I was asked a question recently during a discussion about wind turbines. How do you respond when someone calls you a NIMBY (not in my backyard)? I did answer, but have since been pre-occupied contemplating that question?

If a NIMBY is someone who fights to protect health and safety, wind and property rights, property values, and tax dollars of the residence of this county, or if a NIMBY is someone concerned about the general welfare of neighbors, then yes, I am a NIMBY.

I am a member of WINDCOWS, (Wisconsin Independent Citizens Opposing Windturbine Sites www.windcows.com,), and the closest proposed turbine is over a mile from my home. WINDCOWS is attempting to educate the community about the adverse affects of placing turbines too close to homes and roadways.

We are lobbying for responsible regulations and adequate setbacks from property lines to ensure a landowner can be safe from blade and ice throw, major structure failure, flicker and noise anywhere on their property or can build safely anywhere on their property in the future. A neighboring property owner does not have the right to encroach and trespass upon your property by using it as a safety-buffer zone for the negative effects of their turbine.

We are fighting to prevent ground water contamination and to protect farmers, including members of our group, from electrical pollution. We are fighting for adequate setbacks from natural areas to protect flyways and to make sure that telecommunications, GPS, radar and emergency communications are not interrupted.

We are fighting to make sure wind-farm developers not your tax dollars pay to repair roads damaged during construction of wind farms, and for future decommissioning costs. If money set aside for decommissioning is inadequate or if the wind energy company skips town, the landowner who leased the land will be financially responsible. If they are not financially equipped, a lien will be put on their property. If that property is not worth enough, you the taxpayer could be paying the bill. If you live in the city and think the turbines won't affect you, you are misinformed.

Members of WINDCOWS recently joined with the Wind Energy Advisory Committee to tour the Montfort Wisconsin wind-farm. The 17 turbines are in a wide-open three and on-half mile row affecting only participating landowners, not scattered helter-skelter in a densely populated area, amongst non-participating landowners, as proposed for our area.

A property owner does have the right to do what they want to do on their property as long as it does not negatively affect the adjacent landowner or members of their community. This is the reason for zoning rules.

Rules must be in place so the negative effects of a turbine stay on the property on which it is located. When setting rules, we need to consider many things. Blades can be thrown over 3.5 times the height of a turbine and blade fragments over 6.5 times the height. We need to ensure people are not affected in homes or on roadways by shadow flicker. We also must ensure that no one is adversely affected by audible or low frequency noise.

Emerging Energies, a company seeking a permit to site turbines in Manitowoc County, has filed a claim against the county for enacting a moratorium to allow the opportunity to revise its regulations on wind energy systems. They have also filed against the Village of Mishicot for trying to protect their extraterritorial rights.

In the existing ordinance, even minimum guidelines recommended by pro-wind groups are not being used. Evidence we have submitted to the county shows that stronger regulations are needed to protect health and safety, but so much of that evidence continues to be disregarded. This needs to change.

All negative facts considered, wind-turbines belong in wide-open areas and seeing the Montfort wind-farm proves just that. A 471-foot turbine does not belong 518 feet from anyone's property line or 1000 feet from anyone's home.

So go ahead, call me a NIMBY but remember, please be considerate of your neighbors. It is commendable to want to save our environment, but there must be responsible regulations, for what will we have accomplished, if we have sacrificed health, safety and quality of life to reach that goal.

Lynn Korinek is a member of WINDCOWS and lives in Two Rivers.