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Wind farm protests about aesthetics mystify me. Driving through central Kansas, the towers are just this stark reminder of how far we've come, and how little w
by brownbat 7y ago
Wind farm protests about aesthetics mystify me.
Driving through central Kansas, the towers are just this stark reminder of how far we've come, and how little we are. You see nothing, nothing, nothing... then BAM! These massive towers generating energy from the winds on the plains, in a state named for the people of the south wind. All of them impossibly tall, the field going on for miles, your mind doesn't even really process how big an individual one is, let alone the scale of the whole farm.
They always hit me like a monument. Like that feeling you might get walking into a cathedral with a slow whistle up at the ceiling. It's more than that, though, it's bundled up with a bit of futurism from the new tech, a bit like finishing a piece of utopian sci fi at the same time.
There's no accounting for taste, for sure. So maybe some people are just accustomed to the way certain views used to look and don't want any change. Maybe they grew up there and have strong attachments.
It's just hard hearing people dismissing beauty as blight, something that could be sublime if they just looked at it a slightly different way.
- youeseh 7y agoWe see them dotted across the hills when driving through parts of Northern California - they're beautiful!
- beauzero 7y agoI think they also give a beautiful perspective to size and distance in Wyoming and Eastern Montana.
- tobmlt 7y agoWell said.
- appstorelottery 7y agoI worked in wind energy visualisation and attended many community presentations - I've been up-close to these protests. It's not just about aesthetics, concerns range from fear of lowered real-estate value, low frequency health scares, wildlife concerns, shadow flicker and so on. Like you, I think they are beautiful - however at least here in Holland, that is generally not the case. I've seen a Vestas V164 in the flesh at a testing facility in Denmark and it was quite possibly the most incredibly man made object I've ever seen. With a 164 meter rotor diameter, your eyes almost can't work out how to focus on the blades - especially if you're standing directly under it. One moment the blade tip is close to you, and moments later it's 160 meters away. Amazing stuff.
- davedx 7y agoSounds incredible! When I worked for Vandebron we had a visit to a farmer in North Holland who had 2 wind turbines. They weren't the newer models so not the biggest, but I indeed remember the crazy feeling of perspective changing too fast when you looked up at the blades turning from directly underneath. It was a windy day, too.... I wish I'd been able to go up to the top. Must be amazing!
- short_sells_poo 7y agoBeauty is one of the most subjective concepts a human can reason about. Who are you to tell anyone what is beautiful? Just because a bunch of techies here on HN find beauty in the engineering of a windmill, it doesn't mean everyone has to like them. I don't dislike the design of wind farms, but sure as hell I'd prefer landscape unspoiled by a forest of big white rotating blades. Given the choice, I'd prefer a concentrated energy generator (whatever that might be), that can be hidden away. So in some sense, I do believe they are a blight on the landscape.