The website of flagship ZDF German public television here writes a very short, well-buried report on a recent fast-track ruling by a German court in Arnsberg concerning the approval of a wind park project in Central Germany. The court found that wind turbines do in fact severely blight the natural landscape and therefore may not be built in areas of particular beauty.
The ruling is the latest development in the rapidly growing public resistance to wind power by German citizens, thus posing another major obstacle for the approval and construction of onshore wind turbines.
The WDR writes:
The case involves 7 turbines, each 200 meters tall, which were slated to be installed at Fischelbach/Sohl in Bad Laasphe. The district of Siegen-Wittgenstein had originally approved them. But the court countered, saying the turbines would lead to a disfigurement of the natural scenery and that the impacted area of the scenic Wittgensteiner region is under protection.”
Recently the German public has been waking up to the host of problems that industrial wind parks bring with them: blighted landscapes, health problems from infrasound, unstable power supply, hazard to birdlife, and deforestation. Wind turbines also have high maintenance costs and short lifespans. The result is high costs to consumers with no benefit to the environment.
150 angry citizens protest wind park in Elpe
Meanwhile the WAZ daily here reports that 150 angry residents turned out to protest plans to install 7 large wind turbines in the area under the motto: “Stop the madness!” It was the first protest the town had seen, and is a loud signal that the public is getting fed up.
Vermont banned billboards already back in 1968
While on the subject of blighted natural scenery, website twistedsifter.com here tells us why Vermont banned billboards way back in 1968: To protect Vermont’s natural beauty. It seems that Vermont environmentalists have forgotten this. Today the state is pushing for the installation of monster industrial turbines atop it’s idyllic rolling green hills.
I hope you enjoy the lovely photos of Vermont scenery, which today is under the threat of industrialization and destruction.
Wow, common sense from a Court, whatever next?
Is this finally the start of a fight back for the little people?
No doubt here – the public is getting fed up with the blight, and they are finding out that wind and sun are real lemons.
I remember there was a troika of 200 meter turbines maybe a klick from the little village where I lived in Rhineland Pfalz…the amount of infrasound, especially at night, was substantial. When they are that size, there is no way they can’t dominate the landscape, and those big ones are super expensive to maintain.
I have seen these monstrosities in the Mosel and Eiffel regions. As far as I am concerned it is a barbaric act to despoil the landscape like that, akin to blowing up ancient temples and monuments.
I agree wholeheartedly. I have been on a short holiday to the Laacher See this weekend and it brings tears to the eyes to see such a devastated landscape…
This madness must stop.
What’s wrong with the left-green judges? Has a Muslim complained?
“What’s wrong with the left-green judges? ”
Judges are conservative. In most parts of Germany, they got their job under CDU (conservative party) reign.
Th students are incredibly conservative in their positions (half of them would torture to save a life!).
http://www.taz.de/!5027727/
caring for landscape actually is not just a green position, but something that many conservative and right wing people believe in.
courts also tend to support big companies. So the interesting thing is: How will conservative judges rule, when their conservative anti wind and pro-landscape position clashes with the demands of big companies wanting to build wind parks (because they are cheaper than all other forms of power supply).
Stay tuned!
It’s nice to know that there is some common sense starting to appear in Germany. As far as Vermont is concerned, for many years, we New Hampshire residents often referred to it as the “Peoples Republic of Vermont”. Need I say any more?
Augustine: I lived in Vermont for a year, and in NH for about 8 years (1997-2005, mostly in Gilford).
THey care about their environment more than does NH. That’s why they banned billboards, which still blight NH’s scenery.
Imagine the blight from a coal-fired plant — the smog, the acid rain, the mercury poisoning.
None of these come from a wind turbine array.
While smog was an issue in the past, it’s seldom the case from modern power stations.
Rain is naturally acid. “Acid rain” was just another scare story.
How many people were poisoned by mercury from power station emissions? The benefits of reliable, affordable electrical power far outweigh the risks from the stack emissions of a modern coal-fired power plant.
Germany is evidently convinced of coal’s benefits. It’s not even allowing the shutdown of inefficient, commercially unviable and relatively “dirty” coal fired power plants because they are needed as a spinning reserve to backup the unreliables; Wind and Solar.
“While smog was an issue in the past, it’s seldom the case from modern power stations.”
that is plain out false, as you can see in China everyday. What are you talking about? Please stick to the facts and reality!
““Acid rain” was just another scare story.”
That is false. Start by reading wikipedia, than read some scientific articles about the problem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain
“How many people were poisoned by mercury from power station emissions?”
It is a long term effect, so we do not really know. Are you denying the existence of the effect?
Coal ash has been polluting several rivers recently. Now companies are forced to finally do something about the storage of their toxic waste! Just do some google research and do not post stufff that is obviously false!
I didn’t know China was the US, sod. Or Germany for that matter. Both countries filter their pollutants, how come you don’t know that?
Acid rains WAS just a scare story. Even less of one now that countries like the US and Germany scrub their emissions.
Yes. Wikipedia. THAT’s a reliable source.
Acid rain was one of the first scares by science which has been proven large wrong. Like the current climate scare, also proven obviously false.
Chinese smog in 2013 was a combination of certain weather conditions and airborne particles from, yes, cars and such.
But, remember that we had smog too in the middle ages when there were no cars.
The problem has nowadays been solved by cleaner running cars and better fuels. China can do that too but they choose to keep running old fashioned cars.
The coal ash rivers issue recently is only localized and not a world wide problem for many, many years.
Filters? good idea!
so we reduced acid rain and smog, by adding filters. That is exactly what happened.
So acid rain, smog and coal ash disasters are not a “green scare” but real problems, that we have to deal with.
That was my point. Thanks for picking it up!
So you admit that there is no acid rain problem. Thanks for picking that up!
“So you admit that there is no acid rain problem. Thanks for picking that up!”
You still have not understood it.
There is a huge difference between:
1. There is no acid rain problem
and 2. There is an acid rain problem, but we can take countermeasures.
Acid rain was not a scare story. It is a real problem. But we can take measures against it.
The claim was that our emissions would make rain more acidic than it naturally is.
We’ve dealt with it. We started dealing with even Before the scare was created.
Advanced nations have installed scrubbers. Scrubbers remove 80-90% of pollutants you are complaining about. Problem solved.
Move on.
Thanks, Pierre. Strange; how come I haven’t read this in the German flagship Newspaper “Sueddeutsche Zeitung?”
I think this paper, degenerated to a propagandistic leaflet like the “Neues Deutschland” at GDR-times, still will wag the flag of windmills even when at last the last one has fallen.
Chris Frey
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