wind farm, complete with permits to harass and likely injure almost a tenth of the population of the rare North Atlantic Right whale.

When fluctuations in wind speed are taken into account in Allison’s formula, the performance of wind becomes very much worse. If the wind speed drops by half, the power available falls by a factor of eight. Almost worse, he notes, if the wind speed doubles, the power delivered goes up eight times, and the turbine has to be turned off for its own protection.



The effect of the enhanced fluctuations is dramatic, as shown in the graph above. The installed nominal generating capacity in the EU and U.K. in 2021, shown by the brown dashed line, was 236 GW, but the highest daily output was only 103 GW on March 26th. The unreliability is shown to even greater effect in the second graph that plots the wind generated offshore in the U.K. in March last year.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/eminent-oxford-scientist-says-wind-power-fails-every-count
Energy is complicated. Any argument that begins “this should be on obvious to a child” is probably wrong.
 
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Yeah, those internet tests add some points, dude. I took a few and always wind up around 160.
Then you would pass my proposed voter IQ qualification requirement by ~10 points, although, as you point out, internet tests are probably mostly unreliable.

Very, very few would pass. Which is the point of the requirement. I know I'm being elitist here, but I feel our nation would be far better off doing this. I could be talked into adjusting the low end up or down some.

OTOH, we might also want to also cap it somewhere. Because as IQs climb, the correlation with certain antisocial tendencies seems to increase too. I have worked with some extraordinarily smart people whose antisocial tendencies made them very hard to work with. And they can sometimes be more than a little worrying in a "they're gonna climb a clock tower any minute" kind of way. I'd like to avoid the possibility that we might see an increase in the percentage of voters who feel we should just exterminate people who don't qualify to vote.
 
Then you would pass my proposed voter IQ qualification requirement by ~10 points, although, as you point out, internet tests are probably mostly unreliable.

Very, very few would pass. Which is the point of the requirement. I know I'm being elitist here, but I feel our nation would be far better off doing this. I could be talked into adjusting the low end up or down some.

OTOH, we might also want to also cap it somewhere. Because as IQs climb, the correlation with certain antisocial tendencies seems to increase too. I have worked with some extraordinarily smart people whose antisocial tendencies made them very hard to work with. And they can sometimes be more than a little worrying in a "they're gonna climb a clock tower any minute" kind of way. I'd like to avoid the possibility that we might see an increase in the percentage of voters who feel we should just exterminate people who don't qualify to vote.

Ya know, franchise isn't really well-defined in the Constitution and has been codified mostly by amendment and subsequent legislation. A test could be on the table.
 
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Because as IQs climb, the correlation with certain antisocial tendencies seems to increase too. I have worked with some extraordinarily smart people whose antisocial tendencies made them very hard to work with.

You've worked with Stanford law students?
 
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