Wind Turbines Are Eyesores: Revisited
On Futuristic Landscapes
Health Effects Mini-Rant
Closing
What better way to start of a stream of consciousness/rant entry than with some of the electronic musical stylings of Mr. Thomas Dolby (specifically a song named "Wind Power")? At any rate, let's get right to it.
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Opening Generalities
This whole issue of wind farms and such in Ontario really seems to come down to a generational divide, at least in some senses.
Any generality is like a day at the beach - you're bound to get sand in your shoes if you make them, but sometimes they've got to be made, just as you might have to go to the beach to really relax.
Nonetheless, the older generation is generally opposed and the younger generation is actually for. But the sand's about to be kicked out of those shoes, since the reason behind this seems to be the simple fact: the old live in the country and the young live in the city.
Perhaps not major cities, like those clustered around South Western Ontario, but definitely in more densely populated areas where wind farms are quite removed from everyday sight.
This is another generalization, but it definitely holds true. There are, of course, the young who don't care for wind power and the old who are for it, and the young who live in the country and face the brunt of these wind farms and there are the old who live in cities and are removed from the physical presence of the issue.
Really, though, that's it. Those living in towns and in cities who are opposed to wind farms might be so because of the reasons cited in last week's blog entry, or because of others, but those urbanites are not quite in the fore of the issue.
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Wind Turbines Are Eyesores: Revisited
Wind power, though, is definitely something futuristic, something that is at least a little bit inevitable, even if its greenness in both senses might be seen as a handicap by some. The biggest argument against them that carries any weight, and that seems to have no real solution is that they're eyesores.
In response to the eyesore argument, though, it must be said that the landscape is going to change no matter what kind of power is generated - green power or old power. The generation of power means that humanity is present, and as long as humanity is present there's going to be a need for power - so long as any kind of apocalyptic disaster doesn't render human society completely ignorant of electricity and its uses. Why not let the landscape change in a controlled way?
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On Futuristic Landscapes
The change into a futuristic landscape, assuming that a "futuristic" landscape is indeed the end result of human progress to the "Future" of hover- and teleportation and meals-in-pills technology, is definitely going to be a long and slow one, but as long as wind turbines don't knock down any trees or destroy any escarpments or cause damage to homes, they're just another addition.
How did people feel about radio towers when they first went up in the countryside, with their constantly blinking lights?
How did people feel about the giant metal power lines and their supports which cut swathes through the Ontario landscape when they were first erected?
Progress means change, and if it's a change that can be controlled, isn't that for the better? Isn't that what should be striven for?
So what if solar panels and wind turbines change the face of the landscape just a little bit?
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Health Effects Mini-Rant
As per the other effects that wind turbines are said to have, it seems that no evidence has come forth to back up claims of health problems due to them, and their effect on wildlife is considered in their construction and erection. 50-150 years ago when things were being built in the Ontario countryside, was wildlife considered? Were health concerns related to the impact of building a major issue?
It's the opinion of this blogger that the health issues that people attribute to wind turbines are the result of anxiety triggered by the presence of something new and radically different.
A power plant is sequestered and out of sight. A hydroelectric dam might be miles away from the homes and businesses that use its power. Wind farms are much more immediate, much more noticeable, and more more conspicuous.
If anything, the wind turbines are causing health issues not because of their motion - though being near any moving object like that does take some getting used to - as much as they are because of turbines' inescapable presence. They're there. They're always there, but unlike solar panels, they make noise and they move about. These facts may cause some people to become distressed, but they are what they are.
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Closing
Check back here Wednesday for an article about some of the newest news and on Friday for a hunt for the good in Johnny English Reborn
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