Pirate's Cove

Here we go again, another enviro group which loves “green” energy, but doesn’t want it where they can see it (via Master Resource)

Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Annette Smith, executive director of Vermonters for a Clean Environment.

It is not too late for Vermont to stop and take a serious look at wind turbine development on our mountains.

In fact, now is exactly the right time to step back and evaluate what we know, and build on experience.

When polled, most Vermonters say they support wind energy. Imagining the Searsburg turbines, I answered “yes, even near my house.” They are only 197 feet tall, unlighted, not too many, not very visible. I thought they were beautiful when I saw them in 2001.

When Vermonters started calling VCE in 2009 seeking assistance with wind proposals, I quickly learned the technology has changed.

Today’s machines are “big. They’re very, very big,“ said Jeff Wennberg, while promoting the Ira project. Vermont’s Public Service Board (PSB) has approved four projects with turbines ranging from 410 to 459 feet tall. Vermonters have not been asked what they think about anything that big.

So, you’re no longer for them, Annette? In fact, she tells us that wind turbines

a) collapse, catch fire, throw ice, throw blades,
b) kill birds like raptors, and endangered bats
c) require cutting bear-scarred beech trees and fragmenting wildlife habitat
d) destroy songbird habitat
e) require hundreds of thousands of pounds of explosives to blast miles of new roads
f) require impervious road construction on highly erodible soils
g) require filling headwater streams and degrading water quality, resulting in fewer fish
h) make noise extending over a mile that can interrupt sleep and make people sick
i) are being permitted less than 200 feet from property lines
j) have blinking lights and industrialize the landscape
k) divide communities; turn neighbors, family members and towns against each other and more, with issues unique to ridgeline development in Vermont.

Annette goes on to tell us “the prudent thing to do is stop, look and listen.” And she has plenty of questions about building wind turbines, especially in HER state. The greenie weenies always advocate for this type of energy, but, as soon as someone actually wants to build it…..

Master Resource points out that much of the turbines are toxic, use rare earths, must have huge concrete plugs, and require deforestation. Oh, and

Expect a short (12 to 15 year) life span for the turbines, not the 25 years the industry purports. Imagine when the subsidies dry up how the turbines will be left to rot in the sun, still a hazard for birds and bats.