October 14, 2016
Letters, Vermont

If only wind turbines were the magic cure for climate change

Manchester Journal | 10/13/2016 | www.manchesterjournal.com

Listening to the drone of a plane flying overhead as I begin renovations on my cabin on Fairfield Pond, I’m struck by just how quiet it is here. Usually, just the sound of the loons, waves lapping on the rocks and children laughing are the things that stand out here on the water. As the plane finally flies off and away from my little slice of Vermont paradise, I’m again reminded that this could very well be my future: 499-Foot Industrial Wind Turbine Engines, courtesy of Swanton Wind, on the other side of the pond that will sound like a jet flying overhead, but will never cease.

And I start thinking, “What is the point of doing anymore renovation on property repair? If it’s only a matter time before sleeplessness, fatigue, headaches and more become the norm, like most other industrial wind victims, why even bother?”

I’m depressed just thinking about how I will have to leave my land and property, my childhood home filled with warm memories of sacredness, peace, quiet and beauty, due to infrasound. Property values also plummet where wind projects are built. No one wants to live near one, especially one that would be visible right from their picture window. This feels like another version of government’s eminent domain.

I am being asked to sacrifice for the greater good. If only those words held truth! A conversation about climate change WITHOUT taking into consideration a state’s terrain and the needs of its citizens is sheer lunacy. A goal without a viable plan is not a goal with vision or integrity. Wind turbines are carbon-neutral at best. Do your homework. There are better solutions out there being invented every day. It’s not that I don’t want them in my backyard; I don’t want them in anyone’s.

If only wind turbines were the magic cure for climate change, or a substitute for replacing carbon emissions, I’d be willing to do my part. That’s one reason why I never had children….huge carbon footprint, having more people on the planet. And, that’s the main reason I became a vegetarian (which reduces your carbon footprint by 65 percent, really).

I usually vote Liberal Progressive Democrat, although I’m a registered Independent. ( I have more Bernie gear than you can imagine). But that’s going to change. As ‘my party” has embraced a new god called Power, Greed and Corruption, putting industry and corporations before people, I’ll be voting the Green Mountain P(R)otection Party for Governor this time around, thank you very much.

— Suzanne Seymour
Fairfield


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/10/14/if-only-wind-turbines-were-the-magic-cure-for-climate-change/