"Energy, Power, Productivity, and Scale: The Continuing Quest for More
Bang for the Buck"
By Jon Boone, Speech for Friends of Maine's Mountains, delivered in February 2014.
"Oxymoronic Wind"
By Jon Boone, February 2011. Also published on MasterResource.
"Overblown"
By Jon Boone, September 2010. Also published on MasterResource.
Check out Robert Bryce's new book, Power Hungry
Purchase on Amazon.com
Read a review by Jon Boone
By Jon Boone. Posted on baltimoresun.com, March 8, 2010
Jon boone was recently inerviewed by Mike Morgan, who runs the Allegheny Treasures website, an organization dedicated to the protection of the Allegheny Mountains as a natural heritage resource. The first focuses on wind and energy; the second upon wind and the environment.
This exchange took place between a member of the Maryland House of Delegates and the MEA, after the delegate challenged the agency's support for wind technology, and then the agency responded back. The delegate responded in turn.
MEA Challenge
Response to MEA Challenge
As an artist and environmentalist who values aesthetics and the methods of science—and wants an effective energy policy—I've looked for evidence substantiating claims made for wind technology by those who would profit from it, financially and ideologically. By evidence, I mean real world encounters with actual performance to see if its key premises are true. Of all people, environmentalists should embrace the skepticism of science, rather than be seduced by deceits of fashion. They should not confuse the trappings of science-the engineering grandeur of a huge wind turbine, for example—with the real work of science, which would insist upon verifying the machine's performance. My values are green; I believe we should conserve, minimizing our footprint on the earth, not intruding on it with bombast and self-serving incivility. Although I understand why well-intentioned people support the wind industry, I'm mindful the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. Environmental history is the chronicle of how adverse consequences flowed from the uninformed decisions of the well intentioned. And simply because a power source is renewable and produces cleanly without burning carbon does not mean it is green.
The purpose of Stopillwind is to provide evidence exposing the limitations of wind technology, both as a system for producing energy and because its massive scale too often threatens sensitive ecosystems and vulnerable wildlife while producing numerous nuisances that erode quality of life for nearby residences and, in many locations, destroy historically significant natural views. Moreover, as an intervenor in two Maryland Public Service Commission wind hearings, I've not been able to substantiate a single claim that wind developers make for their enterprise, including claims about the jobs, local revenues and taxes, and especially the ability of the wind industry to mitigate our dependence on fossil fuels and improve public health. On the other hand, I have been able to validate the substantial income that the industry generates for corporate investors.
Believing the best society should seek informed, enlightened public policy, I'm pleased to share my findings about industrial wind technology as educational resources, so that those who wish to know more about what I've called the wind scam may do so without the investment of years of their time. To facilitate inquiry, this site will continue to include, along the left margins of the home page, a summary statement about Irresponsible Wind Development; a top-ten listing of the most Misleading Wind Industry Claims; a brief statement about what it might take to make the industry "Responsible," although this is increasingly becoming an oxymoron. One may also click on Notable Quotes to see the range of knowledgeable people who have spoken out about the industry's excesses, and also Link to other important websites. To hear how a wind plant will sound to most people over one-half mile away, click on the Simulation of a Proposed Wind Plant in Western Maryland. Finally, under the Commentary section, there will be posted topical articles and ideas on the subject that may be of interest to readers.
The rest of the material will be placed within one of five categories, under Documentation and Downloads:
- Jon Boone's Maryland Public Service Commission Testimony
- Sample Contracts and Wind Easement Agreements
- Speeches and Presentations
- Research and Essays
- Video and Multimedia
The first, the PSC Testimony, provides comprehensive information contained within a typical PSC regulatory hearing, and includes a 40-page document of direct testimony covering a range of issues, along with supplementary testimony, as well as important documents such as responses to data requests and various rebuttal and summary commentaries. These should be invaluable to those seeking information about how to engage a regulatory hearing—and for those who simply want a logical and thorough acquaintance with the many and varied aspects of this complicated business.
Sample Contracts and Easement Agreements will show how one-sided entering into legal relationship with a wind project is likely to be.
Speeches and Presentations will include The Wayward Wind and A Bill of Goods, as well as letters and op ed features made over the years to prominent individuals and organizations.
Research and Essays will include many links to the most recent scientific analyses about industrial wind technology, including The Aesthetic Dissonance of Industrial Wind Machines; Less for More: The Rube Goldberg Nature of Industrial Wind Development; Rockefeller University's Jesse Ausubel's Nuclear and Other Renewable Heresies; the National Research Council's Environmental Effects of Wind Energy; David White's Reduction in Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Estimating the Potential Contribution from Wind-Power; Tom Adam's Review of Wind Power Results in Ontario: May to October 2006; both E.On Netz Wind Reports from 2004 and 2005 in Germany, several articles by Glenn Schleede, and many others.
Video and Multimedia will include links to the documentary, Life Under a Windplant, and a photo gallery.
Jon Boone
Oakland, MD |
