The beauty of wind farms
by TreeHugger on 04.16.05
David Suzuki has been the voice of doom on the Canadian environmental scene forever, and can make you feel guilty just for breathing and expelling CO2. Today he has written a strong and positive defense of wind farms in the face of the NIMBY reaction that is becoming common. He has one of the most beautiful backyards on the face of the planet and is welcoming windfarms to it.
He notes that we used to think belching smokestacks represented power and progress. Treehugger agrees that wind turbines are a whole lot prettier. ::New Scientist via ::Triple Pundit
Most would agree that there are places wind farms do not belong. My sense is that there is so much easy money lying on the table for these projects that inexperienced and greedy developers are pushing them without much pre-project planning and no public engagement until the last minute. This leads to the NIMBY reaction of course. A better way of planning is readily available from the lessons of NEPA.
I guess to me, NIMBY and wind turbines don't really seem to make sense. NIMBY to clean, American-made energy sources compared to what alternative. As far a money lying around for these projects. Not so much. Big money is moving to wind farming. Warren Buffet has become active in wind development and I'm sure he will bring some interest with him. For the most part, it still has to be a consumer movement.
One last note on the NIMBY matter. A study was done up here in Minnesota and it discovered that in excess of 90% of farm owners surveyed supported wind farming in their areas. Yes, it would be source of income for these land owners with minimal impact on their land as compared to any type of mining. I think our nations farm community would benefit from this. If you have questions about wind power, visit me at
www.Krystal-Planet.com/NorthStar.
If anyone other than me didn't pick it up immediately, NIMBY means 'Not In My BackYard'. If only I had a backyard at all *sigh* perhaps a telescoping windmill to mount on my car..
I feel the same. It's very difficult for city dwellers to go "off grid" and use much of the technology (wind turbine, solar) due to space limitations. Difficult, but not impossible. For myself, I purchase 1000kw of wind power each month to support and encourage more alternative, clean American-Made power. I'm not sure if this option exists in other countries as well and from reports, the US is the one developed country that needs to play catch-up to much of Europe and the rest of the world.
In fact, I purchase enough green tags of off-set the emmissions from my auto as well. This can be done and if more city folks come on board, it can make a great difference. The company I work with has a mission to promote consumers purchase of wind generated power regionally and to build more wind generation in those regions where consumers have supported it. An additional benefit is the revenue generated for the rural communities where these turbines are placed. For us here in Minnesota, surveys done by independent organizations have shown an approval rate in excess of 90% among rural communities for more wind farms. These farm communities understand the potential economic benefit to their community and the minor impact these turbines have on their land. That is compared to strip mining and coal-plant construction. In a sense, these folks are saying YES to wind turbines in their back yard. I'd be happy to give anyone interested to know more as much information as I can about some options in support of wind power and how we plan to build more of them. Have a great day.