It was almost 23 years ago when we built the home we hope to retire in. While we were looking for land to build on, we searched high and low for a piece of property we could afford. Our funds were limited and so were the parcels of land in our price range. We looked at the 3-acre parcel that seemed so desolate a number of times. We drove by in the early spring and tried to picture what it would be like atop this barren hillside in the cold, snowy months of a “Fenner winter”. The one thing that we did know was that in the summer months there was a magnificent view to the west and the sunsets were incredible. We wanted the piece and quiet of the country and this seemed like our best bet.

...Well, as I sit in my kitchen and type this on my computer I hear the constant hum of the blades, its early November, a brisk day and of course the windows are closed so that muffles the sound a little. In the summer, with the windows open there is nothing to block out the humming or the grinding sound that the turbine makes when it is being turned.

It was the intention of the Legislature that the protection and enhancement of the environment, human and community resources should be given appropriate weight with social and economic considerations in determining public policy, and that those factors be considered together in reaching decisions on proposed activities. Accordingly, it is the intention of this Part that a suitable balance of social, economic and environmental factors be incorporated into the planning and decision-making processes of state, regional and local agencies.

Wind power is good for the environment, right?

On a small scale, yes. However on a commercial level, wind generated electricity cannot be stored, creating factors that negate most of the environmental benefits. Environmentalists around the world are now recognizing that wind development is often more harmful than it is beneficial.

...and more

William R. Evans, a renowned ornithologist with expertise in nocturnal bird migration, provides a comprehensive critique of the Avian Risk Assessment for the Chautauqua Wind plant (NY). As part of this critique, Evans addresses the deficiencies in the Erickson, et al. bird mortality studies widely quoted by the wind industry.

"In a petition filed on March 12, 2002, Flat Rock Windpower LLC (Flat Rock or the company), requests that it be issued a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) pursuant to Public Service Law (PSL) §68 for its proposed wind powered generating facility (Facility) to be located in Lewis County, in the Towns of Lowville, Martinsburg, and Harrisburg. Flat Rock also requested that it be lightly regulated as an electric corporation under the Public Service Law. Flat Rock moved for an expedited proceeding on a non-contested application for its CPCN, pursuant to 16 NYCRR §21.10. "

"New York has the potential to generate a significant share of its electrical energy requirements through the use of indigenous renewable resources such as wind."

Hundreds of thousands of acres spanning 34 states in the US have already been impacted by industrial wind power development. As we speak, thousands of giant turbines grind away, and TOGETHER they'll take the next 25 years to generate electricity that may last for a total of 19 days.

You’d be hard pressed to find many that are simply against wind power, but there ARE hundreds of environmental groups around the world that DO oppose commercial wind development, and are working hard to raise awareness of the many controversial issues associated with it.