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What those lawmakers didn’t plan for was that 50 years later, an Oregon citizen activist would use that same bureaucracy to hinder some of the very energy projects that today’s liberals want: wind farms and the new high-voltage lines needed to support them.

They didn’t plan for Irene Gilbert.

The 76-year-old retired state employee, former gun store owner and avid elk hunter from La Grande, Oregon, is on a mission to keep turbines and transmission towers from blighting the rural landscape. She has filed more challenges to energy projects — 15 in all, including lawsuits — than anyone in the state, according to Oregon’s Department of Energy.

“I kind of have a reputation,” Gilbert said.

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[-] KnitWit@lemmy.world 23 points 15 hours ago

If she were really worried about objects blighting the landscape of la grande, that one super obvious confederate flag that can be seen from the highway (that I assume is still tacked up in a trailer window) is probably a good place to start.

[-] marsza@lemmy.cafe 10 points 15 hours ago

She probably put it there.

[-] Captainvaqina@sh.itjust.works 5 points 14 hours ago

Hate, not heritage.

[-] LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world 9 points 13 hours ago

She has lead poisoning and mercury poisoning, I'd bet money on it

[-] Nightlight17776@lemmy.ca 4 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

We need to find a better green energy. It takes so much petroleum to make and maintain solar panels and wind farms. If the energy industry actually thought these were viable solutions they would be everywhere. I'm not just going to complain about it I'm going into electrical manufacturing and I'm going to do my best to fix it

Edit: thank you all for telling me off. It was needed. I'm still going to work to fix the energy industry someday though 😋

[-] marsza@lemmy.cafe 17 points 15 hours ago

Maybe when you get out of school you’ll come back here and apologize for your ignorance.

[-] Nightlight17776@lemmy.ca 2 points 15 hours ago

I'm already sorry. But again it's something I'm going to fix

[-] marsza@lemmy.cafe 1 points 1 hour ago

You’re not gonna fix anything. Climate change in global fascism is going to kill any chance of your future. You should focus on weapons for the Civil Wars

[-] lIlIlIlIlIlIl@lemmy.world 10 points 15 hours ago

They would be everywhere

Oh you sweet summer child

[-] Nightlight17776@lemmy.ca 1 points 14 hours ago

Thank you. I don't think I've ever been called that before. I understand my ignorance but I have to work on that first before I can fix anything

[-] chonkyninja@lemmy.world 7 points 15 hours ago

The fuck have you been smoking?

[-] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 5 points 15 hours ago

That's why I think home wind and solar are the answer, combos if necessary. Solar is getting way better and everyone maintaining their own system would be great. They already make lots of products that could do this. People just have to have battery set ups, and batteries are getting much better too.

[-] SomeoneSomewhere@lemmy.nz 1 points 15 hours ago

Unfortunately wind doesn't have nearly the same room for growth or cost benefits at small scale. Noise, maintenance requirements, and size/intrusiveness mean it's not really an option at residential scale.

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago

It takes so much petroleum to make and maintain solar panels

I have solar panels on my house and have spent exactly zero petroleum (or carbon at all!) to maintain them. They have also allowed me to disconnect my natural gas connection and heat my house in the winter with electricity.

[-] Nightlight17776@lemmy.ca 2 points 13 hours ago

I hope to do something similar someday but it still cost petroleum to make them. I'm envisioning an alternative. Wind turbines do cost petroleum to maintain. You have to lubricate them. But I don't see why we can't lubricate them with something more environmentally friendly

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 6 points 13 hours ago

I hope to do something similar someday but it still cost petroleum to make them. I’m envisioning an alternative.

This feels like you're focusing on a tiny tiny issue of carbon use generated during manufacturing of solar panels while ignoring the massive massive issue of carbon use during operation of nearly every other utility traditional power generation system.

Wind turbines do cost petroleum to maintain. You have to lubricate them.

All of the petroleum used to lubricate a windmill over its entire lifetime is likely less than the petroleum used in a single day of a traditional petroleum based power generation system of the same capacity.

Can you explain why you're hyperfocused on the small consumption while ignoring the massively larger consumption of alternatives?

[-] SomeoneSomewhere@lemmy.nz 2 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

I was expecting you to talk about embodied energy in the steel, concrete, copper, composites, silicon, glass, and the diesel trucks, cranes, and helicopters used for installation and maintenance. Most of those could be greenified once there's enough renewables around.

Nope. You care about lubricant. They use stuff all, don't even burn it, and it's not a particularly impossible thing to replace - I'm sure you could synthesize replacements from corn alcohol though you'd still probably need lithium, molybdenum, or whatever other fancy additives are in use.

They used to use whale fat as lubricant.

Congratulations; dumbest take I've seen all year.

this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2025
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