Pantagraph.com | Letters | History repeated in wind-farm debate

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Planner wrote on Nov 18, 2006 2:02 PM:

" Re: ireland grove rd. Isn't that just the way it is going now? People are hearing one thing.........how much money they will get per year for having a wind factory on their property. They are not looking past the ends of their noses to see what impact this will have on their way of life. And......they aren't concerned with coming up with an alternative power source. They just want the cash........I hope these people know what they are in for.......it wouldn't be so bad if it was being done for the right reasons. It's all about money and greed. "

Agust wrote on Nov 18, 2006 7:29 AM:

" Hydrogen! Forever renewable. City Buses in Iceland are already running off of Hydrogen and the exhaust is water. No cloudy or wind still days to halt solar or wind generation systems. As long as we have a drop of H2O we can have power. As far as coal.. go to the Patchwork Films website and get a taste of some real dirt falling from mountaintop removal projects. "

ireland grove rd wrote on Nov 17, 2006 10:07 PM:

" someone is building a sub division along east ireland grove rd. are there not wind turbines going to be built just to the east of this addition to bloomington. i know that this wind farm will grow over into the downs fire district, and really close to bloomington. those people are going to look out to see the sunrise and see wind turbines popping up for about 15 miles. some poor planing by a developer. "

Deutschland wrote on Nov 17, 2006 10:50 AM:

" Wind farms are a source of clean and cheap energy and are already in use in Holland and Germany. Makes you less dependent upon foreign oil. Hmmmmmm "

Sam DePino wrote on Nov 16, 2006 11:45 PM:

" The more things change, the more people stay the same, Mr. Siebert. Your points are well taken. For those worried about real estate values, try searching your web for "effects of wind turbines on real estate values." I did on aol and found some interesting information there. For now, I'm hoping someone will get state and federal officials to pass a law holding governing bodies, officials and boards responsible to the people they affect outside their jurisdictions. Give those outside of municipalities the right to vote and run for office in the town or village jurisdiction...even absentee owners should be able to vote. "

Patriot wrote on Nov 16, 2006 5:06 PM:

" A 1000 megawatt power plant coal based, nuclear based and windmill based uses, respectively, 1,620 acres, 1,650 acres and 900 acres of land. They respectively cost $3.3, $5.0 and $4.3 billion dollars. That size coal powerplant uses 4,500,000 tons of coal a year and makes 9,400,000 tons of carbon dioxid. The nuclear plant uses 19 tons of enriched uranium requiring 800,000 tons of uranium ore to be mined. The windmill plant only requires normal annual wind which the sun makes 365 days a year constantly heating half the atmosphere. "

To MY MY MY wrote on Nov 16, 2006 4:31 PM:

" Brain power. There's a thought. "

MY MY MY wrote on Nov 16, 2006 4:12 PM:

" If all you self proclaimed geniuses would divert your knowledge and brainpower to the subject of energy , you could surley come up with some other sources of energy so we all would be happy. "

TO: To Slow to Change wrote on Nov 16, 2006 3:00 PM:

" Solar panels are also on the International Space Station, Helped power the moon buggy, etc... NASA has used them for years. Ya gotta open yours eyes, before ya speak. "

TO: To Slow to Change wrote on Nov 16, 2006 2:57 PM:

" Solar panels are where they do the most good, the Southwest. Leave your humble home in the mid-west and see what is happening out there, it is a big world. "

To Slow to Change wrote on Nov 16, 2006 1:46 PM:

" Sunshine is free too. So where are all the solar panels? "

What impact wrote on Nov 16, 2006 12:40 PM:

" What enviornmental impact does a wind farm have? What waste does it produce? Alternatives have to start somewhere. In the 70s they tried individual wind mills and found the cost of maintenance to high to justify the benefit for individuals. This is another try at a great energy source. You want to government to do something, as long as it means you don't have to do anything. It doesn't work that way. "

Choice wrote on Nov 16, 2006 11:56 AM:

" While I appreciate your theory or take on this Steve.... may I also suggest you research how many of these industrial strength whirly-gigs it will actually take to make a ding in this issue? And at what costs? Could it be possible the environmental impacts are too high and the clean energy benefits too low? You ask where would we be today......I ask where will we be tomorrow? "

Slow to Change wrote on Nov 16, 2006 10:07 AM:

" Cry and whine, energy consumers. Wind is free. Just look at how much hot air is produced on this website. "

DB wrote on Nov 16, 2006 10:01 AM:

" Here's another example in history. Back in the 70's energy prices were soaring, so as a result the government offered subsidies for renewable energy alternatives that would otherwise be too expensive to pay for themselves. Homeowner began installing solar panels on their roofs. It soon became apparent, however, that it was ridiculous to spend huge amounts of taxpayer dollars on inefficient forms of energy and now homeowners pay to have the ugly things taken off their roofs. The only difference between that and the wind farms? Then, homeowners were getting ridiculous subsidies. Now, its giant corporations. "

Patriot wrote on Nov 16, 2006 9:30 AM:

" First, windmills are by far the best way to make electricity. It is far cheaper that nuclear or coal and makes almost zero pollution. Second, your statement "sometimes we little people don't always see the big picture" is true, but does not imply that big business does. The only thing big business does is strive to make a profit at all costs. Part of that can be beneficial, but a large part is not. Big business is doing mountaintop removal to get at the coal in Apalachia and causing massing pollution and poisoning of thousands of people's water supply. Big business has made over one million tons of depleted uranium which our military forces are now pollution the middle-East, Bosnia and American Indian reservations. Big business only pays pennies on the dollar's worth of pollution that they generate. How bad must our environment get? "

Caution wrote on Nov 16, 2006 9:12 AM:

" Wind factories are only feasible due to rather large subsidies in the form of tax credits, favorable assessment deals, and political decisions forcing the purchase of more expensive wind produced energy. So taxpayers and electric customers end up on the losing side as well as anyone unfortunate enough to live close to or inside one of these developments.. The winner is the wind factory developer taking advantage of those not able to figure this out or willing to investigate the facts. "

To Steve wrote on Nov 16, 2006 7:47 AM:

" Nice point made. "

Woodford Pundit wrote on Nov 16, 2006 7:44 AM:

" We would have underground lines which wouldn't require constant maintenance after storms. "

**** wrote on Nov 16, 2006 7:15 AM:

" So..........how many do you have on your property??? There is a little bit of difference in size between a utility pole and one of these wind factories. Are utility poles set in tons of concrete? Do you need to tear up acres of farm ground to set a utility pole? I don't hear any noise coming from the utility poles near me. "

Sam wrote on Nov 16, 2006 4:31 AM:

" Steve, how many utility poles were 492 feet tall? If you like wind farms so much I suggest you move close to one. "

I agree wrote on Nov 16, 2006 2:44 AM:

" And these whiners are probably also the whiners about utility bills. They want everyone to give something but them. "

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