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US blocks all offshore wind construction, says reason is classified

arstechnica.com

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Re: US blocks all offshore wind construction, says reason is classified

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is obviously because Donald Trump notoriously hates offshore wind turbines.

Perhaps worth recapping that he hates them due to a specific personal event (the same is true for everything he does, if you dig deep enough to find the reason). In this case he developed a golf resort on the East Coast of Scotland. Meanwhile wind generators were also being deployed immediately offshore. He became enraged that the view from his new development was blighted by the turbines. So it isn't even due to oil…

I don't know why people think wind turbines are ugly... Someone who admires gold toilets, no less. I think the opposite.

Re: US blocks all offshore wind construction, says reason is classified

#82

The Saudis have enormous influence over Trump through business deals. So does Qatar through the jet they gifted Trump, and the UAE through crypto deals. These oil rich countries are no fans of clean energy. Is it merely coincidence, then, that Trump is canceling wind and solar projects in the United States? Previously Trump also canceled the largest solar project in the United States. Known as Esmeralda 7, the projec…

> jet they gifted Trump

The jet was gifted to the American people. There's no reason why he should be allowed to fly on it. It goes in the library with the rest of the state gifts.

Re: US blocks all offshore wind construction, says reason is classified

#83

To be fair, there could absolutely be national security issues. One example might be undersea (or even surface) navigation. If the coastline is littered with windmills off shore, this might create a negative of submarine navigation routes. That's clearly information we don't want shared with adversaries. There might be undersea classified cables. There might be classified sonar stations. It might be hard to detect ad…

If the US had a normal, rational Administration, then yeah, I'd probably accept the "national security" explanation. But when the Administration claims completing the White House ballroom is a matter of "national security", and Antifa is the current largest threat to "national security", then credibility for these claims is completely lost.

> But when the Administration claims completing the White House ballroom is a matter of "national security"

All other things equal, opening a literal breach in one of the white house's exterior wall seems like it would cause a "national security" issue if the construction project was not finished and the hole remained gaping afterwards.

Re: US blocks all offshore wind construction, says reason is classified

#84

I looked into this a little because I was curious. I guess the ostensible "national security" rationale (which clearly is not the only reason!) for this is that turbines severely degrade the utility of radar surveillance along the coastlines. This is particularly relevant for low-altitude incursions and drones. Now, other large governments (UK) have resolved this in several ways, including the deployment of additiona…

It's well known ol' Don Quixote doesn't like windmills, I mean wind turbines.

Re: US blocks all offshore wind construction, says reason is classified

#85
This is a road to serfdom (and/or a road to 1789 France) situation with what's happening to energy prices in the past couple years[1].

The price of new solar+battery and wind should be pushing fossil fuel energy prices off a cliff right now, unless you live in a petrostate.

[1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU000072610

Re: US blocks all offshore wind construction, says reason is classified

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps worth recapping that he hates them due to a specific personal event (the same is true for everything he does, if you dig deep enough to find the reason). In this case he developed a golf resort on the East Coast of Scotland. Meanwhile wind generators were also being deployed immediately offshore. He became enraged that the view from his new development was blighted by the turbines. So it isn't even due to oil…

In that case he would just approve wind farms that fuck with people he dislikes. It seems to me this is very much intentional to keep oil demand up and prices high.

I’m pretty sure the list of people Trump outright likes is approximately one.

Re: US blocks all offshore wind construction, says reason is classified

#88
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps worth recapping that he hates them due to a specific personal event (the same is true for everything he does, if you dig deep enough to find the reason). In this case he developed a golf resort on the East Coast of Scotland. Meanwhile wind generators were also being deployed immediately offshore. He became enraged that the view from his new development was blighted by the turbines. So it isn't even due to oil…

I don't know why people think wind turbines are ugly... Someone who admires gold toilets, no less. I think the opposite.

I think you just found the compromise:

Gold painted wind turbines. Art of the Deal!

Re: US blocks all offshore wind construction, says reason is classified

#89
post #72

I looked into this a little because I was curious. I guess the ostensible "national security" rationale (which clearly is not the only reason!) for this is that turbines severely degrade the utility of radar surveillance along the coastlines. This is particularly relevant for low-altitude incursions and drones. Now, other large governments (UK) have resolved this in several ways, including the deployment of additiona…

Seems like "national security" has become a phrase that can be used to circumvent many laws, facts, and balance checks. Just like the word "terrorist." It seems like if these ever get challenged to the Supreme Court the current judges will rule with something like it being at the president's discretion. So obviously the government can spend some of that $1T military budget on fixing their coastal radar. I thought Mas…

> Seems like "national security" has become a phrase that can be used to circumvent many laws

By has become, you mean always has been, right?

Re: US blocks all offshore wind construction, says reason is classified

#90

I looked into this a little because I was curious. I guess the ostensible "national security" rationale (which clearly is not the only reason!) for this is that turbines severely degrade the utility of radar surveillance along the coastlines. This is particularly relevant for low-altitude incursions and drones. Now, other large governments (UK) have resolved this in several ways, including the deployment of additiona…

Result first (kill anything not carbon-based), find rationale later. Same applies to how this admin forced layoffs at the green energy (hydro + nuclear) behemoth BPA [1] (which was funded entirely by ratepayers, not the federal government) then claimed an energy emergency to keep open coal plants serving the same geographies, coal plants that were already uneconomical and planned for shut down (or re-tooling to gas i…

BPA is a federal agency. The Trump administration has been very supportive of zero carbon nuclear i believe they have promised $80 billion dollars to build new nuclear plants. Staff cuts dont mean they oppose using those energy sources.
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