The Virginian-Pilot
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VIRGINIA BEACH
Tamarah Williams supports a federal ban on drilling for oil off Virginia's coast.
"I think it's great what they're doing," she said, pointing to a crowd of about 75 who had joined hands Saturday at the Oceanfront in opposition of offshore drilling and in support of wind energy. "But I have to meet somebody for lunch."
A year ago, more than 1,000 people linked hands in Virginia Beach during the inaugural Hands Across the Sand protest, staged at coastal cities around the world in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. If Saturday's protest and Williams' reaction were indications, some of the outrage over the spill has dissolved.
"We knew it would be difficult to duplicate last year's crowd," Eileen Levandoski of the Virginia Sierra Club said. "The story has probably faded from some people's minds, but it's no less important."
High gasoline prices have put pressure on President Barack Obama and Congress to increase domestic oil production, Levandoski said, but it would be up to 10 years before any oil is pumped out of new offshore wells. It's not worth the risk, she said.
"We could drill everywhere including Gov. Bob McDonnell's backyard, and it wouldn't have a major impact on fuel prices," Levandoski said, taking a jab at the Republican governor for his support of offshore drilling.
Franco Sferrella, a 17-year-old student at Kempsville High School, attended the protest because he fears a major spill could ruin the beaches.
"I believe you've got to protect those with no voice," he said. "Not just for the ocean and beaches, but for wildlife and future generations."
Ed Paul attended the protest with mixed views. The 36-year-old pastor said he supports wind energy but also thinks offshore oil drilling could be done without harming the environment.
"I support an all-of-the-above approach," he said.
Attendees at the rally signed two petitions, one demanding Congress turn down efforts to expand domestic oil production and another urging Dominion Virginia Power to invest in offshore wind farms.
Participants chanted "mills, not drills" and "save our beaches" for 12 minutes as they held hands along the beach at 24th Street.
"We have a great resource off the coast of Virginia, but it's not oil," event organizer Rebecca Glenn shouted into a megaphone. "Wind does not spill."
Mike Hixenbaugh, (757) 222-5117, mike.hixenbaugh@pilotonline.com
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I would support offshore drilling if only I could trust our government to properly regulate the rigs. Let's face it, oil companies have the Legislative and Executive branches in their pocket. Unless something changes drastically, an oil spill will be inevitable if we allow offshore drilling. With the current state of regulation, the oil companies have no reason not to maintain their equipment properly.
How many birds are killed by
How many birds are killed by cars each year? I've hit 4 so far.
Make sure you stencil little
Make sure you stencil little birdie silhouettes on the side of your car. When you get the fifth one you will be an "ace!"
So....
....that makes it okay to kill more with wind turbines?
not enough to make an impact
Yes, but the impact would be very minimal compared to the other ways in which they die.
Turbines move slower than you'd think; They aren't blenders.
This sudden care about a few birds is silly compared to what people don't care about.
78 Knots to 158 Knots Per Hour Is Faster Than Highway Speed
these turbines appear to be moving slow due to their size (i.e. the size of large office buildings). The blades themselves have diameters of up to 77 Meters with the pedestal tower being 65-100-plus meters in height. At the tip of the rotor/turbine, they are moving at 40-80 Meters per/second - the equivalent of 78-158 knots. Don't think that is fact - please tell me what wind speeds qualify storms as tropical storms and the follow-on Hurrican ratings. This data is valid for GE Wind Turbines that are in the speed range of 10-20 RPM.
Delay and deny
I wish the environmental activists would stop using the old 'it will take so many years' to get this up and running argument. Had we started 25 years ago there could be a whole lot more power coming from nuclear plants today. Had we started ten years ago, how much oil could already be taken from oil rigs off the Virginia coast?
Come on people now, smile on your brother, we've got to produce some energy right now.
Bad move
Why does it have to be either wind or oil?
Unless someone plans on driving with a propeller, don't we need both?
why don't
why don't those 75 people put their money where their mouth is and buy a windmill and create power.
The point isn't to build a windmill
The point is to increase the cost of electricity to the point that it puts people out of business, therefore decreasing the environmental impact that people have on the planet. It's the same weird argument as the don't build any new roads or expand existing ones to prevent urban sprawl.