Wind power Archives - Page 5 of 7 Voice For Liberty

Mar

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Thursday March 10, 2011

Kansas labor report. For January 2011, the Kansas Department of Labor reports: "According to January 2011 estimates, Kansas businesses lost 6,100 jobs over-the-year, a 0.5 percent decrease. ... The January 2011 unemployment rate in Kansas was 7.4 percent, up from 6.4 in December 2010 but down from 7.9 percent in January 2010." Said Labor Secretary Karin Brownlee: "The Great Recession continues to take a tremendous toll on the Kansas economy. The Governor’s focus on creating jobs could not be more timely. The work by the Brownback administration to make Kansas the best place to do business is the focus needed…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Thursday December 30, 2010

Kansas Meadowlark blog recast. Earl Glynn of Overland Park has reformed his Kansas Meadowlark site from a blog to a news site along the lines of the Drudge Report. Glynn's full-time job is working for Kansas Watchdog. Longwell site noted. A website supporting the candidacy of Wichita Vice Mayor Jeff Longwell for re-election to his current position has been spotted. Title: Vote for Jeff Longwell. Kansas legislative issues to watch. Fort Hays State University political science professor Chapman Rackaway lists the things to watch for in the upcoming session of the Kansas Legislature, which opens on January 10. Here's his…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Wind power again reaps subsidy

The editorial page of the Wall Street Journal is at the forefront of letting Americans know just how bad an investment our country is making in wind power, as well as other forms of renewable energy. A recent Review and Outlook piece titled The Wind Subsidy Bubble: Green pork should be a GOP budget target holds these facts: The recent tax bill has a $3 billion grant for wind projects. The 2009 stimulus bill had $30 billion for wind. Wind power installations are way down from recent years. The 2008 stimulus bill forces taxpayers to pay 30% of a renewable…

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Kansas Governor Parkinson says “thank you”

This week outgoing

Dec

By Bob Weeks

Wind power: a wise investment for Wichita and Kansas?

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Robert Bryce explains the terrible economics now facing the wind power energy, with emphasis on T. Boone Pickens, who has made a big splash with his plans to invest in wind power. A few takeaways: Pickens' $2 billion investment in buying wind turbines has left him with "a slew of turbines he can't use."U.S. government subsidies amount to $6.44 per million BTUs generated by wind, but natural gas costs just $4 now. These low prices may be around for years, with gas market futures contracts below $6 through 2017.Even with the subsidy, gas can't…

Nov

By Bob Weeks

Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Tuesday November 16, 2010

Future of California. George Gilder, writing in the Wall Street Journal, lays out a grim future for California based on voters' refusal to overturn AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act. Of the requirement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state, Gilder writes: "That's a 30% drop followed by a mandated 80% overall drop by 2050. Together with a $500 billion public-pension overhang, the new energy cap dooms the state to bankruptcy." He says that AB 32 may not be necessary at all: "The irony is that a century-long trend of advance in conventional 'non-renewable' energy -- from wood…

Sep

By Bob Weeks

Fifteen bad things with wind power — and three reasons why

Here's an article full of important observations about the drive to produce more of our electricity from wind power. For example, promoters of wind (and solar) say we can use it to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. But this article points out that only one percent of our electricity is generated from oil. Another important observation has to do with the high cost of electricity generated by wind: "Along the way, yet another claim has been made: that wind energy is low cost. This is surprisingly bold considering that if that was really true, then why would any RES…

Sep

By Bob Weeks

Not all birds are equal, it seems

Recently ExxonMobil plead guilty to killing 85 birds. It paid $600,000 in fines and fees. An Oregon electric utility paid $1.4 million in fines for killing 232 eagles that had come into contact with poorly-designed power lines. Wind energy producers, however, can kill with impunity. That's the message of the story Windmills Are Killing Our Birds by Robert Bryce. A July 2008 study of the wind farm at Altamont Pass, Calif., estimated that its turbines kill an average of 80 golden eagles per year. The study, funded by the Alameda County Community Development Agency, also estimated that about 10,000 birds…

Jun

By Bob Weeks

Faust-Goudeau’s concern selective

In today's Wichita Eagle, Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Democratic member of the Kansas Senate representing parts of north-central and northeast Wichita, writes this in a letter to the editor: I would like to commend Mayor Carl Brewer and the Wichita City Council for having the courage to vote down a rate increase for water and sewer charges for customers in our city ("Water rates to hold steady," June 17 Local & State). As we continue to face economic down times, I am very concerned about our senior citizens and people with disabilities who are on fixed incomes and struggling to make…

Apr

By Bob Weeks

Articles of Interest

Kansas budget, wind power, alternative fuels gone wild, newspaper bailouts, journalism entrepreneurship House pushing big K-12 cuts (Topeka Capital-Journal) "The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved a budget-reduction plan that would trim $100 million in state aid to public schools in Kansas. The 3.3 percent reduction for the upcoming 2010 fiscal year would help balance the state budget." With K-12 schools consuming about half of state general fund spending, it's surprising that is all they're asked to sacrifice. Wind farm to provide power to Greensburg homes, businesses (Wichita Eagle) A town destroyed by too much wind now seeks to…