An op-ed column discusses benefits and costs of wind energy -- the newly developing industry behind it, the tax breaks it receives, and the logic or NIMBYism of opponents.
Are windmills eyesores, or signs of modernity? Do they affect property values? Should government mandate siting standards for wind generators?
Although recently rising energy costs have created a buzz in the market for alternative and renewable energy sources, some players are not yet convinced. Opponents of windpower call it "...an aesthetic blight, a source of noise pollution, a murderer of birds and bats. As for the still-young wind industry, it is an environmental plunderer, with its hirelings and parasites using a few truths and the politics of wishful thinking to frame a house of lies."
Op-ed columnist Anne Applebaum argues that such oppositions "...reflect a deeper American malady. The problem plaguing new energy developments is no longer NIMBYism, the 'Not-In-My-Back-Yard' movement. The problem now, as one wind-power executive puts it, is BANANAism: 'Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.'"
Will other greener alternatives face the same opposition?
FULL STORY: Tilting at Windmills
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie