Last month, the Magic Valley's regional Fish and Game supervisor, David Parrish, spoke his mind about how a proposed wind farm might injure wildlife. Parrish got demoted and transferred to Fish and Game's headquarters in Boise. But the real victim is the political independence of Idaho's wildlife agency and its staffers. ...He ran afoul of three Republican lawmakers - Rep. Stephen Hartgen of Twin Falls, who worked as a consultant on the project; Sen. Bert Brackett of Rogerson, whose nephew owns land on which part of the wind farm could be built; and Assistant House Republican Leader Scott Bedke of Oakley -- who complained to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter.

The proliferation of wind energy projects has raised concerns about the long-term viability of Naval Air Station Kingsville's mission to train aviators. In an attempt to protect the Navy base, state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and state Rep. J.M. Lozano, D-Kingsville, filed a bill to require notification of plans to build turbines within 25 miles of a military installation.

Iberdrola of Spain, owner of Elk River, realized over $9.9 million in PTC allowances in 2007. Foreign companies are not regulated by the Kansas Corporation Commission. There are no state or federal regulations of any kind on WECS. Few Kansas counties have wind regulations. WECS will force consumers to pay for their electricity three times; to build the WECS, build conventional power as backup, and additional transmission lines to carry power from the WECS to the grid. WECS will not produce large economic benefits to a community as evidenced by records from Gray County (Montezuma), or Butler County (Elk River). Elk River has produced seven jobs. Most employees live outside the community.

Moreover, 340 Sheffield residents, taxpayers and voters have signed petitions against the proposed development. Copies are in the governor's office in Montpelier.

In the ongoing debate on these pages regarding Cape Wind's proposal to install 130 towers in Nantucket Sound, facts often have taken a back seat to emotion. ...A key question is: How much will the project cost and what is the impact of the cost and the ongoing maintenance and security on the cost of power produced by the proposed Cape Wind turbines? ...The financial data are easily provided by the folks at Cape Wind. Instead, by withholding vital information about the project, Cape Wind has fostered an atmosphere of mistrust and encouraged circulation of misinformation by proponents and opponents alike. Let's have all the facts.

It's true that wind turbine critics wanted a farther setback -- one figure that gets thrown around is a 2-kilometer setback, or more than 6,000 feet. But that the PSC's figure is less than critics wanted and more than developers proves nothing about the process that produced the PSC's rule. Was, in fact, the process fair?

What do wind developers look for in a county and its township before putting their cross hairs on them? ...I think they scope out elected officials to see if they have any moral or ethical values, using a proverb like "they will fall for anything, because they stand for nothing." They found Herkimer County. They came in under the cover of darkness, behind closed doors and found their scarecrows. A scarecrow is a landowner who signs a contract to have industrial wind turbine erected on their land for money, but they must sign a contract that says they cannot bring a suit against the developers due to any nuisances (ill-effects, though the developer says there are none) the turbines cause them or their family.

Information obtained from other communities that are similar in nature to Fairhaven must be looked at, as well as model state building codes regarding noise. In Mars Hill, Maine, residents who live 2,000 feet from the turbines cannot go outdoors. A number of proponents continue to downplay the noise issue by making comparisons with the Hull turbines. These turbines are located near areas that have a fairly high level of noise. To compare Hull with the Little Bay area is disingenuous. Wind turbine noise is perceived as more annoying than other noise sources. The noise from a wind turbine is constant and considered one of the most annoying.

New Yorkers need to understand why a 300-foot tall wind turbine weighing 187 tons collapsed in a Madison County cornfield. The collapse is not an isolated incident. However just because such a failure is uncommon provides no excuse not to aggressively pursue the reasons why. All across the state communities are facing pressure to site wind turbines. As these local governments proceed they must know why the turbine fell.

The rationalization for designation corridors is not to facilitate or dictate how the states' regions, transmission providers or electric utilities should meet their own energy challenges, according to the DOE. But truth be told, it is quite the opposite. "The process is geared more toward expediting the approval and siting of transmission corridors than it is geared toward respecting states' rights about their residents' energy future and needs...and by a heavy-handed centralized one-size fits all approach..," according to Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY). And it is precisely such sentiments that have been raised to the Secretary of Energy, Samuel Bodman, by both federal and state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in all 10 states and Washington, D.C. that will be directly impacted by NIETC. And most crucial to note, EPAct 2005 enables eminent domain law over states by the federal government on a scale unlike the U.S. has ever seen.

Falmouth's wind turbine noise study is complete and all the Greenies can continue to wonder why we abutters are so whiney over "that sound," which for the most part falls within the guidelines of state noise regulations and Falmouth's own windmill bylaw of 40 decibels.

The privately owned WEBB/ NOTUS/TELEDYNE turbine, identicle to the other 2, runs unabated, 24/7 full time and without investigation or much mention in the news. It gets just as many complaints. It has driven me out of my home and others out of their jobs in the tech park. Unfortunately, I know why they skate through untouched. Money talks loudest in Falmouth.

There should be great hesitation before swallowing the Chicken Little du jour. The good news is that the bad news about the climate is exaggerated.

Glenn Schleede's letter to the Editor of Time Magazine regarding its article "War of the Winds" appearing in Time's Oct 31, 2005 edition.

This article is available in 'documents'.

But demand for electricity continues to increase by about 2 percent a year and could double in just 35 years. Simply to keep up with that level of demand would require construction of 72,391 2-megawatt turbines on 434,347 miles of ridges and hills annually. An even larger stumbling block is that wind energy cannot by itself replace any coal-fired power plant. Because wind energy is variable, it needs help from conventional power sources to keep energy levels even. Wind advocates claim cleaner-burning natural gas-fired units can handle the load, but those units emit carbon as well. There is a limited availability of natural gas and a lack of pipeline infrastructure in many areas where wind turbine development is projected. The basic problem with wind is that it cannot supply power on demand. ...This is no doubt troubling to those who have been led to believe that wind power is a worthwhile antidote to atmospheric carbon buildup, but the facts indicate otherwise. Each remedy proposed by wind advocates to compensate for the failings of wind technology requires more and more taxpayer-funded support, masking the true costs of letting wind energy loose on the grid.

Every business deserves the opportunity to succeed and prosper, but never at the expense of human, animal and environmental health. Unfortunately, the very people that industrial wind turbines are hurting do not have the funds for large display ads to warn people about the truth of the harm and the deceit of the provincial government's renewable energy policy.

Europe is several years ahead of the US in implementing policies intended to mitigate global warming. All of the European Union's member countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol and adopted a wide range of policies to lower their emissions and meet their Kyoto targets. These policies include a cap-and-trade initiative known as the emissions trading scheme, steep fuel taxes, and ambitious programs to build windmills and other renewable energy projects. These policies were undertaken at a time when the EU economy was doing well and - one hopes - with full knowledge that they would have significant costs.

In a recent fiasco the Highland County Board of Supervisors issued a permit for a wind energy project supported by only 20 percent of 97 speakers at the public hearing. Prior to the hearing more than 1,000 residents and landowners of this county with a population of only 2,500, signed a petition opposed.

Editor’s note: The following letter was written to Del. Chris Saxman and shared with The Recorder.

Money spent on wind turbines from China will not jump-start an industry in America. The whole point of the federal government's stimulus program is to create jobs. In America. Unfortunately, that's not how it's working out, according to four U.S. senators who raise concerns that should not be ignored.

"Maine is prepared to host thousands of megawatts of generation capacity from wind and biomass" to serve southern New England's "insatiable appetite for energy," Gov. John Baldacci wrote in a letter to the state's congressional delegation. "However, the development of these resources for New England must not harm Maine consumers or adversely impact our environment, which is the cornerstone of our economy," he wrote. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins are working with Sen. Thune to ensure the intent of the amendment - to ensure wind power projects have access to transmission lines - is met without overruling the interests of host states and maybe even assuring that such states' ratepayers benefit as well.