Meridian Energy, the state-owned energy company, wants to build a wind farm in front of our vineyard, atop a beautiful range known for centuries as Nga Waka a Kupe - the canoes of Kupe. ...But this won't just affect our front yard. With 45 turbines twice as high as the Auckland Harbour Bridge, and blades twice as large as the Westpac Stadium, sited 8km from the town square, this could be the end of Martinborough as we know and love it. The tourism industry our economy depends on - wine festivals, outdoor concerts, homestays, weddings, cycling - will they continue with noise from these turbines?

Over lunch with the top execs of Suzlon Energy, Andris Cukurs, CEO of the multinational's U.S. subsidiary, brought up Starbucks. Turns out there's something called the Starbucks Rule when it comes to siting wind farms. He said Suzlon and its rivals plot where Starbucks are in the general area and then make sure their project is at least 30 miles away. Any closer and there'd be too many NIMBYs.

Blaine County commissioners are formulating an ordinance to allow wind turbine towers in the Wood River Valley. As proposed, the ordinance would allow windmills 40 feet tall with 12-foot blades within the scenic corridor along Highway 75. Protection of our scenic corridor has been a high priority with previous county administrations. ...Wind turbine construction has been very controversial in all parts of the United States, yet our commissioners are writing this ordinance without the input of Blaine County citizens.

The Oregon Trail is in the way of a gold rush that will demolish part of our history and leave us poorer. The Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, now operating under the new moniker Oregon Business, was commanded by statute to promote the Oregon Trail as a major tourist attraction consistent with maintaining the historical integrity of the Oregon Trail. ...The gold rush that threatens the Oregon Trail is "free" and "green" energy from the wind. If only it were so.

I find it ironic that the mountains chosen by the Rutland Herald to exemplify our state's beauty are the same mountains that will be visually spoiled by the Vermont Community Wind Farm's proposed plan to erect 45 400- to 500-foot wind towers. Along with the turbines come the 36-foot-wide access roads cut into the mountains, the removal of the top of the mountain for footings and the power grid lines.

The Sept. 1 letter of Claire Jones hits a key point. Ms. Jones apparently is a regular visitor to the Thousand Island area from far away. I too am a regular visitor, and like so many, we cannot believe how some local town officials are seriously prepared to transform the area in a most profound way. Having seen the Maple Ridge Wind Farm many times on my way to the Thousand Islands, I am shocked that efforts are under way to bring such visually dominating infrastructure to the Thousand Islands.

I was in favor of the windmills. However, as time has progressed, my attitude has changed. ...My opinion changed when the Mt. Storm wind turbines were installed in Grant County. I do not mind the look of the turbines during the day. (from a distance) However, the lights at night detract from our rural atmosphere to an extreme.

In 1983, Sugar Top Condos were built on the top of Sugar Mountain in Avery County. Sugar Top Condos rise 131 feet above the ridgeline and can be seen for several miles. These towering condos were so devastating to the scenic splendor of the mountains that the General Assembly wisely enacted strict ridge top laws to stop these monstrosities from appearing throughout our mountains. While the statewide law was too late for Sugar Mountain, the law stopped similar projects of shocking heights and destruction of the mountains. Sugar Top Condos is a permanent reminder that once a structure is built on our mountain tops, we cannot unbuild it.

The final of three meetings on the highly-controversial issue of wind turbines in the foothills of the Blue Mountains takes place Thursday before the Umatilla County Planning Commission. We've said it before and we'll say it again: The commission should recognize there is a "significant resource" in our Blue Mountains and its foothills. Frankly, we don't see how the commission members could decide otherwise.

In the area of environmental action, there's recycling newspapers to save forests, and then there's Erecting The Biggest Wind Turbine In B.C. to reduce your carbon footprint. The latter example of look-at-me symbolism is becoming a reality this summer at the summit of Grouse Mountain, where engineers are installing a giant, propeller-like machine.

As if there are not enough already of these largely-ineffective and unsightly wind turbines in this region, the latest proposal is to build 20 to 30 more between Fountainhall and Oxton. The Borders is at risk of becoming the dumping ground for these monstrous eyesores and if people are concerned about preserving the natural beauty and landscape of the Borders, they have good cause to be worried by the threat of yet more turbines dominating the landscape.

''If you want to see how invasive a wind farm can be, just take a ride in Schuylkill County,'' he wrote. ''A ridge that stretches from Mahanoy City to Centralia, an area of the best hunting and passive recreational woods in that part of the county, has been ruined with these monstrosities.'' I had not visited that area for years, and the worst environmental damage I recalled was from anthracite mining. That, however, had a legitimate purpose; wind turbines are a scam that serves only to enrich those who peddle and build them.

Tonight the Umatilla County Planning Commission meets to discuss whether to adopt an amendment to the county's comprehensive plan that would ban giant wind turbines. ...The Blue Mountains are a resource shared by folks who live in Southeastern Washington and Northeastern Oregon. Anything that changes that resource is cause for concern, which is why we believe the "No Turbine Zone" amendment is worth considering.

As National Wind Week draws to a close, we are all being asked to "embrace wind" and turn a blind eye to the real impact of poorly-regulated industrial expansion on some of Scotland's most wild and beautiful landscapes. British Wind Energy Association's (BWEA) claim that the minimum footprint of a turbine is as little as 25 square metres is a classic example of the marketing hype surrounding onshore wind energy.

My house and land is in Prattsburgh, across from turbine sites for the Ecogen wind project, and my wife owns adjacent property in Naples, Ontario County. I've heard some people say "what's happening in the hills with the wind turbines won't affect me." What these folks may not yet realize is that, if these turbines are allowed to damage the value of adjacent properties, their taxes will go up. And the first step in this one-two process has just started.

The Oregon Trail is in the way of a gold rush that promises to demolish part of our history and leave us poorer. The Oregon Economic and Community Development Department is commanded by statute to promote the Oregon Trail as a major tourist attraction consistent with maintaining the historical integrity of the Oregon Trail; I wish that were the gold rush I write about. The gold rush that threatens the Oregon Trail is "free" and "green" energy from wind power.

Two large utility companies have proposed building more than 150 wind turbines near Searchlight and more than 400 turbines in Lincoln County. These turbines ...would be placed near existing communities, where they would be visible to and affect the lives of all who live near them. Just a few questions for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is a strong proponent of these two unpopular projects:

The "simulated images" of the wind farm project contained on Cape Wind's Web site show how the turbine forest might look to the casual observer driving by. ...Cape Wind is riding the "clean energy" bandwagon all the way to the bank, while we who live here will spend the rest of our summers staring at a colossal eyesore.

Little has been said about the transmission lines, which will carry the intermittent power produced by the looming mountaintop monsters down to the Tracy power plant. These are high-voltage transmission lines hanging off of 70-foot-tall, rusted-steel towers. In the years to come, such transmission lines will crisscross our valley, wind down narrow canyon roads and march somberly along property lines to their final destination.

Wind turbines sound great when you first hear about them. Who is against renewable energy? Farmers who struggle to make a living are eying up the $9,000 they are to receive per turbine per year. Ten turbines is a retirement income of $90,000! Who would blame the farmers! And the Bonnechere and Madawaska township councils can see much-needed tax dollars flowing in. But there are problems with the whole scheme. ...Let's make sure that if we choose to install hundreds of 400- foot high turbines in our heritage countryside we do so from informed choice.