Are wind power's critics blowing hot air?

My recent post about wind power and manufacturing touched a nerve of a reader who wrote in to the comments section. Wind power gets people concerned and upset. The prospect of a horizon altered by giant wind turbines triggers powerful emotions: the endless vistas of the American landscape symbolize our national identity, and to some people, altering that view with wind farms profanes a sacred place.

The Maple Ridge wind-turbine project in upstate New York, like others in the Northeast, has attracted lots of controversy, for predictable reasons: outside developers move into a pristine area, change the landscape, throw down some royalties for a few local citizens, and then ship the electricity to New York City. (And often, the local electricity rates go up.) That must be exasperating.



And there are complaints of the adverse health effects upon people located near wind farms: