I make no apologies for loving wind power and for having supported the building of all of Pennsylvania's 24 operating wind farms. I buy 100% wind energy for my home and urge others to do the same. Go to:
www.choosepawind.com.
Pennsylvania's 24 wind farms will generate 3 billion kilowatt-hours of power or enough for 330,000 homes. And they do so without withdrawing clean water from streams, discharging polluted water, or any air emissions--no soot, mercury, lead, arsenic, carbon dioxide. Nothing!
Though I love and buy wind power, I know that it is not perfect. One sad consequence of wind turbines is a small number of bird deaths each year. Indeed, the total of bird deaths from wind turbines pales in comparison to the huge number of bird deaths caused by cats, power lines, windows, cars.
Yet, for some bird lovers, wind turbines are terrible. And the federal case from Wyoming, where 18 protected eagles were killed by wind turbines, will be a talking point for those who hate wind farms.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/11/22/wind-energy-company-pleads-guilty-to-eagle-deaths/.
Here is another sad fact. Every wind turbine that is not built means more coal, oil, gas, and nuclear power that is consumed. And the environmental impacts from those energy sources dwarf those of wind. Wind is not perfect, but it is already darn good and actually getting better!
Hard choices...I am sad for the eagles. I know as of yet, there are no perfect energy sources-one that does absolutely no harm. I have friends that hate the sight of a wind turbine..Then there is me, who gets a sickened feeling when I return home to the pulsing flames of the gas flares and the silhouette of the drilling rig against the fading sunset. I still think "space shuttle" when I see a rig-except this "rocket" is not going to launch off into the great wide yonder. It is exploding deep beneath my feet in its unsatiable quest for gas, the final frontier of fossil fuel extraction. I weep for the eagle, who survived near extinction from our use of poison. All living things pay a very high price for our use of energy, including ourselves. What price clean water? What is the cost of breathable air? How much for a view of forests, streams, blue sky? Priceless....
ReplyDeleteJohn, I appreciate these comments on wind power. I too am an ardent supporter of wind power. We must face the fact that there are other human endeavors that kill far more birds and the effects of climate change (more forest fires, drought, etc.) will kill even more birds so wind power is the better choice than fossil fuels. Your support of clean energy is what we need in Pa. and I will be first in line to vote for you when election day gets here.
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