# If not here, then where? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 29, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671 "2008-02-29T20:46:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671/21 "2008-03-02T02:10:33Z")
[QUOTE=THespos] They speculate that turning blades will distract drivers on the highway and cause them to get into accidents. My ass. [/QUOTE] _Both_ of our asses. My brother installed a windmill on the farm where I grew up, after he bought…er, _purchased_ the farm. It is in a very small mid-Wisconsin town. It became a subject of a lot of conversation, but no one opposed it. There was one day when a car went into the ditch and overturned. My brother, having seen it happen, ran outside to help. When he got there, the driver was hanging upside down by the seatbelt, explaining that he went in the ditch because he was looking at the windmill. My brother opened the door and offered to help him out. The guy said, “No, the police get here pretty fast and they got a machine that will help.” It turns out that he had been in a similar predicament _twice_ before, only having different things distract him each time (probably pink elephants). Going into the ditch had become old-hat to him. Windmills don’t cause accidents, bad drivers do. You can hear it from the house, but barely. You have to listen for it and a window has to be open. And it’s not so much of a “thoop-thoop-thoop” sound, it’s more of a constant “whish.” Even visiting for a few hours, you forget that it’s there. I love the look of windmills. If the countryside was “littered” with them, I would find it very aesthetically pleasing. And that’s not a “green” opinion, I sincerely think they look really cool. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671/22 "2008-03-02T13:46:24Z")
I don’t particularly think windmills are pretty or wotrh looking at, by at the same time they’re also not particularly the worst. As much as I hate to say it, the 25K is probably lost. I’d drop the issue and build a smaller turbine. But if he does want to fight, your pal is gonna need a lot of signatures. Make the politicians see there are a lot of people who want it. Convince the homeowners that it will look better, not worse. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671/23 "2008-03-02T14:22:53Z")
I think that windmills are a great idea, and those people are morons. That being said, there are some windmills in southern MN that are so HUGE, it’s disconcerting. A little bit menacing, like something out of a H.G. Wells book. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671/24 "2008-03-02T17:00:46Z")
[QUOTE=THespos] …I don’t think he anticipated the **NIMBY** ism. … **NIMBY** ism has run amuck… [/QUOTE] [Bolding mine] Sorry **Thespos** , NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) has not run amok. It has evolved into BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone) ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671/25 "2008-03-02T17:11:40Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] [You too, eh?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=413995) [/QUOTE] Well, windmills still have appeal to some, as evidenced by [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsBvMvHk1BE). (Watch the clip, than watch it again.) I love this commercial! ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671/26 "2008-03-02T17:18:33Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Am I the only one who thinks windmills are pretty? [/QUOTE] Nope. I’ve heard of people being disturbed by low vibrations, and even having shelves rattle from them, but I always thought they were just paranoid. The turbines make very little audible noise, even when you’re standing directly under them. But I guess I can understand how for some people it can be problematic to have a windmill too close to home. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671/27 "2008-03-02T18:38:58Z")
[QUOTE=Zabali\_Clawbane] Well, windmills still have appeal to some, as evidenced by [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsBvMvHk1BE). (Watch the clip, than watch it again.) I love this commercial! [/QUOTE] Yes. That is one cool ad all right. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671/28 "2008-03-02T19:16:48Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] I applaud your friend’s efforts, I really do. I wish there were more like him. However, how the heck is he going to recoup all that outlay with a car wash? I’m possibly a bit ignorant of the car wash business, so I could be completely wrong in thinking he’s going to have a hard row to hoe there. [/QUOTE] No kidding! According to the blog he’s going to have to spend 30 grand to buy the windmill and he’s already spent 25 grand on legal fees. That’s a lot of car washes. And since the windmill is only going to provide 15% of the place’s power needs, how long until that pays off? I wish him all the best but he’s not exactly going to be “a model for environmentally-friendly businesses” if he goes bankrupt. But like **An Arky** , I don’t know the biz so maybe it’s a license to print money and he’s got no worries. ---
**Author:** ![Elysium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Elysium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysium)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671/29 "2008-03-02T23:10:41Z")
I completely agree, it’s silly for the town to say they support green measures and then oppose those measures. It’s like what has been going on here in MA over the proposed Cape Cod wind farm. All the rich people who own coastal property on the Cape think they’ll be an eyesore, and they’re banding together to oppose it. Check out [Cape Wind’s](http://www.capewind.org/) site. They post some of the issues that are going on. People like that really annoy me. Nothing’s ever going to change at this rate. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671/30 "2008-03-03T01:20:52Z")
There’s one along a major highway (93 I think) in the south of Boston. Looks like it’s been there for a [few years](http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/05/06/for_commuters_a_primer_on_harnessing_wind/) now. While the article mentions that it’s about a third of the size of the ones planned for the [Cape Wind](http://www.capewind.org/) project, it doesn’t look like this turbine met much opposition. NIMBYism is disgusting. When you have Sen. Kennedy fighting an environmentally beneficial project, and Pres. Bush supporting it (couldn’t find a cite for Bush supporting it, but I seem to recall something going by in some paper while I lived there. **tdn** , do you remember this or am I crazy?), something is seriously wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-not-here-then-where/439671.md?page=1)