Farmland First, a growing group of concerned citizens in Clark and Marathon counties have organized to express their concerns about the proposed building of wind turbines in the area.
There is an informational meeting at the Curtiss Fire Hall at 7:30pm tonight, Monday, March 27. State Representatives Karen Hurd, Donna Rozar and Senator Jesse James will be present to participate in the discussion.
What numerous health, noise and safety issues do residents face if wind turbines are built here? Concerned listeners shares their point of view:
As a resident of Marathon County and specifically the town of Rietbrock, I am witnessing a
furor regarding the possible installation of wind turbines in our county. To be up front, I lean
towards the conservative side of the philosophical spectrum. However, I try to be as open
minded when forming an opinion on any given topic.I became aware of the effort to install wind turbines months ago when representatives of the
wind turbine companies began to quietly reach out to friends and neighbors who had enough
acreage for wind turbine placement.Immediately, the fact that so little of the information was made public made me suspicious.
Despite what one can disseminate via the media, there is not consensus regarding man s
role in climate change. Not only that, but the resulting move away from the reliable sources of
energy (oil, natural gas, etc) toward green sources have had mixed results. It would seem
important for the public to have a voice in matters with so much impact in our lives.
Once I had a chance to quiz those contacted regarding specifics, it became very apparent
that a lot of the information provided was misleading at best. Some of the landowners were
told there were bonds posted (they were not). Questions regarding the decommissioning of
the wind turbines were deflected or the land owner was told the energy companies were
responsible for this. This also seems to be in the air . The wind turbines will require
easements in order to move electricity to the substations. Land owners adjacent to the wind
turbines may find themselves with very disruptive activity on their property with no opportunity
for recourse or input. Landowners with wind turbines adjacent to their property will most
certainly see the value of their property crash. Again with no ability to provide any input until it
is too late. The list of questionable practices could go on and on.I have reached out to folks at the county and state level seeking answers to questions I had
regarding the wind turbines. I was stunned at how little information they had to offer. It
became very apparent that the need for public discourse was urgent in order for all effected
to have a say in the matter. Thankfully, there are leaders who started forums on social media
and hosted town hall meetings have been extremely valuable in getting the word out.
However, it is imperative that all concerned reach out to their state, county and town leaders
to voice their opinion. In light of the green movement, there is tremendous pressure on
elected officials to rubber stamp all alternative energy projects. Only a large voice of dissent
from the public will have impact counter balancing the efforts of the green lobby.
Lastly, I would strongly urge all those opposing the wind turbines to be thoughtful when
voicing dissent. It is easy to condemn those who signed contracts. However, if we are to be
honest, how many of us would have turned away the potential for large future revenue? The
real culprit are the energy companies who, under cover of darkness, spread misinformation
and mislead many of those they contacted. Pitting neighbor against neighbor solves nothing.It is time to simply shine light on this and let the public have a say.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Citizen
Another listener shared the following:
I had a very interesting conversation with someone I know who retired from the Weston Power Plant after 26 years of service. Over that time he had 16 different jobs, and knows every detail place like the back of his hand. He told me we would need 800 of the largest wind turbines blowing in a 30 mile an hour wind 24 hours a day to equal the baseline power at the Weston 4 power plant puts out. Obviously the goal is to replace our coal plants with green energy and the math doesn’t work. Yet we push for inefficient means of energy that needs perfect weather conditions to achieve their intended goal.
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