(02-28-2023, 10:23 AM)Lucky2Last Wrote: It would be interesting to see you take that argument and apply it to oil.

Oil exploration and use is across the board less environmentally harmful than coal. Less carbon, less byproducts, less radioactivity, less changes to landscapes, less danger to workers.

But then you look at wind and solar and nuclear, none of which are harmless, but all three are less harmful than oil.

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(02-28-2023, 11:21 AM)NewJagsCity Wrote: A little WD-40 applied to those noisy turbines should do the trick.  Or we could issue ear plugs to the right whales.

Seriously, I'm not sure how these things work, but one alternative might have been to make them mobile.  They could anchor on huge platforms which themselves could be anchored and then moved around as needed.  It might lower the height just a bit to reduce or eliminate the toppling effect, but it would also allow them to get out of the way of hurricanes and further away from shipping lanes.  They could also move closer to whatever coastal power system is purchasing their bulk power, tie into that system, and save potential transmission charges and losses.  Of course, the various tie-ins would have to be developed as well.  Kind of like the proposed floating nuclear power plants in the mid-80's.

Putting a hinge at the base of the tower to allow it to fold down during a storm could also help matters.  I'm sure it's been explored and there's some problem we are not thinking of.

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