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A comment on As oil and gas exports surge, West Texas becomes the world’s “extraction colony”. Parent comment

Re:As oil and gas exports surge, West Texas becomes the worl... by benj111 on Monday December 31, 2018 @04:00AM (#18793733)
I find turbines quite beautiful. A small glimpse of that 1950s future that never came to be. We don't have jet packs, or flying cars, but we have immense white towers, slowly, steadily generating clean electricity. Just as steam engines sum up the industrial revolution, wind turbines sum up the green revolution, that is/I hope will be.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder though. I remember people complaining about 2 massive cooling towers in the centre of Sheffield being torn down.

I'd be interested in what wind turbines say to you that lead you to call them ugly.

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Re:As oil and gas exports surge, West Texas becomes the worl... by crumpets on Monday December 31, 2018 @04:21AM (#18793778)
>I'd be interested in what wind turbines say to you that lead you to call them ugly.

It depends on the density. Once they clutter everything visible below 100 ft, it's pretty hard to see beauty: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/12-post-your-photos/2128...

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Re:As oil and gas exports surge, West Texas becomes the worl... by pjc50 on Monday December 31, 2018 @05:46AM (#18793995)
That's an extreme telephoto shot, I don't think it's representative of what you'd see when you look at the landscape as a human. Unless it's from a very specific spot.
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Re:As oil and gas exports surge, West Texas becomes the worl... by Rapzid on Monday December 31, 2018 @09:45AM (#18794664)
That picture doesn't do it justice. Driving through Palm Springs is pretty cool. There are a LOT of windmills.
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Re:As oil and gas exports surge, West Texas becomes the worl... by benj111 on Monday December 31, 2018 @05:20AM (#18793928)
I would say its the black ones that make it look ugly? And the lack of uniformity?

I did a google image search for that location and the other images didn't seem so bad (to me).

Is the uglyness an inherent feature of the scale. Or a feature of poor design?

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Re:As oil and gas exports surge, West Texas becomes the worl... by war1025 on Monday December 31, 2018 @07:58AM (#18794297)
The black ones are actually under a cloud. In Iowa, we have quite a few wind farms. I think for most people they are a source of pride. Maybe I just haven't met the grumps.
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Re:As oil and gas exports surge, West Texas becomes the worl... by benj111 on Monday December 31, 2018 @08:33AM (#18794401)
Might be shadow rather than cloud?

Some appear to have white nacelles and black towers.

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Re:As oil and gas exports surge, West Texas becomes the worl... by petre on Monday December 31, 2018 @08:33AM (#18794402)
Actually the 1950s view of the future was nuclear based. Nuclear flying cars etc. Wind turbines and towers in general are quite ugly and kill birds, especially when concentrated like in the fields near Vienna. Offshore wind is fine. Trees are beautiful.
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Re:As oil and gas exports surge, West Texas becomes the worl... by specialist on Monday December 31, 2018 @11:41AM (#18795336)
FWIW, I've read speculation that painting them white attracts insects which attract birds.

I volunteered at Audubon for years. Love both birds and windmills.

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