State should require environmental impact studies of every wind farm
timesunion.com|John F. Sheehan, Director of Communications, The Adirondack Council|March 18, 2006
The state currently has no requirements for environmental studies of wind turbine sites. We need a law requiring wildlife surveys before and after the installation of wind turbines. Places with high populations of vulnerable wildlife should be avoided.
The state currently has no requirements for environmental studies of wind turbine sites. We need a law requiring wildlife surveys before and after the installation of wind turbines. Places with high populations of vulnerable wildlife should be avoided.
In his March 9 letter, Brian Biittner of Manlius attacks the idea that any environmental harm could come from a wind turbine power plant, regardless of its location. He accuses those who disagree with him as having selfish, "suspect" motives.
Biittner fails to mention that he, too, has something to hide. The 2003 Annual Report of Cooper Industries of Houston lists Biittner as one of its employees. Cooper Industries sells electrical equipment, supplies, cables and power generation systems to utility companies.
Biittner also wrote a letter to Gov. George Pataki in March 2005. That letter appears on the Barton Wind Power Web site (https://www. adirondackwind.com), touting Barton's plan for 10 turbines on a 2,900-foot-high ridge near Gore …
In his March 9 letter, Brian Biittner of Manlius attacks the idea that any environmental harm could come from a wind turbine power plant, regardless of its location. He accuses those who disagree with him as having selfish, "suspect" motives.
Biittner fails to mention that he, too, has something to hide. The 2003 Annual Report of Cooper Industries of Houston lists Biittner as one of its employees. Cooper Industries sells electrical equipment, supplies, cables and power generation systems to utility companies.
Biittner also wrote a letter to Gov. George Pataki in March 2005. That letter appears on the Barton Wind Power Web site (https://www. adirondackwind.com), touting Barton's plan for 10 turbines on a 2,900-foot-high ridge near Gore Mountain Ski Center. In that letter, he describes himself as a senior engineer for Cooper Industries who has worked on wind turbines.
The proposed Barton Adirondack wind project, for example, would require 10-plus acres of clear cutting in the breeding habitat of at least two known species of rare tropical songbirds. Studies of wind turbines built on Appalachian mountaintops show an appalling number of bats being killed in collisions with the blades and towers.
Requirements for blinking, airplane-warning lights would ensure that the 420-foot-tall structures would be visible for miles in every direction, including a half-dozen wilderness areas that are prized by visitors for their solitude and wildness. That is as much an economic concern as an environmental one. Tourism is the Adirondack Park's greatest economic engine.
The state currently has no requirements for environmental studies of wind turbine sites. We need a law requiring wildlife surveys before and after the installation of wind turbines. Places with high populations of vulnerable wildlife should be avoided.
The 100-plus turbines in Madison, Fenner and Maple Ridge were built with no environmental studies at all. Now that they are operating, there are no requirements to count the number of dead birds or bats, or otherwise calculate the environmental costs. Biittner doesn't want you to worry about that. I wonder why.