Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Killer Green!

From the New York Post:

LET 'em die - just don't mess with our perfect view. That's the message from New York environmentalists who've prevented the construction of cell-phone towers along Interstate 87 in the Adirondacks.

Without the towers, the semi-rural area is largely a "dead zone" for cell service - which, when you throw in severe winter weather, can make even minor highway accidents life-threatening.

In late January, it cost 63-year-old Alfred Langner his life. Along with his wife Barbara, Langner was stranded for 32 hours at sub-zero temperature after their car went off the Northway, and Barbara couldn't call for help.
Two weeks later, the same "dead zone" may have taken another life. Canadian truck driver Stewart Crookes' rig slid off the Northway during a snowstorm. He got out to inspect the damage - and suffered a heart attack. His wife's cell-phone calls failed, so she flagged down other motorists to call for help when they were in areas with coverage. An ambulance didn't arrive until 90 minutes after Crookes had collapsed - by which time he was dead.


Despite these tragedies, regional environmental groups like the Adirondack Council still oppose the construction of adequate cell-phone towers, arguing that the towers would despoil the natural beauty of the area. They don't seem to mind sacrificing a few lives to their ideal.


They like to call themselves "progressives", but the enviorn"mental"ists are hell-bent on sending society careening backwards. Cutting off humanity from help so that a view may be perfectly preserved? Perfectly logical to the Greenies; and the deaths that result from their actions are consequences that they feel are worth the cost. I wonder if anyone has asked the survivors of the deceased their opinions...

And speaking of "worth the cost"....do you want to know why solar energy is a rich man's fantasy solution? Check it out - even in New Jersey, home of some of the highest priced kilowatt/hours in the country, solar power is a ridiculously expensive alternative:

In New Jersey, for example, a 10-kilowatt residential solar system is estimated to cost about $77,500. After a state rebate of $38,000 and a $2,000 federal tax credit, the out-of-pocket cost to the homeowner is $37,500. That will provide an estimated annual savings of $1,500 on electricity bills.

The payback period for such a system is roughly 25 years at current utility rates, according to estimates provided by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.


Yeah, OK - this insanely inefficient system is what the left is trying to force upon us. Of course, there is zero chance that anyone will come up with anything more effective than solar power in the next quarter-century, right? C'mon, it's not as if Americans are known for innovation or anything...

And in the meanwhile, the Killer Greens have their way in the Adirondacks, and while folks die all around them, they pat themselves on the back...can't wait until they can foist their policies upon the rest of us!

For some extra giggles, here's Teddy Kennedy, limousine liberal extraordinaire, giving us more of the same...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

In principle, I agree that most enviros are slightly unhinged from reality. At the same time, I'd say an over-reliance on cell technology to get you out of trouble is at fault.

I don't own a cell phone, I don't want one. I don't care if someone else likes them, I don't want to pay or subsidize an entire industry so doofuses can drive during the biggest storm of the year. What next - a proficiency exam before you drive? How about a chip implanted in your head so the government will know when you fall down in the shower? Oh I know, all "scared" drivers get tax-funded chauffeurs. You know, like Hevesi's wife.

Anonymous said...

What's with "state rebate of $38,000 and a $2,000 federal tax credit" ?

I don't want to subsidize the Solar Industry.

How much is the new Solar system being planed for Al Gore house going to cost the tax payers?

The JerseyNut said...

I don't believe that adding some cell-phone towers along the Adirondack Northway would create an over-reliance on cell phones,nor lead to government tracking of every individual.

When radical, life changing technology develops, we adapt our world to it...should we never have built highways for automobiles, since they created an over-reliance upon this newfangled (and more dangerous) mode of transportation?

Instant communication saves lives. And while you are certainly free not to carry or use a cell phone, the building of towers to enable their use is neither an invasion of privacy nor a government project (they are built by the cell companies).

And while one can debate if cellphone technology has made the quality of life better, to deny people the obvious safety benefits they provide so that one's view may not be momentarily interrupted is illogical, to put it mildly...