Quote:
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"You probably couldn't pick a worse location, unless you're trying to settle the issue as to how damaging they are to migratory birds," said Walter Kittelberger, a fishing guide who is chairman of the nonprofit Lower Laguna Madre Foundation. Laguna Madre is the strip of water between the mainland and Padre Island.
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Oddly enough, that "couldn't be a worse location" comment comes from a fishing guide who happens to chair a coalition representing the area (no doubt some environmentalists, but probably more likely a group of businesses whose primary revenues stem from the nature tourism in the area -- birding, boating, fishing charters, etc.) At least, that's how I read the comment. Further reading shows the chairman is definitely pretty dead set against the wind farm, both for potential bird kills as well as perceived visual impact (additional news story:
http://www.themonitor.com/SiteProces...Section=Valley)
That said, if even the Sierra Club is pretty happy with the proposed wind farm, this is a pretty tame outcry from the environmental camp, IMHO. Wind energy puts them in a difficult camp. Cry "foul" ("fowl"?!) and it becomes pretty hard to explain how we humans are supposed to generate energy.... rub two sticks together? Nope, deforestation and wildfire risk. Fossil fuels? Been there, doing that, paying the price (literally). Nuclear? Quiet and safe until a Three Mile Island or Chernobyl melt-down occurs, plus the hidden/under appreciated radioactive waste products that have to be stored on site or transported to deep fill storage facilities. Hydroelectric? We went through a phase of damming all the major rivers, and in addition to the costs of dam building (in lives, as well as $$'s) and community relocation (enlarging or creating reservoirs) we found environmental impacts as well -- turns out rivers are meant to flood occasionally, just like pine forests are meant to burn occasionally -- clears them out, infuses them with new life/nutrients, etc. Solar? Maturing ever-so-slowly...
For everything, there is a price. Something we give up as an "acceptable risk" until we have evidence to the contrary (and usually, even after that point, because momentum's carrying us along by that time...)