Wind Blows

I was reading this article in The Phoenix the other day and it got me to thinking about wind power. I have thought about it in the past, in fact I pay extra on my electric bill in order for my electricity to come from renewable resources, such as wind. And you can't live in Mass without hearing about the Cape Wind controversy.

What I didn't realize before is how many people are against wind turbines. They have tons of reasons, but they don't all make sense to me. Maybe they will make sense to you. Lets go through them together.

Noise. Granted, I have never actually been up to a turbine, but they don't seem so loud to me. Lets have a listen:



I don't know about you, but it didn't sound that loud. Some people think they are so loud, that there is an actual sickness - wind turbine syndrome. According to this website (which is a little cheesy) its not actually the audible sound that is hazardous, but the low frequency noise. Now, that makes sense. It is similar to working around machinery that is not necessarily loud, but is constantly assaulting your ear drums with low frequency noise. I would like to see something a little more scientifically proven (not that I don't love their drawings.)

A big argument around here is that turbines are an eyesore. They will ruin our beautiful scenery. Personally, I think it depends on your perspective. I think they are beautiful. They remind me that society is becoming more environmentally conscience. It makes me think that the future maybe a little bit better for my son when he is my age. Some disagree. What do you think? Would you rather see this:


Or this:




Or maybe this:



This brings us to the argument that wind is unreliable. There will always need to be a power plant as a back up. The turbine does not turn if there isn't enough wind. If there is too much wind, it overloads the grid and also stops spinning. So why bother with the wind if we will still need power plants? To this I refer you to this article in Cape Cod Today. Basically, yes, we still need a back up to wind power. We are not going to be able to put up some turbines and then shut down all of the nuclear plants. That would be awesome, but unrealistic. But isn't some renewable energy better than none?

This reminds me of the health care reform. No, it is not perfect, but we need to start somewhere.

One more major argument is that it will negatively affect wildlife and the ecosystems around the turbines. Might I point out the negative effects of nuclear or coal power plants? Or is that too obvious? The companies do extensive research to minimize any disruptions. There has been new technology to slow down the speed that the turbines spin so they are safer for birds.

With proper planning, all of these concerns can be dealt with. That is why we have hunting and fishing regulations. This is also how we are able to use state forests for logging and recreation. Good old fashioned planning.

People who are not environmental conscience seem to think that those of us that are are trying to fix Earth. This is just not so. We will never be able to restore the damage already done to the Earth. Nor will we be able to stop impacting the Earth. We can, however, try to minimize the impact. Perhaps we can slow down the destruction.