I am a long-time and avid supporter of organizations and individuals that I know fight stringently for clean sustainable energy in a bid to pass on a viable, liveable planet for generations to come. In spite of our government’s abysmal record in conservation and reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs), the people I put my faith in put it all out there and do make a difference. Glen Estill, founder of a very successful wind energy company in Ontario Canada’s Georgian Bay region, looked at the future this way:
“We are in a war with entrenched vested interests to shift the world to a sustainable energy path. We have no choice but to win – with truth, technology, and science.”
While creating and building his business, Estill endured vicious and misinformed attacks on him personally by wind farm and wind energy opponents who use fear to divide communities. His response was a stalwart determination to succeed and as he put it, “… do what needed to be done.” In 2011, Estill’s 13 turbines were powering some 10,000 homes.
One of my heroes, if you will, is conservationist, scientist, and environmentalist Dr. David Suzuki. He is a member of a growing number of renowned and respected experts around the globe on renewable energy. He has never been shy about putting himself or his brain-power out there. He recently wrote about his cabin located on an island off the British Columbia coast:
“From my porch you can see clear across the waters of Georgia Strait to the snowy peaks of the rugged Coast Mountains. It’s one of the most beautiful views I have seen. And I would gladly share it with a wind farm.”1
Across Europe and North America, it’s not uncommon to see even environmentalists, along with others, butting heads with the wind industry. Verbal brawls range from Nova Scotia to British Columbia in Canada; all four corners of the UK are besieged by more than 100 national and local groups; and the U.S. is up against some of the heaviest-hitting politicians in the land. All of them argue that wind power is inefficient and destroys the ambience of the countryside. Most claim it couldn’t possibly offset carbon emissions to the degree the experts say.
“It’s time for some perspective,” explains Dr. Suzuki. “With the growing urgency of climate change, we can’t have it both ways. We can’t shout about the dangers of global warming and then turn around and shout even louder about the ‘dangers’ of windmills. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges humanity will face this century. Confronting it will take a radical change in the way we produce and consume energy – another industrial revolution, this time for clean energy, conservation and efficiency.”2
We aren’t hopeless or hapless in the fight against climate change, or cleaning up the air. We know solutions exist. We just need to deploy them at whatever cost.
We must accept the fact that all forms of energy – be them brand new or some acceptable exploitation of an existing type of generation – have a dark side. Even hydroelectric power has its downsides including large-scale flooding and destruction of habitat when dams are built. Wind power too can present problems for birds and bats when improper or poor planning is at play. Added to this is the reality that any man-made structure including houses, communications towers, skyscrapers, and so on can kill birds. In Toronto alone, in any given year, some one million birds collide with buildings. This number should always be stated with the fact that vehicles, along with feral and house cats, also do untold damage to bird populations. Well-sited wind farms, however, take a much smaller toll on birds and bats than those that were never subjected to the same adaptive scrutiny. Britain’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, for example, indicates that scientific evidence shows appropriately situated wind farms ‘have negligible impacts’ on birds. To this point, records at the beginning of January, 2014, show that nearly 5,300 working wind turbines live in the UK.
Real risk, though, to flying creatures comes not from wind turbines or other structures but from a changing climate that is shown to threaten the very existence of species and their habitats. It’s a multi-pronged fork, however, and any and all wind farms should be constructed conditional upon regulated environmental impact assessments. It must be noted that this does not let the hypocritical and counterproductive blanket approach of the NIMBY crowd off the hook.
The last two decades has shown us the beauty of wind power. It is the fastest-growing source of clean energy on the planet employing hundreds of thousands of workers. Larger turbines and greater knowledge of how to build, install, and operate them means wind is now comparable to other forms of power generation. As technology improves prices will, by extension, continue to fall.
Some of the most vehement arguments that I’ve heard against wind has nothing to do with the mechanics of producing clean, sustainable renewable energy. Some opponents simply don’t like the look of them. It ranks up there with the age-old, useless, mind-numbing, and totally frustrating statement used to settle many things:
BECAUSE I SAID SO!
“But are windmills ugly?” asks Suzuki. When he put it to the executive director of the UN Environment Programme from 1976 to 1992, Mostafa Tolba told him that belching smokestacks were considered signs of progress when he was growing up in Egypt. Even as an adult concerned about pollution, it took him a long time to get over the pride he felt when he saw a tower pouring out clouds of smoke.
I am myself much of that mindset. When I lived and worked in England some years ago, my daily travels often took me through many shires and counties. Britain’s nuclear industry was still growing and the huge cooling towers were evident in many places. There was something oddly reassuring about those huge organic hourglass-shaped monoliths steadfastly spewing cooled waste heat as steam into the sky. It’s like the distant sound of a train whistle in the dead of night. They don’t let us forget that life is omnipresent. I feel the same about the sleek, modern look and dedication to our future that wind turbines portray.
I like the way David Suzuki reconciles it:
“Our perception of beauty is shaped by our values and beliefs. Some people think wind turbines are ugly. I think smokestacks, smog, acid rain, coal-fired power plants and climate change are ugly. I think windmills are beautiful. They harness the wind’s power to supply us with heat and light. They provide local jobs. They help clean air and reduce climate change.”3
1 Suzuki, D. Dr. “Windmills are things of beauty.” David Suzuki Foundation Newsletter (April 4, 2014): 1
2 Ibid. 2
3 Ibid. 2-3
