How a false claim about wind turbines killing whales is spinning out of control in coastal Australia | Wind power
by Jojuj
How a false claim about wind turbines killing whales is spinning out of control in coastal Australia | Wind power
by Jojuj
2 comments
This seems to be one of the key points: “He said others were worried about windfarm views affecting the value of their properties, but rather than admit that they were hiding “behind concern for the whales”.”
As an Australian, it’s incredibly frustrating that even after all these years, we still haven’t gotten our heads around identifying vocal minorities with vested interests whinging in bad faith, and ignoring them. On the contrary, even the most well meaning of mastheads like The Guardian and the ABC end up throwing fuel on the proverbial fire by reporting on it in such a ‘balanced’ and milquetoast fashion, amplifying the ‘concerns’ and feeding them to people who think they also have a vested interest as an excuse for them to hide behind. It certainly doesn’t help when the leader of the opposition in parliament jumps on the bandwagon, though.
The crux of it is, for a very small handful this is about the view and the value of their property, but for a much larger bunch it’s about their superannuation (retirement funds) being tied up in companies which lend to and profit from fossil fuels. They’ve made the connection between coal/gas and their portfolio going up, so they will say literally anything to discourage and prolong the adoption of renewables. The fact that there’s no evidence, or even logic, behind ‘wind farms kill whales’ doesn’t matter to them, they’re willing to look fairly stupid because they’re doing it living in relative luxury. They have, however, cottoned on to the fact that the more of them there are repeating this nonsense and giving it credibility, the less stupid they look, which is their optimal outcome.
At the end of the day though, they have absolutely no concern for the environment, it’s all about self-interest.