On With the Wind - Sorting Fact from Fiction

Submitted by Todd Ream

   I am quite familiar with the ways of my gasoline powered vehicle.  While recent gas prices may cause me to wince when I fill up the Chevy, I am familiar with the drill.  When the low fuel light comes on, I roll into a nearby gas station, fill up my tank, and am back out on the road in a matter of minutes.  While a convenient and comfortable ritual, I should arguably pause and consider its ramifications on the environment.  My generation may not come up with a way of solving our dependence upon foreign oil and the detrimental impact fossil fuel emissions are having on the environment.  However, perhaps our children’s generation might.  As a result, the time may in fact be now to offer them the kind of education they will need in order to solve these problems. 
   Projects such as the Eastern Howard School Corporation’s wind turbine initiative are steps in just that direction.  While the project will generate a needed form of revenue, a view of the bigger picture grants us a glimpse of what our children’s future might look like.  Thanks to aggressive recycling efforts already in place in the schools, our children are arguably more aware of the need to think about the ramifications of the waste they generate than we are (as was evidenced by the scolding I rightfully received from my six year old recently when I went to throw a glass jar in the trash versus the recycling bin). 
   While considerable forms of due diligence have taken place over the course of the past several months such as receiving approval from environmental groups and regulatory
agencies such as the Federal Aviation Adminis-tration, I still wonder about the wisdom of erecting a wind turbine.  For example, Wind Turbine Syndrome has been offered as a possible health risk resulting from such an effort.  However, the concept of Wind Turbine Syndrome emerged from research reported by Nina Pierpont in her book bearing the same name.  Almost all other comparable studies point back to her work.  The problem with Pierpont’s research involves not only the flawed nature of her experiment, but also the fact that she apparently self-published her work with K-Selected Books, a publisher with no physical address, no phone number, and has only published two books – the one she wrote and one her husband wrote.  The scientific community roundly dismisses her work and agencies such as the Department of Energy and the Center for Disease Control grant it no credence. 
   Another argument I considered in opposition to the establishment of a wind turbine is the possibility that its presence could lead to a decline in my home value.  The National Association of Realtors roundly disputes that concern.  In fact, some data is beginning to emerge that indicate efforts for green energy, including the presence of wind turbines, actually cause property values to rise. 
   One final argument I considered against the establishment of a wind turbine is safety.  In particular, would a wind turbine facilitate ice throw from the blades?  While each one is smaller in nature than the one proposed to be built here in Greentown, Taylor University recently built two wind turbines as part of its larger campaign for the sciences.  Their turbines stand in a parking lot near the main entrance to their campus and are within close proximity to the science complex, a women’s residence hall, and the highway.  Little to no sound is emitted by them and no measures were needed to keep community members away from them.  In contrast, the wind turbine Eastern is proposing to build is in the middle of a 37 acre field.  
   In the end, the decision to build a wind turbine is more about the future than the past or even the present.  I need to realize I cannot stay comfortable with my regular ritual of filling up the Chevy with a fossil form of fuel any time I deem necessary.  Reasonable efforts to generate clean forms of energy that are also renewable are commendable even if they mean I might need to break from my current set of habits.  If all goes well, the kind of education our children will receive via such an initiative just might force me out of my comfort zone.  If so, I will need to concede I am better off as a result of their efforts and perhaps trade in the Equinox for a Volt.         
   Todd and his family live in Greentown. He has two daughters who attend Eastern Elementary School where he serves as a regular volunteer. He also teaches at Indiana Wesleyan.