Guidelines for posting on bangordailynews.com

The Bangor Daily News encourages comments about stories, but you must follow our terms of service.

In brief:

1. Keep it civil and stay on topic
2. No vulgarity, racial slurs, name-calling or personal attacks.
3. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.

The primary rule here is pretty simple: Treat others with the same respect you'd want for yourself. Here are some guidelines (see more):

It should be noted this is not a comprehensive list.

• Don't insult one another or the subjects of BDN stories. You may be ticked off at what someone did or said, but you can explain that without resorting to name-calling or obscenity. Remember that young people are on this site too.
• That nasty line that makes your buddies go "haw, haw"? You're better than that.
• Comments should be your own work, not copied and pasted from elsewhere, though brief quoted passages to make your point are fine. And please don't use all capital letters. There's no need to shout.
• Stay focused on the issue in the article. Off-topic posts will be deleted.
• This isn't a forum to chat about your personal life.
• Some ideas — the fate of the earth, abortion, gun control, the nature of God — aren't going to be resolved in a reader forum, so no need to get frustrated if others don't see your point of view. State your position once and leave it at that.
• If you mouse over each comment you will see a "Flag" button. Please use it if you feel comments on the site are out of line. Quite often, we won't see a comment until it's reported.
• Questions about why a comment was — or wasn't — deleted? E-mail us at web@bangordailynews.com and let us know your username and where you posted or saw the comment.

That's about it: Stick to writing about the stories; be civil; be kind; enlighten your neighbors. And we'll keep moderating posts to try to ensure everyone meets those standards.

• Anonymous

  OMG !!!!

• Anonymous

  OMG !!!!

• Anonymous

  More hysteria from the NIMBYs…

• Anonymous

  More hysteria from the NIMBYs…

• Anonymous

  More hysteria from the NIMBYs…

• Anonymous

  More hysteria from the NIMBYs…

• Anonymous

  More hysteria from the NIMBYs…

• Anonymous

  You are wrong, as usual, with yet another unproductive comment.    This is a reality.  In public meetings in Lincoln, when asked about turbine fires, First Wind played down the incidents, of course, but said if one happened, it would just have to burn itself out and be contained from spreading.  Town of Lincoln has a full time fire department but has no equipment to effectively fight a fire in a nacelle 262 feet above ground.  City of Portland can barely reach the top floors of the state’s tallest building at 202 feet.  God bless the volunteer fire departments in Winn, Lee, and Burlington where other Rollins turbines have gone in, but they have no capability of fighting a turbine that is on fire. 

   It is a complex piece of machinery, filled with flammable lubricants.  A wind-whipped fire could spread quickly through surrounding woods that are filled with tinder dry slash left from the poor forestry practices of companies like HC Haynes and Gardiner and their subcontractors.  All it takes is one unfortunately timed turbine fire during conditions like the fall of 1947 to create a forest fire of immense magnitude.  Of course, the wind industry plays this down, just like Tokyo Electric played down building nuclear power plants on an earthquake fault line and tsunami zone.

  Thank you, Mr. McDonald, for raising the issue, since our ever vigilent investigative media would never question the wind industry about this or a plethora of other crucial problems with siting sprawling industrial wind sites.

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7ARBFNYJAE23QMOBALXD7FM4W4 gempaint

  below is Patriot Renewables answer to fire control.

  Fire hazard: A few commenters raised questions about the fire risk that an operating wind project might pose. According to General Electric (GE), who makes the turbines we are proposing to use for this Project, there have been only 3 confirmed fires among the 16,000 1.5 MW and 2.5 MW wind turbines in GE’s operating fleet, and none resulted in significant fires that spread outside the turbine area. All of these fires occurred on older 1.5 MW or earlier turbine designs, and GE made design modifications accordingly. There have been no reported fires on the 2.5-2.75 MW turbine models that are proposed for Saddleback Ridge Wind. GE recommends proper maintenance as the best way to avoid fires. GE representatives will provide maintenance work on the turbines while they are under warranty, and we will continue to follow proper maintenance protocols after the warranty period has expired. Furthermore, the turbines will be remotely
  549 South Street, Quincy, MA 02169 • Telephone: (617) 890-0600 • Fax: (617) 890-0606 • http://www.patriotrenewables.com
  monitored 24/7, and alarm sensors in the turbine will alert monitoring technicians to operating problems, resulting in a callout to a local technician. We plan to coordinate with the local fire departments in East Dixfield, Dixfield, and Carthage to provide a quick, coordinated response in the highly unlikely event of a turbine caused fire. The fire department would not attempt to extinguish a turbine fire at the height of the tower, since these are as short-lived as they are rare. Rather, the fire department would concentrate on containing any fire that may occur in the immediate area around the base of the turbine.

  as Clyde says, burning debris is known to fly 1500 feet away from the base.

• Anonymous

  I guess this aide to Senator Mitchell has no credibility?
  The wind liars need to be reigned in , all they can do is lie, lie , lie!
  As our mountains go BOOM, BOOM, Boom! from the liars at First Wind and others.

• Anonymous

  I guess this aide to Senator Mitchell has no credibility?
  The wind liars need to be reigned in , all they can do is lie, lie , lie!
  As our mountains go BOOM, BOOM, Boom! from the liars at First Wind and others.

• Anonymous

  I guess this aide to Senator Mitchell has no credibility?
  The wind liars need to be reigned in , all they can do is lie, lie , lie!
  As our mountains go BOOM, BOOM, Boom! from the liars at First Wind and others.

• Anonymous

  I guess this aide to Senator Mitchell has no credibility?
  The wind liars need to be reigned in , all they can do is lie, lie , lie!
  As our mountains go BOOM, BOOM, Boom! from the liars at First Wind and others.

• Anonymous

  I guess this aide to Senator Mitchell has no credibility?
  The wind liars need to be reigned in , all they can do is lie, lie , lie!
  As our mountains go BOOM, BOOM, Boom! from the liars at First Wind and others.

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  Why are the firefighting costs as well as the cost of destroying a forest with forest fire not considered? Who have the wind industry crooks paid off?

• Anonymous

  We (maybe I should say politicians) are so taken with “wind” they don’t have a clue about the dangers = The wind sales guy says they cause no problem – they look harmless as you drive miles from them.   I personally believe even if a wind turbine struck by lightning, shorted out cause a fire you would be hard pressed to find much info in the news media.  
  And this article is the first I have found that makes much mention.  You won’t find it on the national news.   The national agenda is “big wind” and that’s what we’ll get no matter what the danger, eventual cost in taxpayer dollars. 

• Anonymous

  We (maybe I should say politicians) are so taken with “wind” they don’t have a clue about the dangers = The wind sales guy says they cause no problem – they look harmless as you drive miles from them.   I personally believe even if a wind turbine struck by lightning, shorted out cause a fire you would be hard pressed to find much info in the news media.  
  And this article is the first I have found that makes much mention.  You won’t find it on the national news.   The national agenda is “big wind” and that’s what we’ll get no matter what the danger, eventual cost in taxpayer dollars. 

• Anonymous

  We (maybe I should say politicians) are so taken with “wind” they don’t have a clue about the dangers = The wind sales guy says they cause no problem – they look harmless as you drive miles from them.   I personally believe even if a wind turbine struck by lightning, shorted out cause a fire you would be hard pressed to find much info in the news media.  
  And this article is the first I have found that makes much mention.  You won’t find it on the national news.   The national agenda is “big wind” and that’s what we’ll get no matter what the danger, eventual cost in taxpayer dollars. 

• Anonymous

  We (maybe I should say politicians) are so taken with “wind” they don’t have a clue about the dangers = The wind sales guy says they cause no problem – they look harmless as you drive miles from them.   I personally believe even if a wind turbine struck by lightning, shorted out cause a fire you would be hard pressed to find much info in the news media.  
  And this article is the first I have found that makes much mention.  You won’t find it on the national news.   The national agenda is “big wind” and that’s what we’ll get no matter what the danger, eventual cost in taxpayer dollars. 

• Anonymous

  We (maybe I should say politicians) are so taken with “wind” they don’t have a clue about the dangers = The wind sales guy says they cause no problem – they look harmless as you drive miles from them.   I personally believe even if a wind turbine struck by lightning, shorted out cause a fire you would be hard pressed to find much info in the news media.  
  And this article is the first I have found that makes much mention.  You won’t find it on the national news.   The national agenda is “big wind” and that’s what we’ll get no matter what the danger, eventual cost in taxpayer dollars. 

• Anonymous

  We (maybe I should say politicians) are so taken with “wind” they don’t have a clue about the dangers = The wind sales guy says they cause no problem – they look harmless as you drive miles from them.   I personally believe even if a wind turbine struck by lightning, shorted out cause a fire you would be hard pressed to find much info in the news media.  
  And this article is the first I have found that makes much mention.  You won’t find it on the national news.   The national agenda is “big wind” and that’s what we’ll get no matter what the danger, eventual cost in taxpayer dollars. 

• Anonymous

  We (maybe I should say politicians) are so taken with “wind” they don’t have a clue about the dangers = The wind sales guy says they cause no problem – they look harmless as you drive miles from them.   I personally believe even if a wind turbine struck by lightning, shorted out cause a fire you would be hard pressed to find much info in the news media.  
  And this article is the first I have found that makes much mention.  You won’t find it on the national news.   The national agenda is “big wind” and that’s what we’ll get no matter what the danger, eventual cost in taxpayer dollars. 

• Anonymous

  According to information provided by anti-wind websites, there have been a total of only 158 wind fire incidents worldwide since 1970.  None has resulted in the Towering Inferno scenarios portrayed by the breathless wind opponents here.  You are more likely to get a forest fire in Maine from a cigarette tossed by one of the tourists that anti-wind people are so fond of mentioning.

• Anonymous

  According to information provided by anti-wind websites, there have been a total of only 158 wind fire incidents worldwide since 1970.  None has resulted in the Towering Inferno scenarios portrayed by the breathless wind opponents here.  You are more likely to get a forest fire in Maine from a cigarette tossed by one of the tourists that anti-wind people are so fond of mentioning.

• Anonymous

  According to information provided by anti-wind websites, there have been a total of only 158 wind fire incidents worldwide since 1970.  None has resulted in the Towering Inferno scenarios portrayed by the breathless wind opponents here.  You are more likely to get a forest fire in Maine from a cigarette tossed by one of the tourists that anti-wind people are so fond of mentioning.

• Anonymous

  According to information provided by anti-wind websites, there have been a total of only 158 wind fire incidents worldwide since 1970.  None has resulted in the Towering Inferno scenarios portrayed by the breathless wind opponents here.  You are more likely to get a forest fire in Maine from a cigarette tossed by one of the tourists that anti-wind people are so fond of mentioning.

• Anonymous

  According to information provided by anti-wind websites, there have been a total of only 158 wind fire incidents worldwide since 1970.  None has resulted in the Towering Inferno scenarios portrayed by the breathless wind opponents here.  You are more likely to get a forest fire in Maine from a cigarette tossed by one of the tourists that anti-wind people are so fond of mentioning.

• Anonymous

  According to information provided by anti-wind websites, there have been a total of only 158 wind fire incidents worldwide since 1970.  None has resulted in the Towering Inferno scenarios portrayed by the breathless wind opponents here.  You are more likely to get a forest fire in Maine from a cigarette tossed by one of the tourists that anti-wind people are so fond of mentioning.

• Anonymous

  According to information provided by anti-wind websites, there have been a total of only 158 wind fire incidents worldwide since 1970.  None has resulted in the Towering Inferno scenarios portrayed by the breathless wind opponents here.  You are more likely to get a forest fire in Maine from a cigarette tossed by one of the tourists that anti-wind people are so fond of mentioning.

• Anonymous

  According to information provided by anti-wind websites, there have been a total of only 158 wind fire incidents worldwide since 1970.  None has resulted in the Towering Inferno scenarios portrayed by the breathless wind opponents here.  You are more likely to get a forest fire in Maine from a cigarette tossed by one of the tourists that anti-wind people are so fond of mentioning.

• Anonymous

  According to information provided by anti-wind websites, there have been a total of only 158 wind fire incidents worldwide since 1970.  None has resulted in the Towering Inferno scenarios portrayed by the breathless wind opponents here.  You are more likely to get a forest fire in Maine from a cigarette tossed by one of the tourists that anti-wind people are so fond of mentioning.

• Anonymous

  According to information provided by anti-wind websites, there have been a total of only 158 wind fire incidents worldwide since 1970.  None has resulted in the Towering Inferno scenarios portrayed by the breathless wind opponents here.  You are more likely to get a forest fire in Maine from a cigarette tossed by one of the tourists that anti-wind people are so fond of mentioning.

• Anonymous

  A sacrifice we must make?
   Maybe only several hundred acres of mountaintop real estate, dozens of abutting properties (present law allows them to be under 1000 feet from turbine bases), and a half dozen people would be sacrificed. Why bother with facts. Coal miners get killed every day .
  All GREEN Power is good.

• Anonymous

  When you have millions of federal  subsidy dollars to lie with, the BIG LIES perpetuate.
  Wind Liars, bribers, scam artists must be reigned in . It is high time to listen to citizens and others who don’t lie (they have no reason to , they are not paid off llike certain state politicians, selectmen who care less about green , other than that on a piece of federal currency).
  The major support for wind is from the liars who are not telling the facts, like this article states.
  Who cares , all “GREEN IS GOOD”(known as “greenwashing”), and the wind liars have the money to perpetutate that lie as well.
  So far.

• Anonymous

  When you have millions of federal  subsidy dollars to lie with, the BIG LIES perpetuate.
  Wind Liars, bribers, scam artists must be reigned in . It is high time to listen to citizens and others who don’t lie (they have no reason to , they are not paid off llike certain state politicians, selectmen who care less about green , other than that on a piece of federal currency).
  The major support for wind is from the liars who are not telling the facts, like this article states.
  Who cares , all “GREEN IS GOOD”(known as “greenwashing”), and the wind liars have the money to perpetutate that lie as well.
  So far.

• Anonymous

  When you have millions of federal  subsidy dollars to lie with, the BIG LIES perpetuate.
  Wind Liars, bribers, scam artists must be reigned in . It is high time to listen to citizens and others who don’t lie (they have no reason to , they are not paid off llike certain state politicians, selectmen who care less about green , other than that on a piece of federal currency).
  The major support for wind is from the liars who are not telling the facts, like this article states.
  Who cares , all “GREEN IS GOOD”(known as “greenwashing”), and the wind liars have the money to perpetutate that lie as well.
  So far.

• Anonymous

  When you have millions of federal  subsidy dollars to lie with, the BIG LIES perpetuate.
  Wind Liars, bribers, scam artists must be reigned in . It is high time to listen to citizens and others who don’t lie (they have no reason to , they are not paid off llike certain state politicians, selectmen who care less about green , other than that on a piece of federal currency).
  The major support for wind is from the liars who are not telling the facts, like this article states.
  Who cares , all “GREEN IS GOOD”(known as “greenwashing”), and the wind liars have the money to perpetutate that lie as well.
  So far.

• Anonymous

  Arthur, by your reasoning, we should ban all tourists from the woods.  They arguably have as much, if not vastly more of a probability of damaging the woods with fire than a turbine does, given the statistical evidence.

• Anonymous

  Arthur, by your reasoning, we should ban all tourists from the woods.  They arguably have as much, if not vastly more of a probability of damaging the woods with fire than a turbine does, given the statistical evidence.

• Anonymous

  Arthur, by your reasoning, we should ban all tourists from the woods.  They arguably have as much, if not vastly more of a probability of damaging the woods with fire than a turbine does, given the statistical evidence.

• Anonymous

  Arthur, by your reasoning, we should ban all tourists from the woods.  They arguably have as much, if not vastly more of a probability of damaging the woods with fire than a turbine does, given the statistical evidence.

• Anonymous

  Arthur, by your reasoning, we should ban all tourists from the woods.  They arguably have as much, if not vastly more of a probability of damaging the woods with fire than a turbine does, given the statistical evidence.

• Anonymous

  Arthur, you are simply offering more big, angry talk alongside your weak argument.  We don’t hear you saying one word against the millions of federal subsidy dollars that go to the natural gas industry, which is now being shown to have likely overstated the amount of reserves available and the cost to the environment in terms of hydrofracking that gas.  Let’s face it…your arguments show that your problem isn’t with subsidies and lying.  You just don’t like wind power.

• Anonymous

  Arthur, you are simply offering more big, angry talk alongside your weak argument.  We don’t hear you saying one word against the millions of federal subsidy dollars that go to the natural gas industry, which is now being shown to have likely overstated the amount of reserves available and the cost to the environment in terms of hydrofracking that gas.  Let’s face it…your arguments show that your problem isn’t with subsidies and lying.  You just don’t like wind power.

• Anonymous

  Wind power receives 100 times that amount of subsidies that natural gas receives, and 50 times that of coal. There is no market for expensive, unrelaible wind power except the ones the politicians have created by requring states to buy expensive wind no matter what the cost.

• Anonymous

  Wind power receives 100 times that amount of subsidies that natural gas receives, and 50 times that of coal. There is no market for expensive, unrelaible wind power except the ones the politicians have created by requring states to buy expensive wind no matter what the cost.

• Anonymous

  Clyde says:  “General Electric REPORTEDLY RECENTLY wrote to A POTENTIAL WIND DEVELOPER that its newer turbines rarely catch fire, PRESUMABLY unlike the older ones already in place. IF TRUE, should Maine’s agencies require the installation of GE turbines only?”

  This one sentence is a good example of how much postulating and how little actual verifiable information is contained in Clyde’s article.  His writing is obviously not a piece of solid reporting, but a piece of anti-wind rhetoric.

• Anonymous

  how long it the gE warranty period? Most brands offer only a two year gurantee, But what if it is five or ten years? Then GE’s maintence work ends while the turbines crank on for 20 years? And how does a local, all but useless fire truck respond to a mountain top fir miles away? When fire safety equipmet is added to the nascelles, metal fatigue increases, especially on 400 foot plus towers. At lweast one of the tourist sites in scvotlan and one in Italy feateyres shorter turbines that are bent at right angles. Finally, no fires yet from the new GE turbines? How long have these ben operative? There is a need for the government to look into the validity of GE’s claims. If proven to be true, should not all sites be required to use only GE turbines?

• Anonymous

  how long it the gE warranty period? Most brands offer only a two year gurantee, But what if it is five or ten years? Then GE’s maintence work ends while the turbines crank on for 20 years? And how does a local, all but useless fire truck respond to a mountain top fir miles away? When fire safety equipmet is added to the nascelles, metal fatigue increases, especially on 400 foot plus towers. At lweast one of the tourist sites in scvotlan and one in Italy feateyres shorter turbines that are bent at right angles. Finally, no fires yet from the new GE turbines? How long have these ben operative? There is a need for the government to look into the validity of GE’s claims. If proven to be true, should not all sites be required to use only GE turbines?

• Anonymous

  To the contrary, EIA statistics show that fossil fuels received $72 billion in taxpayer subsidies between 2002-2008, with the vast majority going to oil and natural gas.  During the same period, ALL traditional renewables (solar, tidal, wind, etc) received $12 billion.  Your claim that fossil fuel subsidies are insignificant compared to wind subsidies is simply false.

• Anonymous

  To the contrary, EIA statistics show that fossil fuels received $72 billion in taxpayer subsidies between 2002-2008, with the vast majority going to oil and natural gas.  During the same period, ALL traditional renewables (solar, tidal, wind, etc) received $12 billion.  Your claim that fossil fuel subsidies are insignificant compared to wind subsidies is simply false.

• Anonymous

  To the contrary, EIA statistics show that fossil fuels received $72 billion in taxpayer subsidies between 2002-2008, with the vast majority going to oil and natural gas.  During the same period, ALL traditional renewables (solar, tidal, wind, etc) received $12 billion.  Your claim that fossil fuel subsidies are insignificant compared to wind subsidies is simply false.

• Anonymous

  To the contrary, EIA statistics show that fossil fuels received $72 billion in taxpayer subsidies between 2002-2008, with the vast majority going to oil and natural gas.  During the same period, ALL traditional renewables (solar, tidal, wind, etc) received $12 billion.  Your claim that fossil fuel subsidies are insignificant compared to wind subsidies is simply false.

• Anonymous

  To the contrary, EIA statistics show that fossil fuels received $72 billion in taxpayer subsidies between 2002-2008, with the vast majority going to oil and natural gas.  During the same period, ALL traditional renewables (solar, tidal, wind, etc) received $12 billion.  Your claim that fossil fuel subsidies are insignificant compared to wind subsidies is simply false.

• Anonymous

  To the contrary, EIA statistics show that fossil fuels received $72 billion in taxpayer subsidies between 2002-2008, with the vast majority going to oil and natural gas.  During the same period, ALL traditional renewables (solar, tidal, wind, etc) received $12 billion.  Your claim that fossil fuel subsidies are insignificant compared to wind subsidies is simply false.

• Anonymous

  To the contrary, EIA statistics show that fossil fuels received $72 billion in taxpayer subsidies between 2002-2008, with the vast majority going to oil and natural gas.  During the same period, ALL traditional renewables (solar, tidal, wind, etc) received $12 billion.  Your claim that fossil fuel subsidies are insignificant compared to wind subsidies is simply false.

• Anonymous

  To the contrary, EIA statistics show that fossil fuels received $72 billion in taxpayer subsidies between 2002-2008, with the vast majority going to oil and natural gas.  During the same period, ALL traditional renewables (solar, tidal, wind, etc) received $12 billion.  Your claim that fossil fuel subsidies are insignificant compared to wind subsidies is simply false.

• Anonymous

  look at what Mainah has done! He uses macro firgures rather than the subsidies that go to wind and natural gas ON UNITS OF ENERGY PRODUCED==Ie; PER KILOWATT HOUR. Of course oil and coal have received more it the aggregate. His repsone shows the lengths to which the wind power guys ill to try and buttress their losing arguments.

• Anonymous

  I have a copy of the letter. Enough said.

• Anonymous

  I sumitted reports to the media showing that I know of at 307 turbine fires over the past 20 years, not 50 years as Mainah claims. And I gues he is intimation that not one of his  mere 158 have sprae to fields and forests. I am willing to let him go back to sleep.

• Anonymous

  The necessity to consider cost per unit of energy produced is related to the fact that for all the subsidies and controversy, windmills produce a miniscule portion of power produced nationally and are severely limited in their potential to supply anywhere near a reasonable amount of energy required for an advanced economy.

  They also do not distinguish between subsidies and the tax credits or deductions due to actual costs of the production of income.  The left regards anything that is not taxed as a “cost” or “subsidy” while demanding that the tax code be used to provide actual subsidies to their politically favored agendas.

  The rational requirement to consider costs per unit of energy produced also applies to safety considerations.  There are risks in any form of energy production, but if there are high risks for miniscule amounts of energy produced that should be considered.

• Anonymous

   Why do they say newer turbines don’t catch on fire as much?  Is it due to the design or the age, or both?  Fatigue of the blade material is directly related to blade failure.  There can only be so many cycles of vibration, depending in part on off-resonance conditions, before a failure.  Do they routinely replace blades?

• Anonymous

   Why do they say newer turbines don’t catch on fire as much?  Is it due to the design or the age, or both?  Fatigue of the blade material is directly related to blade failure.  There can only be so many cycles of vibration, depending in part on off-resonance conditions, before a failure.  Do they routinely replace blades?

• Penny Gray

  Thank you for an excellent letter, Mr. MacDonald.  Forest fires have always been a dreaded fear, at least in the western part of the state.  I wonder, do these industrial turbines have fire suppression devices in their nacelles?

• Anonymous

  Locating wind turbines off shore makes more sense than building wind farms in remote areas.  I had no idea there were so many wind turbine caused fires.

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• MaineHiker

  Several months ago I sent in several postings about the dangers of burning large stands of pine, fir, etc. I usually included the destruction of natural habitat and the fact as a result of the mining of Molybdenum and other metal ores, manufacturing, transportation and installation  and need for constant lubrication with oil, the CO2 emitted in those processes is greater than that turbine could compensate for  in it’s life time. (An industrial turbine cannot convert 1 molecule of CO2 to C. + O2.)
  Besides the ruination of Maine rate payers and taxpayers financial lives, and the whoop and flash-flash for many humans effected (and property value loss’s), consider the corruption this obvious Enron-type operation. Should past Governors and their friends be allowed to provide their  influence to facilitate exploitation of Maine’s precious and nonrecoverable Natural resources? 

• Anonymous

  Yes, but the postings I have seen by firms that sell fire suppression equipment do not promise abolition by reductions. One ad speaks of installing the equipment in 300 foot towers. Is this an innocent over sight or is it deliberate. I think all of Maine’s turbines, installed and proposed, are 400 feet or even higher. The taller the turbine, the greater the weight and fire suppression equipment does add considerable weight.And, I presume the taller and heavier the tower, the greater the metal fatigue. Turbines are known to collapse frequently, even shorter ones. In Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, when a tower crashed to the ground it caused a forest fire, so I presume it could happen eleswhere. And the taller the tower, ther greater the exposure to lightning strikes and I have a rcored of 22 turbine fires that were caused by lightning strikes. Mostly shorter towers..

• Anonymous

  this is a clip of a turbine on fire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOfHxINzGeo
  this is a site that reviews turbine problems, such as fires: http://whenwindturbinesgobad.blogspot.com/

• Anonymous

  this is a clip of a turbine on fire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOfHxINzGeo
  this is a site that reviews turbine problems, such as fires: http://whenwindturbinesgobad.blogspot.com/

• Anonymous

  this is a clip of a turbine on fire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOfHxINzGeo
  this is a site that reviews turbine problems, such as fires: http://whenwindturbinesgobad.blogspot.com/

• Anonymous

  FYI…1970 was 41 years ago, and just because you claim there have been 307 turbine fires over the past 20 years does not mean your claim is accurate.  Furthermore, even if there have been 307 turbine fires globally in the last 20 years, the number is miniscule compared to the numbers of fires attributed, for instance, to children playing with cigarette lighters, which accounts for approximately one million fires per year around the globe, according to a study conducted by the University of California in 2000.  Lastly, name any significantly sized fire caused by wind turbines and the number shrinks to insignificance.  The issue is another case of fear mongering put forth by people who will do anything to continue this nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.

• Anonymous

  The statistics characterizing the subsidization of fossil fuels typically does not include the massive costs of environmental cleanups in the wake of disasters such as the Exxon Valdez spill or the summer-long spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year, nor do the statistics take into consideration the astronomical costs of sending our armed forces to foreign lands to protect the oil supply ($9 billion per month in Iraq alone, according to the Congressional Budget Office).  Meanwhile, fossil fuel proponents will bend over backwards to insist that renewables are tremendously oversubsidized while fossil fuels receive insignificant amounts of taxpayer subsidies, when in fact, $72 billion in fossil  fuel subsidies over the course of 6 years amounts to a ton of funding in the opinion of most Americans, I’ll wager, particularly during a time when fossil fuel corporations are reaping record-breaking profits and should be able to stand on their own.  In my opinion, the monetary amounts speak for themselves.  The fact that wind opponents gripe about the relatively small amounts of subsidies going to renewables while crying a river over the massive subsidization of fossil fuels continues to defy logic.

• Anonymous

  I beg to differ… your word about having a copy of a letter means nothing.  Let’s see it, and then discuss the meaning of what is said within it.

• Anonymous

  Thanks.

• Anonymous

  The defiance of logic is the belief that windmills can provide any more than a tiny fraction of the energy production required for a modern  economy while they receive outright subsidies that are enormous for the amount of energy produced.  A lack of higher taxes on oil companies is not a subsidy.

  Oil companies are held accountable for damage from spills — and more as we saw from the demagoguery over the recent Gulf spill.  There are risks and accidents from any kind of production of energy.  The consequences of abandoning industrial civilization would be much worse.

  The Arab nations should not have been allowed to seize the oil fields developed by western companies over 50 years ago, but the foreign policy problems affecting trade and the economy are not restricted to oil.  Defense against foreign aggression is a cost unfortunately required in  modern society and a world economy.  Windmills do not solve this.