http://www.windaction.org/ facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts en-us Windaction hourly 1 http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.windaction.org/articles/21437 Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:44:03 GMT Now, three species in Idaho have the potential to be listed as endangered within just a few years. If any is granted federal protection, it could drastically change the nature of development across much of the West, where the open sagebrush-covered lands are still often the focus of development. A critical mass of conflicting factors is on the horizon as the growing energy needs of the West and a concerted push to develop wind energy land squarely in the front yard of two of the regions' most sensitive species. http://www.windaction.org/articles/21437 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20533 Sun, 29 Mar 2009 05:14:29 GMT Plans by two electric utilities to build 1,150 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines across southern Idaho and Wyoming are on schedule, with a draft environmental impact statement on the work expected late this summer. ...Idaho Power began work on a series of environmental studies that will provide crucial information for the draft document. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20533 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20521 Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:14:05 GMT Developers of a proposed 185-turbine wind farm and the Bureau of Land Management are continuing to gather information on the effects the farm would have on the sagebrush-filled desert southwest of Rogerson. The 425-megawatt China Mountain Wind Energy Project would be scattered across a 30,700-acre area. Though a draft environmental impact statement on the project is still a year away from release, the BLM this week launched a 30-day comment period on whether three meteorological towers should be placed in the area of the future farm. Several other towers already sit in the area. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20521 http://www.windaction.org/articles/17263 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:01:42 GMT David Parrish, reassigned from Magic Valley regional supervisor to Boise as fisheries program coordinator, wrote in a letter to The Times-News on July 6 that the 185-turbine China Mountain wind farm "will have negative repercussions on Idaho's wildlife." "It's a no-brainer - the footprint of a project that will cover prime habitat (for) sage grouse, mule deer, antelope and other sagebrush dependent species," Parrish wrote. http://www.windaction.org/articles/17263 http://www.windaction.org/articles/17648 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:02:12 GMT Excerpt of minutes from the Bingham County Planning and Zoning Commission public hearings on the Ridgeline Energy wind facility slated for Wolverine County. This except includes testimony by Idaho Fish and Game staff biologist Jim Mende. http://www.windaction.org/articles/17648 http://www.windaction.org/articles/17647 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:46:57 GMT Excerpt of minutes from the Bingham County Planning and Zoning Commission public hearings on the Ridgeline Energy wind facility slated for Wolverine County. This except includes testimony by Idaho Fish and Game staff biologist Jim Mende. http://www.windaction.org/articles/17647 http://www.windaction.org/articles/20668 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:20:10 GMT As the U.S. tries to reduce the climate change spurred by the warming of the atmosphere because of increasing carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, alternative forms of energy production will be necessary. And yet, it doesn't make sense to trample sensitive ecosystems in the new rush to develop alternative energies. It would be an oxymoronic case of destroying the Earth in order to save it. http://www.windaction.org/articles/20668 http://www.windaction.org/articles/16902 Sun, 06 Jul 2008 08:11:28 GMT The China Mountain Wind Farm, if constructed, may be positive for the local economy from a tax revenue standpoint, but it will have negative repercussions on Idaho's wildlife. It's a no-brainer - the footprint of a project that will cover prime habitat sage grouse, mule deer, antelope and other sagebrush dependent species. Impacts will extend well beyond the acreage of sagebrush that's removed to support the infrastructure for the massive project which includes around 70 miles of new and improved roads, up to 15 miles of new power line construction, substations, maintenance facilities and more. http://www.windaction.org/articles/16902