10/29/08 Wind Power Debate

The landscape is changing. As more and more wind farms are cropping up across the Northwest, the debate over the environmental impact of wind turbines rages on. While most people in the surrounding areas are enthusiastic and supportive of renewable wind energy, there are those few that continue to oppose wind power. The two main concerns appear to revolve around aesthetics; citing that the giant wind turbines disturbs the landscape, and problems associated with bird mortality. Personally, I don't think you could get much more aesthetically unappealing as the giant electrical hummers and wiring poles that have dotted our landscape for decades. People have just become familiar with these. In regards to wildlife, wind farm developers have been sensitive to the issue with better siting of turbines, better design and slower turning rotors. There is great potential in the Northwest and across the rest of the nation for harvesting wind power, and in working together we can all benefit from this clean renewable source of energy. Change can be a good thing.