County pays citizens for horizon dotted with wind turbines (Yahoo! News)

Sherman County, Oregon is home to farms like many in the United States, but the growers that dot the countryside are green in more ways than one. Along with crops and livestock, they farm wind, using the location's notoriously breezy skies to power massive turbines and generate electricity. The setup seems to be a winning formula for everyone involved, generating carbon-free electricity for neighboring cities as well as providing monetary gain for both the farmers and residents.

The county's 1,735 inhabitants took in $3 million in 2010 as a result of the new wind farming movement. Most of that money is split amongst the farmers who allow their land to be used for the towers, but the average residents also benefit. In compensation for having their horizon drastically changed by the turbines a€” which can affect property values in a big way a€” each head of household in Sherman County receives an annual check for $590.

The average landowner who allows a tower to be built on their property rakes in around $5,500 per turbine each year, and some large farms can house a dozen or more of the massive power generators. The turbines are typically quiet but not entirely silent and there are laws regarding how close they can be to other structures. But with checks of $50,000 or more coming in each year, you can see why many farmers are perfectly content with the change in scenery.

NY Times via Gizmodo

[Image credit: Carillv]

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New Dish CEO: More acquisitions on horizon (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Joe Clayton, the incoming chief executive of Dish Network Corp., said Thursday that more acquisitions are on the horizon as the satellite TV provider pieces together a "new video model" to compete other pay TV operators and rising stars such as Netflix Inc.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Clayton said that the recent acquisitions of video rental chain Blockbuster Inc., satellite Internet provider Hughes Communications Inc., and hybrid satellite and land-based communications company DBSD North America Inc. provided the framework for a model that will transform Dish's video delivery business.

"We put the straight pieces of the puzzle together on the edges, now we're filling in the middle," Clayton said. He made several references to buying companies to complement either Blockbuster or make use of DBSD's wireless spectrum.

"The basic building blocks are in place to add additional ones on top of it for, like I said, a landscaping change in the industry," he said.

Clayton, 61, was named CEO on Monday and is set to take the reins from the company's majority owner, Charlie Ergen, in June. Clayton said he will take over the day-to-day management of Dish while Ergen focuses on the strategic direction of the company.

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A year after Deepwater Horizon explosion, 3 survivors still struggling

Three rig explosion survivors speak outSTORY HIGHLIGHTSSurvivors say the scars from the disaster have taken their lives away Medical records: Survivors have been diagnosed with multiple mental issuesOne says he wakes up screaming from nightmaresTransocean says its focus is on providing support for employees (CNN) -- For some survivors of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, escaping the inferno of the doomed rig made them feel like they'd cheated death.

But living with the scars of what they witnessed that night, and the memory of the 11 men who perished when the rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana a year ago, has in many ways taken their lives away.

"I remember feeling invincible when it first happened. I remember driving in my truck on the way home after the rig exploded and (I) pushed the gas (pedal) to the floor and never let off it," says Daniel Barron.

But the high Barron felt from surviving didn't last long.

"You have that guilty conscience of, 'Okay, I made it, that's great, but then these guys didn't.' Was there something I could have done to save more people?"

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