Standing Bear wrote:
Wind turbines are not unsightly, they are graceful expressions of modern technology as art. Just go outside Barstow, California and look for yourself.
I do not mind seeing a few of them, but to supply the entire world with energy we would need ~15 million (three times more than the high-altitude wind kites), and this would be unsightly. You would see them in practically every landscape on earth. They would be visible from places such as the great Wall, Toledo Spain, and the Pocanos, which should be left undisturbed in their original state. I do not like to see highways and power lines next to every ancient city, monument, wilderness area and empty plain, and I would not want to see wind turbines either.
problem if they stay where they should. Errant drones can be automatically landed by redundant systems that take over upon the failure of primaries.
To self destruct them would be wastefull of the cost of the equipment and possibly a danger to others in the vicinity, and one can never know for certain that an area is truly empty. I routinely would go into the deepest desert areas in North America to hunt jack rabbits.
I was not suggesting we would deliberately blow them up by remote control! Obviously a controlled emergency landing would be best, or even a semi-controlled crash landing such as a skilled helicopter pilot can sometimes make when the engine stops. However, with 5 million of these things in the air constantly it is inevitable that some would go completely out of control and crash. Some would be hit by lightning or torn apart by tornado winds. Redundant control computers would all fail from time to time. Five million far exceeds the number of airplanes in the sky at any given moment.
This would call for major improvements in the air traffic control system, which needs to be modernized and improved in any case.
There are always limits to safety. Oceangoing ships are tremendously expensive and they have the best redundant control systems, navigation and safety features people can devise, yet on average one ship is lost every week to shipwreck, fire or storm. (I think it is around 50 per year.) Many are also lost to pirates. This happens to be the golden age of piracy on the high seas. See: "Daily International Vessel Casualties & Pirates Daily Report," http://www.cargolaw.com/presentations_casualties.html
- Jed
