Thanks once again, Mr Trump

[Marty Bonnar]

http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/donald-trump-warns-holyrood-committee-wind-farms-will-kill-scottish-tourism-1-2254046

[Kalen Braley]

OMG,

When will the world just ignore this windbag....its beyond embarrasing the claims he makes.

Once again, to tie into the other thread.  Trump is one of the poster children of everything thats wrong with our capitalistic system.

[Patrick_Mucci]

OMG,

When will the world just ignore this windbag....its beyond embarrasing the claims he makes.

Once again, to tie into the other thread.  Trump is one of the poster children of everything thats wrong with our capitalistic system.

How so ?

He creates and develops enterprises and creates jobs.

What's wrong with that ?

[Stephen Davis]

OMG,

When will the world just ignore this windbag....its beyond embarrasing the claims he makes.

Once again, to tie into the other thread.  Trump is one of the poster children of everything thats wrong with our capitalistic system.

Although I disagree with much of his presentation, I feel that he has it right on this issue.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Read The Memories of The Legendary Iron Man of St Andrews and you may be surprised to see who is in the book.

[Marty Bonnar]

I think all americans should give up guns today. They kill birds.

[Steve Burrows]

Rather than responding with the phrase "I am the evidence," in response to his knowledge of the effects of wind farms on tourism (which comes across as wildly arrogant) perhaps Trump could have done just a bit of homework.  I typed in "Wind Farm Tourism" to a library search engine at got scores of results, the first four of which are listed below.  Whether he was lied to about future plans for wind farms is certainly a relevant issue, but according to these particular articles from respectable, peer-reviewed journals, it seems wind farms have only minimal effects on tourism/local commerce, and much of that can be mitigated through intelligent planning mechanisms.  It might be that Trump does NOT have the evidence.


Riddington, Geoff, et al. “Assessing the Economic Impact of Wind Farms on Tourism in Scotlant: GIS,
Surveys and Policy Outcome.” International Journal of Tourism Research. 12:3, 237-252 (2010).

Frantal, Bohumil and Josel Kunc. “Wind Turbines in Tourism Landscapes: Czech Experience.” Annals of
Tourism Research. 38:2, 499-519 (2011).

Moller, Bernd. “Continuous Spatial Modelling to Analyse Planning and Economic Consequences of
Offshore Wind Energy.” Energy Policy. 39:2, 511-517 (2011).

Landry, Craig E. et al. “Wind Turbines and Coastal Recreation Demand.” Resource and Energy Economics.
34:1, 93-111 (2011).

[Kalen Braley]

Please...

I can't believe any self-respecting person is going to take this blow-hard seriously when he's saying stuff like:

The farms will make "Scotland go broke”.

“You will single-handedly have done more damage to Scotland than virtually any event in Scottish history!”

to “save Scotland and honour my mother, Mary MacLeod....”,

"You will be long gone, but the people of Scotland will forever suffer.”

GMAFB!!!!

[Steve Salmen]

A few years ago my wife and I stood on the first tee and Machriahnish and I asked her, "Do you remember the windmills from last time we were here?"  Neither she nor I knew if they were there before.  Sure, they're a mild eyesore but the community is not as prosperous as it once was. 

Regardless, I've never heard a complaint from the developers of Machrihanish Dunes, nor have I considered dropping my membership at what I think is one of the coolest courses I've played due to windmills.

[Mike Sweeney]

FBD,

1. Thanks for taking Donnie off our hands if only for a few days.

2. The Cape Cod/Nantucket Sound certainly covers a larger population area than Scotland, and thankfully it has been voted down so far (sort of):



3. Having spent a good part of six summers in the Baltimore and Delaware (Wilmington) Canyons, land based engineers have no idea about the power of the ocean. These things will come down at some point in time.



4. I am a member of The Wianno Club (Cape Cod) and a past guest at The West Chop Club (Martha's Vineyard), and I really want the USA to get out of The Middle East but honestly these huge wind farms are not the answer, IMO.

5. Even Donnie may be right once in a while.

[Sam Morrow]

OMG,

When will the world just ignore this windbag....its beyond embarrasing the claims he makes.

Once again, to tie into the other thread.  Trump is one of the poster children of everything thats wrong with our capitalistic system.

Wrong thread.

[Tim Johnson]

Shot in the dark....Trumpy doesnt have enough money for the hotels or has deemed them not a smart option right now so in typical Trump fashion he blames someone else and walks away from the project.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Has anyone stayed at the Lodge at Pebble Beach or the Inn at Spanish Bay ?

If you were about to invest millions to build those facilities and the government announced that they were going to build a wind farm just offshore, would you proceed to spend millions and build a hotel ?

[John Kavanaugh]

Is there any evidence that the modern Scot understands beauty?  When recently given the opportunity to build a modern Parliament building they failed on all fronts.  A wind farm couldn't make this albatross any uglier.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/visitandlearn/9983.aspx

I come down strongly on the Trump/Sweeney position against wind farms.  I find them far more claustrophobic than any other energy producing alternative.  I will go so far to say that I would drop my membership at Dismal should they begin to blight the landscape during my golfing experience.

[Marty Bonnar]

Just when we needed anpther reason for Kavanaugh not to visit Scotland. Phew.....

[Sean_A]

Has anyone stayed at the Lodge at Pebble Beach or the Inn at Spanish Bay ?

If you were about to invest millions to build those facilities and the government announced that they were going to build a wind farm just offshore, would you proceed to spend millions and build a hotel ?

Pat

Is this meant to be supportive of Trump?  You do know that the turbines in question were proposed before Trump ever came up with his scheme - yes?

Ciao

[Jud_T]

Dueling Windbags...Wasn't that a hit in the '70s?

[Melvyn Morrow]

John's country’s contributions to understanding beauty. Just a very small random selection from a bottomless pit. Then let’s not forget those carts and cart tracks that despoil the courses.

[Jason Topp]

Melvyn - watch out with any funny commentary on Paul Bunyan and Babe.  They are about as sacred in Minnesota as the Old Course is in Scotland.   

[Niall C]

Has anyone stayed at the Lodge at Pebble Beach or the Inn at Spanish Bay ?

If you were about to invest millions to build those facilities and the government announced that they were going to build a wind farm just offshore, would you proceed to spend millions and build a hotel ?

Patrick

What about the shipping lanes, should they be closed ? What about the odd sight of an oil rig, would that cause a few more rooms to be left unlet ? Would it effect the investment value ? Would about a dozen "windmills" several miles off shore stop anyone buying a house along that coast.

If you think the answer to any of those questions is yes, then you've no concept of either the local residential market, the hotel market or the factors driving the UK property investment market IMHO. Of course, things may be different in California but this thread is about Balmedie and Trumps investment there.

Niall

[Ian Larson]

The wind turbine farm  just across the bay from Atlantic City Country Club are just an absolute horrid visual to our skyline. I can't stand looking at them everyday. If you were considering coming here to play, think twice and go spend your money more wisely elsewhere. The damn things ruin every bodies golf match here because they're so damn distracting...next to Trumps beautiful casinos.

[Steve Strasheim]

Trump is a blowhard, embarrassing scores of Americans with his ego driven blabble.

Windmill farms are just another enviro scam.

Put the two together and you have a really ugly situation.

[Dan Boerger]

Hey - Careful what you say about Lucy. A comforting sight to many a shore bound person.

Next people will be making fun of that funny looking windmill on that crusty course in Easter Long Island.

[Jon Wiggett]

What about the SSSI that Trump destroyed!!!!! Talk about double standards. Still if he were to increase the siye of the GREAT DUNES OF SCOTLAND you wouldn't be able to see the turbines

Jon

[Marty Bonnar]

I think all I'm saying is El Trumpo must not have inherited much of his auld mither's celtic dna, cos he's clearly got nae idea of how to endear yourself to a scotsman.
What you don't do is come into scotland acting like some freakin messianic saviour of the country. What you do is walk into the pub, announce that your a worthless sassenach, pledge allegiance to the deep fried mars bar and buy everyone in the place enough single malt to ensure that the gene pool continues to be dominated by kilt-wearin', irn-bru swillin', ginger mingers (like me!)
best,
F.