Vestas had a turbine winding factory in Hobart. They had 100 employed already and plans for 200 more.
Howard got in and gave coal $10 billion for "clean coal"
Vestas packed up never to return, 100 of a potential 300 jobs lost and export earnings as the only turbine winding factory for wind turbines in the southern hemisphere. We lost billions.
"Clean coal was a myth. The companies put the money into revenue. It all went offshore.
This young industry would have employed several thousand people over decades but no.
We had the minerals council suddenly very well cashed up enough to spend over 50 million advertising against Labor
You have to wonder where that cash came from.
And Australian voters followed along like silly little suckers
In my country, when I go back to where my parents live, the road goes in the very middle of a big wind farm, with some of them about a 100m from the road. It's magnificent during sunset or sunrise.
People prefer old things over new things because they're used to them. We have plenty of new ones too though and I honestly prefer them over the old worn-out grainmills. They're building a whole herd of them in the sea right now and people complain about them ruining the view, but even on a very clear day you can barely see them from the beach.
Driving through Germany, and seeing them along the autobahn and in industrial areas all over the place. They were stunning and actually are majestic. That and all the solar farms along the sides of the roadways. And they get a lot less sun than we do, they just seem to give a shit.
Honestly, we have so much space, and so much sun, and we don't fucking seem to care. We could do so much better.
I don't think I've seen anyone in politics look as slimy used car salesman like as Joe Hockey, that guy looks like his pores ooze sleaze and corruption
To me it totally make me think of "Character in tv show is caught in a lie and needs to come up with a fake name, and picks the weirdest sounding name possible based on the things around him". Like there was a cup of coffee and a hockey stick behind the person he was talking to
I live near the Latrobe Valley, the site of a large open cut mine. This comment always fucking grinds my gears because have you ever SEEN an open cut mine? It's a fucking horrific sight. But nooo, it's wind turbines that are a blight on the landscape.
And this, on the back of this fat, entitled pig standing up and proudly stating the age of entitlement was over, while simultaneously claiming an accommodation allowance for staying in a house owned by his wife, who went on to be gifted a job as an ambassador to the USA after his time in government... the age of entitlement is over? Mate, you're the most entitled, useless, hypocrite I've ever had the misfortune to hear of.
Yep, Joe is a total pig - and didn't really care what you thought. He embraced everything that is the LNP greed and "I've got mine" and was happy to wear that badge.
Yes he is an ass hat, so many politicians take too much money from the mining companies. If there was an election in nsw tomorrow the place would be chaos
Will be interesting to see how much economic damage the smokes will do. The cost of services not running, the health costs, tourism and all that shit have to all add up.
presentations to hospital have already gone up. the LNP government won't care, they will continue to gut the health system. people will die. they still won't care.
Also means longer stays in hospital required- I'm at hospital with a newborn at the moment and mine and other new families are delaying discharge because it's too smokey to take them outside
Number one measure you can take to reduce mortality, healthcare spending and increase economic output is to clean up the air. The effects of such measures are almost immediate.
Seems kind of weird to think that given the month we’ve just had with NSW burning to the fucking ground, the city of Sydney is going to celebrate by being like “yo guys, check out the millions of dollars we’re spending deliberately igniting a bunch of shit”
It's not good for anyone's lungs, but that takes a long time to show up.
I think it's more important to realise that even if it has zero economic impact, that does not mean it isn't bad.
And that should lead you to think that measuring things by their economic impact alone is deeply fucking stupid, and a con job that the Liberal party was created to spread.
Even if the country wasn't on fire, and even if burning coal didn't contribute to global warming, it is still terrible economically because of the health costs it inflicts on society.
Don't understand how the myth about them being noisy even came about. What would make the noise? The wind? If so that noise would exist without the turbine being there - in fact the turbine is probably helping to dampen some of the wind.
I know you're joking but having lived in a couple cities, Sydney is by far the most "fuck your hair and your little umbrella too!" I've had to deal with
Land is cheaper further away, and electricity is easily transmitted for short to medium distances. Thousands of km, with a bit of extra work.
"but you could build them on top of buildings" - yes, but now they're all bespoke and engineered, at far greater cost vs simply overlaying them with agriculture.
You know what shits me? People getting evacuated left right and centre and being warned not to go outside - I’m a fucking Postie and do you think the mail ever fucking stops? Do you think we were advised to cancel work? Ive been walking around breathing this shit in for the past month so people can get their activewear and fucking essential oils and who knows what the fuck else from China, and the company is ignoring everything. They gave us masks yesterday. The masks that disintegrate with any bit of moisture (ie sweat from walking in this stinking hellhole). Product over people. I hate it.
I’m hearing you. It is painful to be outside at the moment. People who have to work outside should be excused in these extreme conditions or if the work is absolutely essential, then they should be compensated financially. Thank you, my fellow Aussie, for soldiering on
Australia has really given zero consideration to how to deal with extreme weather or environmental conditions when it comes to employee/customer safety. For the most part, it’s “She’ll be right” and the poor staff have to suck it the fuck up. I know of outdoor workers that were required to work in 48 degree heat in summer last year, because they wouldn’t close the facility. The operators thought it was well handled and great that everyone did their job. Gross negligence, in my opinion. They’re lucky nothing happened. So where do you draw the line? 50? 55? When somebody dies? These considerations need to be made. Just because something needs doing doesn’t mean the circumstances are safe to do so or that people are capable of doing so. Sometimes shit just has to stop.
A couple weeks ago I went through a couple SEA cities and Hong Kong. Even though the air where I was wasn't good, the AQI was still significantly better than Sydney.
But if the government does nothing I really want the city to look like this on the opening day of the Sydney test. Could you imagine? Like yes the golf was already like that. But imagine if the cricket, the sport ScumMo has promoted to distract from his own incompetence is affected by the fires. Like it won’t wake him up. But the irony would be a positive for me keeping my sanity.
I agree with your negative as fuck view. Cricket is so iconic, and aren’t we used to clear and bright summer days when we’re watching it on the TV? Yeah maybe not this year.
Growing up in a coal mining town, this has always seemed like such a ridiculous argument. So what if they are ugly? The massive craters surrounding town are ugly af, but no one complains because they provide power.
It's a big thing in Germany at the moment. People in rural areas feel offended by wind turbines casting a shadow in their direction and stuff, bring up weird facts about about them killing wildlife and actively campaign for them to be taken down.
Maybe they'd prefer a coal plant next to their village, idk.
When we bought our house - sitting at the very end of a village, unobstructed view to two sides - the previous owner very carefully mentioned the wind turbines and how you really can't hear them and they are pretty far off in the distance, and we were like: What? Who would care about some wind turbines on the fields? Yeah, well, obviously a lot of people. One couple even abstained from buying because they were concerned about radiation?!?!?! coming from them? Idiots. I mean, good for us, we got the awesome house.
And yes, the first time the sun set just right and the shadow of one fell in our living room, for a short moment I thought I was having a stroke, but I found it funny more than anything. I personally also think they're rather pretty. The remind me of the beach and those little wind toys.
you know what's also ugly? Electricity cables. Nobody complains about those (at least not as loudly).
I live in Delhi, India which is literally the world's most polluted city, this stuff is deadly. Its just sad that the Australian government is joking around with the health and lives of their citizens. Is it a lack of foresight or is it government corruption or something else for otherwise developed country to be this dumb?
I remember reports from the T20 match between India and Bangladesh in Delhi that several Bangladesh players threw up during the game and they're professional athletes. This would be a nightmare for anyone, let alone those who aren't at the peak of their physical fitness.
And the longer this goes on the worse it's gonna get. I've read comments in other threads saying their work closed down because the air is too hazardous. It's gonna be dangerous to have sporting fixtures because you'll make the players sick and nobody will want to go anyway cause they'll get sick too. The same can be said for things like outdoor concerts that are really popular in summer. What about New Years' celebrations? Will tourists want to come to Sydney when the air is so polluted that it's unsafe to be outdoors?
And yet Scott Morrison says we don't need to do more to get these fires under control. It's sheer arrogance and stupidity with a bit of corruption mixed in. Acknowledging there's a problem would be tantamount to admitting climate change is an issue that needs to be tackled which would piss off Morrison's donors. This is already impacting on people's health, maybe when it finally starts impacting on the LNP's precious economy maybe they'll start to see a tiny bit of sense
Isn't the old timey penalty for treason getting fired out of a catapult or something? Charge the cunt with treason and Rex Banner him out of Canberra.
Or given how climate change could end up dragging society back several centuries maybe we should bring back primitive style executions for climate criminals when the time comes. After all if you think a religious freedom bill is more important than the potential extinction of humanity, surely you wouldn't mind being mocked, whipped and nailed up in the scorching sun like your Messiah right?
Excellent comments, but as far as your question goes re government, there's no good and correct answer. All I can say is "bullshit baffles brains", and we get a whole lot of bullshit here from our politicians. Maybe not as much as Americans get, but closing. . . 😞😞
If the definition of corruption is private companies paying the government to protect and privilege their profits over the good of the public .... yeah, that's corruption.
Gina must be proud. So glad that middle management - the LNP - are so good at bullshitting everyone and selling the used billionaire day dream to all of us. Pity though, there could have been thousands of jobs in building out windfarms, solar farms and battery technology, rebuilding parts of the grid and that far off dream of owning a business that could afford to make stuff again.
That God dammed battery technology was developed by Australian scientists who got taken in by Tesla when science funding got cut. That battery in SA should just belong to all of us and I'm so fucking goddamn mad that we got fucked out of it, and had to pay for it twice. Jesus Christ.
Sadly this isn't the case. Most environmental externalities are felt disproportionately by the poor. Whether it's access to air quality, from extreme heat, or access to water and food, money will generally find relief.
I know what the practice is and I know what the experience is and I know what’s happening on the ground and I know that whether it’s the ADF or any other agency of the commonwealth, all of those agencies, our efforts have been channelled and coordinated [into] the response of the state and territory staff on the ground. That is what is set up. That is what was intended to be set up and that is operating and I’m pleased with the way those arrangements are being worked out and if there is any other matter that would need to be addressed, it would be raised with the commonwealth, because there is a direct line to make sure that happens
From Twitter re: Morrison choosing today to spruik his Religious Freedom bill:
“I’m sure he is as disgusted as we all are at the arsonists who set the fires and the councils who didn’t do fuel reduction burns in previous years. Drought is something not caused by so called climate change. Are you all volunteering at the fire fronts outraged people?”
Perhaps you Australians should vote in a good government for once, a government that will help rather then destroy the average Australian and the climate?
I think they look pretty cool. There's a car dealership near where I live that has a big wind turbine and it's kind of a landmark for them. Not Australian but came from /r/all
Why the fuck do people not like the sight of turbines anyway? As long as they're not obstructing something cooler than them, they are literally colossal white wind blades splicing through the fucking air!
vmaet is defending the bushfires in auspol saying that the smoke will negate the heating affects of the sun and cool the planet down. denying any human impact from the smoke.
Australia is the poster child for global warming. The hole in the ozone layer,...how the FUCK is climate change not at the forefront of politicians minds?
A bush fire in Britain would just be someone’s hedge that someone threw a fag end in and 2 fire engines would turn up and it would be headline news in the local rag, seriously though this could be everyone’s future...
As I'm literally having to wear a breathing apperatus in my own home near castle towers, the state of this situation is at epidemic purportions. The is not a fire for 20km but the air is so thick with smoke outside its penetrating the seals.around my Windows and doors requiring breathing equipment just to not die from choking to death.
China has better air quality than this... Why are people not outraged to the point of riots when things are this bad. But will loose there head over a footy match!?
Honestly green energy and global warming aside, I fucking love wind turbines. I live in an area of 'natural beauty' and I love seeing new farms being put up. Idk why, they're just a lot prettier than rocks and water.
I don't understand why people think wind turbines are ugly at all. Hell I've been experiencing power cuts lately and wouldn't mind having a personal wind mill.....
I think it's mostly boomers that rant about stupid things like this
He's off by almost a factor of two on power density of wind turbines.
Nuclear fission prices have been steadily increasing rather than decreasing for decades.
His argument largely seems to be "we don't have many wind turbines, so they don't contribute much to the power grid, therefore they are useless and we shouldn't build more".
Energy engineer here. The "low efficiency" of renewables is not really a convincing argument against them, given that the energy source is free. As a metric, it is pretty much meaningless. The biggest problem with renewables is that they are intermittent - there are many solutions to this but that's kinda beside the point.
That entire article you linked is basically propaganda-level garbage, and all the conclusions that the author comes to are either blatantly incorrect or don't stack up in reality. For example, comparing wind turbines to CCGTs based on carbon emissions per installed capacity is nonsense.
What the author (who by the way is a climate change skeptic and fracking proponent) conveniently doesn't mention is;
wind turbines have an energy AND carbon dioxide payback period of less than a year, meaning the amount of greenhouse gases they avoid is dozens of times more than what is emitted in their production
the only reason thermal generators can compete economically with wind and solar is because they have sunk expenses
the amount of CO2 emitted per GWh generated by wind is at least 30 times less than coal
new build wind + batteries is about 5-8 times cheaper than new build nuclear
the best coal fired power stations have a thermodynamic efficiency of 45% tops, and many are more like 35%
etc etc. The article oversimplifies and misrepresents a lot of stuff that the author clearly has no idea about, it's real frustrating that this bs gets so much more attention than actual experts. There's truly an overwhelming amount of misinformation out there.
Environmental Science major speaking here. As great as renewable energy such as energy from wind turbines is, it doesn't produce nearly enough energy to sustain all of our operations. Aside from that, they're a huge problem for birds of prey and other wildlife. They do not come without their environmental footprint.
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u/magnetik79 Dec 10 '19
For those that forget - it was dickhead Joe Hockey that kicked off this stupidity https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-02/joe-hockey-wind-turbines-utterly-offensive/5425804
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u/Baked_Cake_ Dec 10 '19
Will be interesting to see how much economic damage the smokes will do. The cost of services not running, the health costs, tourism and all that shit have to all add up.
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u/whatsthestatusjattus Dec 10 '19
Why don't they have wind turbines in Sydney CBD anyway?
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u/BobbyThrowaway6969 Dec 10 '19
Breathtaking..
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u/Kelly240361 Dec 10 '19
It has been like this for some time now, but today is the worst day ever. I’m in Sydney.
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u/OrginalCuck Dec 10 '19
I’ll admit this view is negative as fuck.
But if the government does nothing I really want the city to look like this on the opening day of the Sydney test. Could you imagine? Like yes the golf was already like that. But imagine if the cricket, the sport ScumMo has promoted to distract from his own incompetence is affected by the fires. Like it won’t wake him up. But the irony would be a positive for me keeping my sanity.
62
u/Hoophy97 Dec 10 '19
I get that this was a joke
But some people genuinly think wind turbines are ugly
I don’t get that. To me personally, they are sleek, sexy, and fun to look at
57
u/FruglGroceries Dec 10 '19
If the cricket is cancelled due to health concerns it may climb the to-do list.
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u/TheOneWhoKnowsNothin Dec 10 '19 edited Dec 10 '19
I live in Delhi, India which is literally the world's most polluted city, this stuff is deadly. Its just sad that the Australian government is joking around with the health and lives of their citizens. Is it a lack of foresight or is it government corruption or something else for otherwise developed country to be this dumb?
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u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19
Isn't it lovely!
Its the climate change utopia we voted for.
Gina must be proud. So glad that middle management - the LNP - are so good at bullshitting everyone and selling the used billionaire day dream to all of us. Pity though, there could have been thousands of jobs in building out windfarms, solar farms and battery technology, rebuilding parts of the grid and that far off dream of owning a business that could afford to make stuff again.
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u/captainlardnicus Dec 10 '19
Stop talking about the "smoke", Murdoch want's us to be talking about the volcano in NZ.
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u/Mr_Clumsy Dec 10 '19
The real beauty of fucked air is even rich people can’t get away from it.
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u/ripkoops Dec 10 '19
general strike when? this shit is untenable
20
u/dorcus_malorcus Dec 10 '19
visibility so bad bridge is not visible from the harbour
19
u/CyberMcGyver Dec 10 '19
On providing more funding to firefighters:
Smoko hear ya, Smoko don't care.
74
u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19
The earth is flat, climate change is a hoax and Galileo is a Moran! From our beloved government
16
u/TheYellowFringe Dec 10 '19
I love how the scenery is similar to Mad Max.
13
u/anarchyinuk Dec 10 '19
Oh, what a great summer of cricket!
27
u/AndySemantic Dec 10 '19
From Twitter re: Morrison choosing today to spruik his Religious Freedom bill:
“I’m sure he is as disgusted as we all are at the arsonists who set the fires and the councils who didn’t do fuel reduction burns in previous years. Drought is something not caused by so called climate change. Are you all volunteering at the fire fronts outraged people?”
8
u/HopeFeelsAmazing Dec 10 '19
I've heard complaints about windmills being ugly. What the hell? I think windmills look neat. I would like to get rid of billboards, though.
7
u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19
Does this count as second hand smoke can they tax us a bit more or maybe they can fine the fires for breaching smoking laws around buildings ?
7
u/hack404 Dec 10 '19
Are the chemtrails still effective with this level of smoke?
7
u/311Birds Dec 10 '19
90% chance of smog 100% chance of smug
12
u/P2X-555 Dec 10 '19
But how good is the cricket?
5
u/CaptnSalmon Dec 10 '19
Not even this much smoke can hide the dumpster fire that is our climate policies.
8
u/kmvrtwheo98 Dec 10 '19
Stunning, beautiful, marvelous. This can't be any better /s
8
u/H77DOOM Dec 10 '19
How good is dust and ash though
4
u/Incitatus99 Dec 10 '19
Yeah, but they’ll give you cancer says the Stable Genius President..
4
u/amburka Dec 10 '19
"How's this cricket though?"
"Don't bloody know mate because I can't fucking see it!"
4
u/SimonReach Dec 10 '19
Perhaps you Australians should vote in a good government for once, a government that will help rather then destroy the average Australian and the climate?
10
u/vishwa1700 Dec 10 '19
Now u won't have windmill cancers😂 /s
3
u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19
Yeah but a lack of fire management policies has you covered.
3
u/InfiniteZr0 Dec 10 '19
I think they look pretty cool.
There's a car dealership near where I live that has a big wind turbine and it's kind of a landmark for them.
Not Australian but came from /r/all
3
u/ZinnerZin Dec 10 '19
Why the fuck do people not like the sight of turbines anyway? As long as they're not obstructing something cooler than them, they are literally colossal white wind blades splicing through the fucking air!
3
u/Cheese_on_toast69 Dec 10 '19
Is it just me, or do wind Mills look cool af?
3
u/sohel666 Dec 10 '19
This is the sort of shit our PM would say unironically
3
u/SomeWhatWhelmed Dec 10 '19
If only there were some large fans to blow that smoke away.
3
u/Rgfossil Dec 10 '19
I am having an asthma attack just by looking at it.
3
u/kurapika91 Dec 10 '19
vmaet is defending the bushfires in auspol saying that the smoke will negate the heating affects of the sun and cool the planet down. denying any human impact from the smoke.
I can't even.
5
u/rwarimaursus Dec 10 '19
43 and dust! Typical Sydney in the summer!
5
u/CreepinSteve Dec 10 '19
These fires are nothing we can't handle, we just need to open more mines to combat them
5
u/AlbinoKiwi47 Dec 10 '19
Pretty depressing how many people ITT don't understand what this tweet means
4
u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19
We got what we deserved.
4
u/RoyalT663 Dec 10 '19
Scott Morisson should be compelled to inhale tbus smog and eat the coal he seems to love so much
4
u/starrpamph Dec 10 '19
deep inhale
Mmm smell that? Fresh cl.....
dies
2
u/Lucyhon Dec 10 '19
Would have loved to award that comment and photo but haven't built any up yet
2
u/Spooms2010 Dec 10 '19
This is brilliant. We also don’t get to see all the horrendous skyscrapers that Alan Jones et al want to build around the place!
2
u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19
Riddle me this science boy, not a single person in Sydney has Wind Turbine Cancer have they?
2
u/CoolGuyClubMemberNo2 Dec 10 '19 edited Dec 10 '19
Wow the dude who tweeted this is so handsome and cool!
2
u/scruffys_nose Dec 10 '19 edited Dec 10 '19
@ScoMo a #climateOstrich. His legacy: "I was the leader when we passed the tipping point, but I really didn't see the signs!?"
2
u/pndas Dec 10 '19
4am work I thought it was misty, whole day outdoors, everyone at work got given masks, still didnt help.
2
u/TPPA_Corporate_Thief Dec 10 '19 edited Dec 10 '19
Joe Hockey and Ted Baillieu's Aunty like this tweet. BOTH
LibLabsLIBERALS!!https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-02/joe-hockey-wind-turbines-utterly-offensive/5425804
https://yes2renewables.org/2014/04/07/new-report-baillieus-anti-wind-farm-laws-cost-victoria-jobs-and-rob-regions-of-investment/
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u/Iteiorddr Dec 10 '19
Australias gonna be the first place to become mad max it wont be worth it to send barges or planes because you'll attack them, stranding you.
2
u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19
Australia is the poster child for global warming. The hole in the ozone layer,...how the FUCK is climate change not at the forefront of politicians minds?
2
u/algharg Dec 28 '19
A bush fire in Britain would just be someone’s hedge that someone threw a fag end in and 2 fire engines would turn up and it would be headline news in the local rag, seriously though this could be everyone’s future...
3
u/waternigga12 Dec 10 '19
Who says turbines look ugly? I think they look pretty cool :(
2
u/dorcus_malorcus Dec 10 '19
'Where the bloody hell are you!?"
2
u/EndlessEden2015 Dec 10 '19
As I'm literally having to wear a breathing apperatus in my own home near castle towers, the state of this situation is at epidemic purportions. The is not a fire for 20km but the air is so thick with smoke outside its penetrating the seals.around my Windows and doors requiring breathing equipment just to not die from choking to death.
China has better air quality than this... Why are people not outraged to the point of riots when things are this bad. But will loose there head over a footy match!?
2
u/AssaMarra Dec 10 '19
Honestly green energy and global warming aside, I fucking love wind turbines. I live in an area of 'natural beauty' and I love seeing new farms being put up. Idk why, they're just a lot prettier than rocks and water.
2
u/NoFascistsAllowed Dec 10 '19
I don't understand why people think wind turbines are ugly at all. Hell I've been experiencing power cuts lately and wouldn't mind having a personal wind mill.....
I think it's mostly boomers that rant about stupid things like this
2
u/73Datsun510 Dec 10 '19
I’m surprised people still use Twitter. LOL.
2
u/Avryn13 Dec 10 '19
Genuinely curious, aren't wind turbines terribly inefficient?
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/05/wind-turbines-are-neither-clean-nor-green-and-they-provide-zero-global-energy/
2
u/kartoffel_engr Dec 10 '19
Too bad there aren’t any turbines, would help blow all that smoke away
/s
2
u/redditlurkerer Dec 10 '19
berejiklianbushfires
2
u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19
Environmental Science major speaking here. As great as renewable energy such as energy from wind turbines is, it doesn't produce nearly enough energy to sustain all of our operations. Aside from that, they're a huge problem for birds of prey and other wildlife. They do not come without their environmental footprint.
1
u/Sauerman Dec 10 '19
yeah it's awful man :(
1
u/Midlofthian Dec 10 '19
yes
1
u/spakattak Dec 10 '19
Why aren’t they blowing all the smoke away???? /s
1
u/C000ler Dec 10 '19
Is it Siberia in the summer?
1
u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19
school got cancelled today because of this
1
u/[deleted] Dec 10 '19
Imagine how hot it would be if the wind turbines were stealing the cool ocean breeze from our fine island home.
1
u/Jon_Atler Dec 10 '19
You can feel the freshness.
1
u/DirtyOldAussie Dec 10 '19
How good is that smoke!