Windmills not so wonderful
Erie Times-News | September 10, 2013 | www.goerie.com
Unlike Don Quixote, there are some of us jousting at windmills that are real.
They’re the industrial kind that run 500 feet tall, with blades whose combined sweep is as long as a football field. At the same time that the world wants to be energy independent with green, renewable sources, turbines have captured the imagination. However, all of the economic factors and concerns about health, property destruction and bird kills make this a dubious choice. Even located in areas where the effects are minimal, the intermittent energy produced and the expense still remain a problem.
Now we are presented with the development of wind farms locally and must carefully consider if this is a development that will benefit our region as a whole or a few select individuals. That these turbines will affect us is a given, and the altruistic nature of the environmentalist must be taken in context with the nature of our area. Perhaps we are going to lose more than we can gain in the attrition of forests, fields and wildlife. Is it worth it?
Certainly the health and welfare of all people in the community should be uppermost in the zoning ordinances of the North East Township supervisors. The most important relate to the setbacks from residences, property lines, roads and the pasture land that supports animals. If the setbacks are insufficient, what happens to the affected parties? Who will supply restitution for turbine syndrome, low-level noise disruption and the effects of flicker shadows?
Don Quixote said “Fortune is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished.” I just hope the supervisors are doing the same. Attend the meeting today and find out who is guiding our affairs and to what purpose.
Sally Griffin/North East
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/09/10/windmills-not-so-wonderful/