The article “Forget Idealism” talks of the benefits
of transitioning our energy supply from fossil fuels to renewable
sources such as wind and solar (HCN, 12/12/05: Forget Idealism). As
in many discussions previous to this one, the author fails to
address the environmental impacts of wind-power fields. The photo
associated with this article says it all for me — an open
plain littered with turbines. I hope I’m not alone in my
worry about the proliferation of wind farms across the West.
As a native of Colorado, I have traveled to all corners
of this state and many other Western states. Each time I see the
horizon of what was, just a few years ago, an open vista, now
broken by forests of these white giants, I am disheartened by the
direction of renewable energy. I can’t imagine how many of
these things would have to be erected in the next 20 years to
replace the energy generated by gas-fired power plants, but I for
one am not certain the trade-off is the environmental panacea it is
touted to be.
To be sure, we are at a crossroads in
energy and need all kinds of ideas to supply the enormous demand
that is now filled by fossil fuels; however, I’m not ready to
surrender the last open prairies to this version of energy
independence.
Marc Oliver
Fort Collins, Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Wind energy not a panacea.
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