Residential Windmills Face Opposition | Hacker News Reader

Residential Windmills Face Opposition

nytimes.com

7 pointsmhb12 comments

Right now I'm relaxing with some HN and listening to the sounds of crickets and the occasional car passing by.

I swear, if a neighbor installs one of these things, and I can hear it (whooshing noises, or it develops a noise from just normal wear and tear), one way or another, its coming down.

People have so little respect for others around them concerning noise pollution. Leaf blowers, lawn mowers, noisy air conditioners, motorcycles, etc

I can't stand noise as well, but I've always taken it for granted that it is my job to stop noise from entering my home. I am always surprised by people who also hate noise, but don't seem to think a lot about sound proofing, they are more like defenseless victims of noise form the outside world.

I'm a victim because I prefer to be able to open my windows or sit outside?

I'm a victim because I can't sleep through the sound of landscapers early in the morning, even with the widows closed?

Landscapers have been a problem for me absolutely everywhere I've lived. I have two choices, rid the world of early morning landscapers or sound proof the house, starting with better windows.

Or local laws can be written and enforced about noise pollution early in the morning. Probably not that different from regulations that don't let your neighbors put a noisy windmill on their roof.

I remember a long time ago the town where my dad lived was going to build an animal shelter with an outdoor fenced in area for dogs, which would result in nonstop barking. The neighborhood got together and put a stop to that. Sounds like you would have told them all to just buy better windows and stop being victims.

Do you see no limit to the externalities which may be imposed so that some people can make more money? Landscapers would be using gas-powered nose hair trimmers if it saved them a few seconds.

Do you think that the solution to the stink from the new pig farm next door to you is appropriately handled by you installing year-round filtered air conditioning?

Soundproofing is very expensive and might be impossible depending on the noise, the construction of the house and whether or not you own or rent. If possible it's almost always preferable to simply not have the noise in the first place.

An apartment where I lived in Manhattan had unbearable noise. The bill for installing soundproof windows would have been $1800 and wouldn't block any of the low frequency noise from a nearby bar, so I moved to a quiet street in Brooklyn...

I'm a bit torn due due to the U.S.'s need for a better energy policy and development, but I have to agree with your concern regarding noise pollution. It is absurd, what some people think is their right to inflict on their neighbors, and upon every block they pass down with their subwoofer or straight pipes.

Perhaps these concerns with regard to residential windmills are yet another aspect/reflection of the poor outcome of having a lack of an effective public energy policy and initiative. Communities and governments refuse to address the problem in a coordinated fashion. Everyone ends up "doing their own thing" and, all too often, the neighbors be damned.

Noise pollution has remained a hidden environmental degradation and health risk. Hidden in plain sight.

When you live in a city, you live close to many other people and there is going to be noise. It's like living out in the county and wining about the long drive to the store. If sound pollution is such a huge priority for you, why do you live in the city?

Why do you think he lives in a city?

"Even before the Howland case, Cape Cod was a battleground in the windmill debate: a proposal to build the nation’s first offshore wind farm has met with stiff opposition from those who say the project would spoil the natural beauty of Nantucket Sound."

This is a bigger problem. Most housing developments don't have lots with enough space for this sort of thing, but it's silly that in Massachusetts they would be opposed to a windfarm. There must be some deal that could be struck that would leave the local town, city, or suburb with ownership of the farm after an allotted time or profit.

I'm not sure she has enough space, but really a town should consult with the neighbors, and if it's safe be done with it.

We have similar regulations in my town. I think they're absolutely ludicrous.

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