NAME______________________________________ DATE_________________________BLOCK________ GOVERNMENT: nimby Each energy option has its downside, as recent disasters have shown all too clearly. However, the cartoonist makes the point that although renewable energy may be safer, people don't like to have wind turbines 'in their backyard'. Of course, the turbine isn't literally in the man's backyard. He just means it's too close to his home. There's an acronym which is used pejoratively to describe opposition by residents to a proposal for a new development close to them: (Not In My Back Yard). DISCUSSION POINTS Which of the options seems the least/most dangerous? What are the arguments in favor of or against the various options? What other forms of renewable/alternative energy are there? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Wind Turbines Frequently Asked Questions – How big is a wind turbine? Industrial wind turbines are a lot bigger than ones you see in a schoolyard or behind someone’s house. The widely used GE 1.5-megawatt model, for example, consists of 116-ft blades atop a 212-ft tower for a total height of 328 feet. The blades sweep a vertical airspace of just under an acre. How are the wind turbine components transported? Transport of such large items and the cranes needed to assemble them often presents problems in the remote areas where they are typically built. Roads must be widened, curves straightened, and in wild areas new roads built altogether. What kind of platform is a wind turbine set in? The steel tower is anchored in a platform of more than a thousand tons of concrete and steel rebar, 30 to 50 feet across and anywhere from 6 to 30 feet deep. Shafts are sometimes driven down farther to help anchor it. Mountain tops must
NAME______________________________________ DATE_________________________BLOCK________ GOVERNMENT: nimby Each energy option has its downside, as recent disasters have shown all too clearly. However, the cartoonist makes the point that although renewable energy may be safer, people don't like to have wind turbines 'in their backyard'. Of course, the turbine isn't literally in the man's backyard. He just means it's too close to his home. There's an acronym which is used pejoratively to describe opposition by residents to a proposal for a new development close to them: (Not In My Back Yard). DISCUSSION POINTS Which of the options seems the least/most dangerous? What are the arguments in favor of or against the various options? What other forms of renewable/alternative energy are there? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Wind Turbines – Frequently Asked Questions How big is a wind turbine? Industrial wind turbines are a lot bigger than ones you see in a schoolyard or behind someone’s house. The widely used GE 1.5-megawatt model, for example, consists of 116-ft blades atop a 212-ft tower for a total height of 328 feet. The blades sweep a vertical airspace of just under an acre. How are the wind turbine components transported? Transport of such large items and the cranes needed to assemble them often presents problems in the remote areas where they are typically built. Roads must be widened, curves straightened, and in wild areas new roads built altogether. What kind of platform is a wind turbine set in? The steel tower is anchored in a platform of more than a thousand tons of concrete and steel rebar, 30 to 50 feet across and anywhere from 6 to 30 feet deep. Shafts are sometimes driven down farther to help anchor it. Mountain tops must
nimby_simulation.docx