An Ill Wind?

Around the time of the last presidential election, there was some talk of how some people on the Massachusetts coast being upset because of a planned wind farm. You've probably seen windfarms, with those giant wind turbines twirling in unison. With rising energy prices and environmental concerns over coal, wind energy is being seen as a viable alternative that's produces clean and affordable energy.

As someone who fashions himself as a environmentalist, I think this is a good alternative. You'd think a lot of people would think wind energy is a good idea. This is a no brainer: it produces no waste, it's safe and doesn't pollute.

You'd think wrong.

Anne Applebaum reports that about the rising anti-wind movement. Yes, you heard me: the anti-wind movement. The antis complain that the windmills are ugly, noisy and kill birds and bats. Applebaum also talks about how other eco-friendly energy alternatives are being attacked as well for a host of silly reasons.

I sometimes think that the enviromental movement has gone off the tracks at times. My motto has always been to leave as little of a footprint as possible. My guess is there are a lot of environmentalists who think we should leave no footprints whatsoever. That's impossible unless we decide to go back to the 16th century.

In the scheme of things, we are dealing with things like global warming and oil supplies that controlled by the likes of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. These worries are more important than someone in Massachusetts who is upset that he no longer has a "clear view" of the ocean.

My advice to those who are against these winds farms: get over yourselves. There are bigger things to worry about.