Tag: Ohio

Say NO to Shayne Thomas (BigWind friend) for the Ohio house

PLEASE ask Ohio legislators to NOT ENDORSE SHAYNE THOMAS for his bid to run for the 88th district.

Please both call and email the Speaker of the Ohio House, Larry Householder. Shayne Thomas is seeking key endorsements from legislators at the state level in a bid to fill the seat of Bill Reineke 88th District Representative. If Shayne Thomas secures those endorsements, he will be a viable candidate in the primary election this spring.

When you email Rep. Householder also include these legislators on that email: rep72@ohiohouse.gov   Phone (614) 466-2500
– Representative Bill Reineke (Seneca and Sandusky County) rep88@ohiohouse.gov

– Representative Dick Stein (Huron County) Rep57@ohiohouse.gov

– Representative Bill Seitz (House Majority Leader) rep30@ohiohouse.gov

– Senator Dave Burke Burke@ohiosenate.gov

– Representative John Cross rep 83@ohiohouse.gov

– Representative Nino Vitale rep85@ohiohouse.gov

Below are just a few of the many concerns that have been expressed already by those in the community concerning Shayne’s conduct as Seneca County Commissioner:

  1. Many area residents started contacting Shayne Thomas in December 2017 to express concern about the proposed wind projects following public disclosure by the wind development companies. How many did he tell “there wasn’t anything we could do to stop them” or “although he hates to see hog barns or big silos go up the landowners have every right to do with their land what they choose”.

2.  After December of 2017 many came to learn that he had been promoting the reduction of setbacks at the state level. This would place turbines closer to non-participating property lines than what current law allows. In June of 2017 when the majority of Seneca county was unaware of utility scale wind energy development in Seneca county, Shayne Thomas, Susan Monroe (from Apex and Van Wert county)and local businessman Gary Baldosser went before the Senate Finance Committee to promote the reduction to setbacks in Ohio.

Their pictures are below and the video testimony can be viewed here: https://www.ohiochannel.org/video/ohio-senate-finance-committee-6-7-2017;jsessionid=65d2ab0bd287a7ceb1a4d5c798ba

3. Shayne Thomas used his influence to promote these projects by seeking legal counsel to support them at the OPSB. He recommended the Seneca County Commissioners hire the same lawyer that represents Apex Energy. Apex Energy is also the same company associated with the wind lease in which the family of Mr. Thomas will benefit financially from in the proposed Honey Creek LLC. 

4. Although Seneca County Commissioner Mike Kerschner recommended the commissioners rescind the AEZ. Shayne Thomas was very vocal in protecting the AEZ (Alternative Energy Zone). After thousands of signatures were collected county wide to rescind the AEZ, Shayne Thomas made a statement at the November 13th 2018 commissioner’s meeting, recommending they wait until 9/19/19 at 9:00 AM to rescind the AEZ. A bizarre date which ultimately was changed and the AEZ was ultimately sunset in June of 2019.

5. In another commissioners meeting on August 21st, 2018, Shayne Thomas chose to walk out on a retired Seneca East School teacher and veteran, Paul Smith during a commissioners meeting. Shayne abruptly adjourned the meeting when Mr. Jones, a beloved teacher and writer, went to the podium to speak.

The video can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm6JQ37BRJg&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1bijWOtyaNHHzJuUFOXBuqiPgBEOw6wLkOxP2xkSMhTKQKKdJvwCLEXuA

Now that there are two Seneca County Commissioners working hard to protect Seneca County from utility scale wind energy development, it appears Shayne Thomas plans to move forward in his political aspirations in running for the 88th District State Representative against Gary Click in the spring primary election on the Republican ticket. Interestingly, Gary Click recently attended a Seneca Anti-Wind Informational meeting and he has been very engaged with our group asking questions and sharing the concern over safety regarding blade throws.

Shayne Thomas apparently has seen the writing on the wall in Seneca County with 5 out 6 townships within the Republic Wind project voting to intervene. Also, the Seneca East School Board, The Black Swamp Bird Observatory, Seneca County Commissioners, Seneca County Parks, and numerous residents in the wind projects all choosing to oppose utility scale wind energy development in Seneca County. Shayne is pictured at the end of this email surveying a large group which assembled in a Republic Town Hall meeting which overwhelmingly opposed industrial wind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ50LapkfGc&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3tsHumgbZuHANPasPivFxqNZK2Uxed8kkjrYVqEzvVOORqCrpMHCviag0

In violation of section 2921.43 of Chapter 102 of the Ohio Revised Code, Commissioner Thomas has used his position in Seneca County to promote and secure wind projects for the financial gain of his family. (https://www.ethics.ohio.gov/education/factsheets/ethicslaw.pdf)

#WeWontForget #NOwindturbinesinSenecaCounty

 

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Why BigWind DOESN’T work

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Unfortunately, the Climate enthusiasts and BigWind have successfully persuaded a lot of the American public that Wind and Solar are Green, Clean, and Free. If only, we had more of it all over America, our climate problems would be solved. WARNING: THIS IS FALSE! 

Renewable energy must ALWAYS be backed up with fossil fuels and if it is not, then it must require massive, environmentally toxic (and cost prohibitive) batteries to function. Do you know someone who needs proof? This is easy. Just ask them to look up any of the dozens of articles about Georgetown, TX. This is a community that chose to ‘attempt’ to go 100% renewable and they are now going bankrupt. The Green New Deal is only Green for the companies who will line their pockets with cash….

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Georgetown, Texas – population 75,000 – was to be the new poster child of the green movement.

Environmental interest in Georgetown’s big push to generate all of its electricity from wind and solar power was amplified by three factors: the town and its mayor were nominally Republican; Georgetown is in an oil- and natural gas-rich state; and that state is deep-red Texas.

Former Vice President Al Gore and other climate change luminaries feted Georgetown Mayor Dale Ross, and Ross was featured prominently at renewable energy conventions.

TEXAS TOWN’S ENVIRONMENTAL NARCISSISM MAKES AL GORE HAPPY WHILE STICKING ITS CITIZENS WITH THE BILL

Last October, while the green dream was still in full flower, the city applied for a $1 million grant from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s nonprofit, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and won it.

Ostensibly to be used for energy storage innovation in batteries, the grant’s only real requirement was that the city serve as a public relations platform in Bloomberg’s push to convince Americas to abandon affordable fossil fuels and switch to more costly renewable energy.

Trouble started when politicians’ promise of cheaper renewable energy was mugged by reality.

Georgetown’s electric bills went up as more wind and solar power displaced cheaper natural gas in the power portfolio of the Georgetown’s municipal utility. Politicians scrambled for cover. And the bloom came off Georgetown’s renewable rose.

Now, largely embarrassed members of the City Council are trying to figure out how to unwind the renewable mess they and their predecessors voted themselves into.

With their municipal utility facing a $7 million shortfall – money that has to be made up by the city residents through higher electricity costs – the City Council voted 5-1 in July to instruct the staff to figure out how to wriggle out of the Bloomberg PR deal…..

Chuck DeVore link

And in another article…In justifying making his city 100% renewable (it’s really not, but more on that later), Ross has said, “This is a fact-based decision we made in Georgetown, and first and foremost it was an economic decision…” Ross went on to tout to the German television show, “…we are paying the same amount per kilowatt hour in year one than we are in year 25 with no cost escalation, so that meets the objective of cost certainty. And then in terms of regulatory risk — the knuckleheads in D.C. — what’s there to regulate with wind and solar? It’s clean energy. So this as the perfect solution for the citizens we were elected to serve.”

But there are two big problems with Ross’ statements.

First, Georgetown just announced that it is renegotiatingits wind and solar energy contracts after energy costs came in about $23.1 million over budget in 2016 and 2017. This year, the city—meaning the city’s taxpayers—paid $8.6 million more for electricity than expected due to falling electricity prices. The city made up $1.8 million of the shortfall by not spending as much as budgeted on investments in electric infrastructure. So much for getting a good deal for the taxpayer.

Second, wind and solar aren’t without risk from government policy, regulatory or otherwise. In fact, a huge part of the renewable market is entirely artificial—propped up by government subsidies and mandates as well as policies that allow periodic renewable power sources to send electricity to the grid whenever they produce it while the cost of maintaining the grid’s reliability are levied upon others: consumers and reliable baseload generators that pay for fuel in exchange for being able to produce power whenever it’s needed….

Forbes description link

Hey BigWind, OH citizens have the right to HEAR!

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Isn’t our government supposed to be BY and FOR the people? Then why is it that the people, of Ohio, have a government board, the OPSB (Say Yes to BigWind Board) which is allowed to APPROVE BigWind projects Looooonnnnng before Ohio citizens know anything about it? Case in point is below. Land was leased 10 years ago, for a BigWind project, yet the first public informational meeting was not held until 2018!?! This is outrageous. Ohio citizens have the right to have the light shown on these deceptive, unethical practices of BigWind…..

The project slated for Erie and Huron counties impacts the following townships: Groton, Oxford, Lyme, Ridgefield, Sherman, Norwich and Richmond. Townships were an ideal choice for this project’s location because, absent a referendum, the residents have no direct voice in the matter.

Most residents want a referendum, and the time for one is critical. I agree that a referendum should not be held after a project receives certification from the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB). The time for both a referendum and a public meeting is when leases are offered to landowners. Although land for the Emerson Creek Wind Project was leased as long ago as 2009, the first public information meeting required by the OPSB was nine years later in November 2018….

Information about the cost and financial backing of this project is not available. When I asked the Power Siting Board about that, public spokesman Matt Butler replied, “It is not uncommon for an applicant to request confidential treatment of financial data, as APEX has done in this case.” A number of published sources state that without tax benefits and outright subsidies, no company would be involved in building a wind project.

The issues are serious. These turbines are 655 tall…

Anne Southworth

Monroeville

Ohiocitizensneedtohear

If BigWind gets Higher, we can get closer, right? NO!!

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That’t right, BigWind is proposing TALLER turbines in the USA…while they lobby, hard in Ohio, for SHORTER safety setbacks! ZERO logic. Additionally, as farmers complain that soil compaction occurs, what will occur as a result of LARGER and HEAVIER equipment on our roads and fields??????……

RECHARGE

US developers propose record 207-metre wind turbine height

A new Department of Energy report shows that the wind industry is increasingly comfortable with taller turbines that optimise project cost and performance

By Richard Kessler in Fort Worth,15 August 2019

 

Wind project developers in the US through May have proposed turbine heights up to a record 207 metres (680 feet) versus an average 146 meters for 2018 installations, as the industry benefits from technology advances, according to a new Department of Energy (DOE) report.

 

Permit applications filed with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this year show 44% of proposed turbines will exceed 152.4 meters in height (from ground to blade tip extended directly overhead), up from 39% in 2018 and 14% in 2017. The FAA regulates all aspects of civilian aviation…

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists Mark Bolinger and Ryan Wiser, primary authors of the 2018 Wind Technologies Market Report, noted the FAA data represents total turbine height, not hub height, and therefore includes the combined effect of both tower and rotor size…

In 2018, turbine size continued to increase in response to technology advances as developers grow more comfortable with larger, taller machines that optimize project cost and performance…

 

Both rotor diameters and hub heights increased in 2018, continuing the long-term trend, according to the report…

RECHARGE

Vestas CFO sees scope for upscaled turbines on land and sea

The OEM could boost the nameplate capacity of both its onshore and offshore models further, CFO Fredriksson says

By Bernd Radowitz in Berlin,15 August 2019

 

Vestas could upscale both its currently most powerful onshore and offshore turbine models further to reach a greater nameplate capacity, the Danish OEM’s chief financial officer Marika Fredriksson told Recharge.

The manufacturer will only develop any new product or concept if it sees a clear path to both lower levelised costs of energy (LCOE) and “something in the pocket for us,” the CFO had stressed in a conference call with investors on second quarter earnings..

 

Asked be Recharge in an interview little later, whether she sees greater chances for improvements in onshore or offshore – given the fact that Vestas has already presented a 5.6MW onshore model and a 10MW offshore machine – Fredriksson said: “I would say both.”

 

“In onshore, we see a good potential to further decrease the LCOE. We have a modular approach with EnVentus and still see a great potential to lower costs further,” she said…

 

Vestas in January had unveiled its EnVentus modular platform, launching two 5.6MW models as its so far highest-capacity machines on land.

 

While most rival OEMs meanwhile also have presented turbines in the 5MW class, going much higher in onshore capacity could lead to growing headaches as far as road transport is concerned…

 

MHI Vestas chief executive Philippe Kavafyan at the launch of the V164’s 10MW version had already said the OEM likely won’t stop at that size and will move forward with more “incremental innovation through all parts of the value chain.”

 

Wait,wait! What happened to BigWind being so ‘CHEAP’?

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It is amazing that the TRUTH is twisted so well, by the renewable energy advocates and BigWind. The public is blind to it!!!…..

Rising electricity prices to come as wind, solar mandates increase

By: Guest Opinion August 6, 2019

Matthew Kandrach

 

California continues to lead the nation in mandating the deployment of wind and solar power. Unfortunately, that translates into rising electricity costs that are now poised to climb higher. It’s a development that should concern families in every state.

 

Since 2011, electricity prices in California have jumped 30 percent – the most  expensive in the western United States. And there’s no sign that this steady increase will ease.

 

While California’s renewable energy targets are particularly aggressive, they’re not the outlier one might imagine. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have renewable energy mandates for ever-increasing amounts of wind and solar power. These mandates tend to be expensive.

 

A recent analysis from the University of Chicago found that mandates drive up electricity prices. After seven years, consumers in these states paid $125 billion more for electricity than they otherwise would.

 

While the cost of solar arrays and wind turbines has fallen, the expense of integrating them onto the grid is rising. A higher percentage of these weather-dependent sources of electricity means more expense to balance out their peaks and valleys.

 

In California, for example, the state’s solar generation can produce far too much power in the middle of the day, forcing ratepayers to pay when other states absorb it. And when that solar generation fades in the evening, or fails during bad weather, ratepayers must pay top dollar to import electricity from neighboring states. This selling low and buying high is the opposite of sound economics.

 

Wind generation poses similar problems. A think-tank led by President Obama’s former Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz, found that California went 90 days with little or no wind power in 2017. That included multiple gaps when wind generation wasn’t available for several days. This dependence on variable electricity is monumentally challenging. And batteries are hardly a cure-all since the best grid-scale batteries provide just four to six hours of backup, hardly enough to handle days or weeks when solar and wind power are unavailable.

 

Defenders of California’s renewable-first policy say that the state’s average residential electricity bills are relatively low….

 

The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently reported that 78 utilities proposed electricity rate increases last year, the highest number since 1983. If anyone believes that moving from reliable, baseload power to weather-dependent, renewable sources of electricity wouldn’t come with rising costs, that bubble is about to burst…

Risingprices

 

 

BigWind requires ‘magical’ math to make sense in our energy grid

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It has been a momentous week in many ways.   Seneca Wind developer, sPower, officially withdrew its application and the OPSB granted the withdrawal on August 15th.  But this is not the first time this ill-fated project has been withdrawn.   In a previous incarnation, Seneca Wind was owned by Exelon who filed a pre-application notice in 2016 and then withdrew in 2017.   Exelon sold to sPower in 2017 and sPower filed a new application at that time.  Many are wondering if history will repeat itself and sPower will sell the project to a different developer like Apex. 

As proposed, the Seneca Wind project was to have a total nameplate capacity of 212 megawatts and consist of up to 77 wind turbines, access roads, electrical collector cables, laydown yards, an operations and maintenance facility, meteorological towers, a substation, and a 138-kilovolt (kV) electric generation transmission line to connect to AEP Ohio Transmission Company Inc.’s existing Melmore Substation.  The OPSB entry granting the withdrawal notes in a footnote that the 138-kV transmission line will be the subject of a separate filing with the Board.   Hmmm.   That looks suspicious to us.

In its entry, the OPSB describes the project as consisting of approximately 56,900 acres of leased land in Seneca County, consisting primarily of existing farmland.   This, to us, is another problem for the future.  In defining the area, one might agree that, on an acre by acre basis,  farmland is the predominant land-use compared to acreage upon which a home sits.  But is it fair to describe a rural-residential area as farmland?  It appears to us that the description used by OPSB without further detail, is misleading and unfair to the community whose opposed the project on the basis of population density.  That would be people – not livestock.

Transmission is a key aspect that communities should not ignore.  The OPSB lists two transmission projects in the pre-application stage: 19-1073-EL-BTX for Emerson Creek in Huron and Erie Counties  as well as 19-1066-EL-BTX for Republic Wind in Seneca County.   The Emerson Creek transmission line will be a 345 kV overhead line that will be approximately 9 miles long.  The Republic Wind line is planned to be an approximately 7-8 mile line located in Seneca County, Ohio and is needed to connect the proposed Republic Wind electric generation project to the electric grid.  It does not appear that public hearings on these projects have been held.

Happily, the Erie County, Groton Township Trustees submitted a Resolution to the OPSB opposing the Apex Emerson Creek project.  They join Oxford Township which is also on record opposing Emerson Creek.  Norwich Township has filed for intervenor status.    Moreover, the Seneca County Commissioners amended their previous Resolution dissolving the Alternative Energy Zone designation and added language that includes: “The Seneca County Commissioners withdraw all previous support of the Seneca Wind, Republic Wind or any proposed wind turbine projects to the maximum extent allowed by law. 

According to reports we have received, Lake Erie’s LeedCo Icebreaker project attorneys have tried to bar testimony from Dr. Jeffrey Gosse who recently retired from a thirty+ year career with US Fish & Wildlife serving as our USFWS Region’s Energy Coordinator.  In his testimony Gosse states “I have substantial professional experience and expertise in conducting avian radar and bat acoustic studies.”   DrJGosse  The testimony makes the point that:

 

“The Current Record and the Pre-Filed Testimony do not present any indication that Icebreaker has identified a specific technology that it proposes to use for pre- or postconstruction radar monitoring for birds and bats, or for post-construction collision detection for birds and bats, much less that Icebreaker has performed any validation testing of any such proposed technologies and presented the testing results to the Board. As a result, there is no basis for the Board to make findings and determinations as to the probable environmental impact of the Project on birds and bats as required by R.C. 4906.1 0(A)(2), or that the Project represents the minimum adverse environmental impact to birds and bats as required by R.C. 4906.1 0(A)(3). “

 

At the same time, we learn the US  Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that it is considering Endangered Species Act protections for the lake sturgeon.  This should also support opposition to building wind turbines in Lake Erie. 

 

We also attach today a copy of a lengthy article entitled Inconvenient Energy Realities. It is a “must read” for all wind and solar warriors as well as government officials.   “Regardless of one’s opinion about whether, or why, an energy “transformation” is called for, the physics and economics of energy combined with scale realities make it clear that there is no possibility of anything resembling a radically “new energy economy” in the foreseeable future. Bill Gates has said that when it comes to understanding energy realities “we need to bring math to the problem.” Inconvenient Energy Realities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ohio citizens prevail AGAINST BigWind

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Seneca County Commissioners voted 2-1, this week, to “withdraw all previous support of the Seneca Wind and Republic Wind or any proposed wind turbine projects to the maximum extent allowed by law.”

It is a great day to celebrate our fellow warriors in Seneca County.   sPower, the Seneca Wind developer, had filed a motion for an extension of the OPSB proceedings after an error in the FAA No Hazard Determination was discovered.   Opponents of the project objected and the developer threatened to withdraw if their motion for extension was not approved.  Notwithstanding, the OPSB denied the motion and very shortly thereafter, the Seneca Wind submitted its Motion to Withdrawreserving the right to re-apply. The Adjudicatory Hearing was scheduled for August 26 and will now be cancelled.   The developer vows to refile the application after FAA concerns are resolved.  But for now, it is a happy day for many people.

 

Does lightning strike twice?  Maybe so with the FAA No Hazard Determination in Seneca County.  The issue there was the developer’s misidentification of the community where the turbines would be built.  By not naming the correct community, the locals did not understand or catch the filing.  Just a few short weeks ago, a similar issue arose in Indiana where a developer sought FAA approval for 178 turbines (499’) in Warren County but indicated they were in “Boswell” .   Boswell is in Benton Countybut the project was actually planned for Warren County.  Warren County Commissions were told that the FAA establishes the name of the turbine location community rather than the wind developer but the FAA has strenuously denied this.  Some think it is just the latest tactic of the wind developers to “fly under the radar” so to speak and sew confusion. Good grief.

 

The incident reporting rule-making process is underway at the OPSB (http://dis.puc.state.oh.us/CaseRecord.aspx?CaseNo=19-0778)  where vigorous objections have been raised by the wind industry with respect to Incident Reporting for blade shear, turbine collapse and the like.  The developers act like reporting failures is a novel and extreme idea.   Not so in Minnesota where a reporting regime has been in place for some time.    Lisa Linowes reports that Minnesota already requires incident reporting and other details for all wind projects approved by the state.  It is believed the reporting is annually but could be more frequent.  The MN Department of Commerce confirms the information gathered on the report is used during evaluation of projects that come back before the state for a new permit or expansion of a project.

 

Readers interested in learning more about MN reporting obligations can go to  this link: https://www.edockets.state.mn.us/EFiling/edockets/searchDocuments.do?method=showeDocketsSearch&showEdocket=true&userType=public  .  Look for reports described as “compliance filing” or do a keyword search for ‘LWECS ENERGY PRODUCTION ANNUAL REPORT’.  Reports are not all located in one place but are listed by docket #.

 

Many of you will recall that three Paulding County residents were joined by the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition (MAREC) in challenging the property line setback rule which was adopted by the Ohio General Assembly in 2014 in the Mid-Biennial Budget Review.  The Plaintiffs alleged the setback was adopted unconstitutionally because budget bills should not include non-budget items.  The case has been winding its way through court and on August 7th, the Paulding County Court of Common Pleas dismissed the case as having no merit.  We always thought the lawsuit was a ‘Hail Mary’ pass with little chance of succeeding. Notwithstanding, we should now always be on the lookout for the wind lobby to shove their own setback proposals into a budget bill.

 

In Michigan, the Traverse City Film Festival debuted Michael Moore’s latest documentary, “Planet of the Humans”.  “Director Jeff Gibbs takes on electric cars, solar panels, windmills, biomass, biofuel, leading environmentalist groups like the Sierra Club, and even figures from Al Gore and Van Jones, who served as Barack Obama’s special adviser for green jobs, to 350.org leader Bill McKibben, a leading environmentalist and advocate for grassroots climate change movements.”    In Planet of the Humans, Gibbs aims harsh criticism at supposed environmental stewards, including the Sierra Club. He says they’ve been bought off by corporate interests that have realized there’s lots of money to be made in green energy.   “Environmental groups have been collaborating on the lie of growth by helping us pretend that there will be ‘green growth.’ As if you can have wealth or stuff that doesn’t destroy the planet. News flash: that’s an impossibility of physics and biology,” the director tells me. “There is nothing you will ever have in your life that’s not an extraction from the planet earth. And so we’ve all lost touch with that.”     Well, well, well……who’d a thought? MMoore link

 

Let us repeat this line “There is nothing you will ever have in your life that’s not an extraction from the planet earth.”   The Wall Street Journal ran a column this week to help us understand a little about that “extraction”  when it comes to wind turbines.   Entitled “If You Want ‘Renewable Energy,’ Get Ready to Dig”.   The facts laid out in the article are astonishing.  An example: “A single electric-car battery weighs about 1,000 pounds. Fabricating one requires digging up, moving and processing more than 500,000 pounds of raw materials somewhere on the planet. The alternative? Use gasoline and extract one-tenth as much total tonnage to deliver the same number of vehicle-miles over the battery’s seven-year life. When electricity comes from wind or solar machines, every unit of energy produced, or mile traveled, requires far more materials and land than fossil fuels. That physical reality is literally visible: A wind or solar farm stretching to the horizon can be replaced by a handful of gas-fired turbines, each no bigger than a tractor-trailer.”   Michael Moore meets the Wall Street Journal! The BigWind DIG

 

Warriors working to save Lake Erie from industrial wind development should keep an eye on activities surrounding the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.  This provision, in law since 1918, prohibits the taking of migratory birds whether it be intentional or unintentional.   In 2013, a  $1 million fine was levied against Duke Energy, after Duke was held responsible for raptor deaths at a Wyoming wind farm.  Many people believe the Icebreaker Project in Lake Erie will destroy migrating birds in contravention of the law.  But in 2017 the Trump Administration decided to “re-interpret” the MBTA and allow unintended kills.   Such an interpretation would green light Icebreaker unless the Ohio Department of Natural Resources withholds approval of the project.    “On June 13th of this year, the US House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife held a hearing to consider several new pieces of legislation. Included was a discussion of the Migratory Bird Protection Act of 2019, a draft bill that explicitly includes a prohibition against unintentional take; defined as “the killing or taking of migratory birds that directly and foreseeably results from, but is not the intended purpose of, covered commercial activity.” Enactment would supersede the Administration’s 2017 re-interpretation.”  This is an important step toward the protection of birds travelling across Lake Erie. Bird Blenders in the Sky

 

Topping off the week’s news, a major power failure on Friday in the U.K. left rush hour commuters stranded and plunged London into darkness and chaos.  It is believed that two generators failed at the same time.  One was gas and the other a large offshore wind facility.   We will follow up and report as more is learned….