LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]



Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Wind energy push is a debacle 

Credit:  The Daily News, thedailynewsonline.com 2 March 2011 ~~

I heard about the “letter to the editor” in the Batavia Daily News (“Dangers associated with windmills,” Another Point of View, Jan. 31) and your preface to it – shame on you!

I am a Washington State citizen who has done hundreds, if not thousands of hours of research on the current push in our nation to foist so-called “green and renewable” energy, in the form of wind farms, upon our citizenry. If the media and government agencies will be honest and take the time to review what is happening and has happened in European countries who have already gone down this path, there would be no “comment periods” and no debates. There would be no wind turbines in my state, nor would there be in any other state in our nation, if those in charge actually knew and acted upon the truth. This “wind energy” industrialization is a debacle of epic proportion.

Are you, who are in the media, willing to support: 1. The destruction of lives by the unintended consequences of wind farm developments, which manifest in the form of neighbor vs. neighbor, towns and families torn apart by conflict; 2. Health impacts to citizens living near these developments; 3. Devaluation of nearby properties (anywhere from 25 percent to 50 percent); 4. The devastation of the surrounding environment; and 5. The needless deaths of our birds and bats – based solely on a bankrupt scheme? I certainly hope not.

Many wind turbines have already been strung across the hills and ridges in my state, Washington, which is a shame. The technology is not up to the task. Here the actual sites with enough wind to turn the propellers of turbines and utilize wind at the level developers say is needed for them to work effectively – have already been taken. Any other sites, are “speculative at best” and should be abandoned, but are not. The only reason the developers attempt further construction on these less than optimal sites, is greed. There is money to be had, at the expense of the pristine landscape and the rural inhabitants of the land, as well as the wildlife. Government subsidies, tax exemptions offered by state government and renewable energy credits (another scam, in my opinion) make it all possible. No private investor in his right mind would build them using his own money. (Look at T. Boone Pickens on that point – he has abandoned his wind farm developments, or you can ask First Wind (wind farm corporation) who had to abandon their bid for an Initial Public Offering for stock in their company, late last year.)

I would hope that you might actually research this issue. Many developers are selling the electricity to be generated even before the sites have been built. The reason for that is simple – this is a Ponzi scheme – it is an unsustainable development. I like to use California as an example. There are over 15,000 wind turbines in that state and they produce only 2.6 percent of the energy utilized by that state. They will never reach 20 percent as mandated by their foolish legislators! You see, wind only blows approximately 25 percent of the time. The other 75 percent of the time – when the wind is not blowing, or blowing enough to be useable – houses, factories, schools and businesses must all depend on something other than the wind to provide them with electricity. That other source of energy must be something that is available 24/7/365, such as coal, natural gas, or hydro-electric power. So, for every wind farm that is brought online, you must insure that there is another source to back it up. Thus, as the percentage of wind generation grows, so does the percentage of other sources grow – wind energy can never catch up. It only blows, when it blows, and that is usually not when the demand is greatest. It is a lie to tell people your wind farm will supply the electricity for 25,000 homes, when in fact the homes will only be supplied a small percentage by the wind. I trust that you can understand this.

Though many call wind “green energy,” many who work with it know it should more accurately be referred to as “red energy.” You need to ask about the amount of energy these turbines “pull” from the grid, as opposed to what they actually generate and feed into the grid. You should also ask about the amount of carbon dioxide generated during the manufacturing, transportation and erection of the turbines. Another question to ask is, “Has the use of wind energy generation ever led to the closure of a coal-fired plant, or natural gas plant?”

Look at Spain and other European countries. They are scrambling to build nuclear plants and other energy generating plants with reliable forms of energy. Most European countries have suspended building any more wind farms.

Take a look at Italy for a real graphic picture of what this “wind deal” is all about. It is graft, corruption and greed – why else would the mafia be involved … “giveaway money” (subsidies) and all that goes with it.

People who have researched “wind” know the truth. It astounds me how any media outlets, such as yours, can be taken seriously when the truth is so blatantly obvious and yet you ignore and make fun of the pillaging of the environment by wind developers throughout this nation.

The health effects of wind projects is now very well known in our nation. We have watched it in Europe. We have also seen and read about the ill health of those on the East Coast who live near these developments. Just across our border, in Ontario, Canada, there are many who are suffering because of the low-frequency sound waves emanating from wind turbines, some of whom have had to vacate their homes because of it.

I worked for over 20 years for an very large property/casualty corporation that focused on workers’ compensation benefits. The OSHA standards for noise safety in many states are based on noise in and around “factories.” They were established long before anyone conceived of industrial wind turbine use. Here in Washington State the noise standards were written in 1974 and are an inadequate means by which to quantify the exposure of rural residents to the low-frequency sound waves from wind turbines. These large turbines (40-50 stories tall) are loud and the vibrations they put out are not healthy. I suggest you read Audiology Today July/August 2010 to find out more about the harm they can do. Additionally, Dr. Nina Pierpont has written a book called ”Wind Turbine Syndrome” which identifies health problems people have when they are living near the low-frequency sound waves emitted by industrial wind facilities. Though the “wind” developers constantly put down Dr. Pierpont’s studies, I believe serious consideration, can lead to only one rational conclusion and that is these wind facilities are harmful to the health of those who live near them.

I urge you in the media to do the work and find the truth about wind. It will “industrialize” the landscape, steal the value of the property of those who live in the nearby rural surroundings, devastate the wildlife, especially the avian and bat populations, and more importantly, it will pose a substantial risk to the health of nearby rural residents. Be truthful or lose subscribers – your reputation has spread far and wide, but can be corrected.

Carolyn Kiesz

Thornton, Wash.

Source:  The Daily News, thedailynewsonline.com 2 March 2011

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon