U.S. Wind Distribution Map

This U.S. Department of Energy map shows wind distribution throughout the nation.The areas in white represent the least amount of wind. The logical question here is:
WHY MARSHALL COUNTY?

Information sheet from Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, meeting in Culver

The Facts:

·         A Florida-based wind farm company, NextEra, has proposed a 17,000+ acre area for the construction of 60+ wind turbines. The wind farm would be located between Culver and Argos in Marshall County (West to East) and from Burr Oak/Hibbard, Marshall County, to Richland Center in Fulton County (North to South).

·         The turbines are proposed to be app. 450 feet tall, about the height of a 38 to 45-story building.

·         The wind turbines will be visible from Culver's scenic town park as well as all shores of Lake Maxinkuckee, the Town of Argos, and miles of surrounding farmland.

·         The sound from the turbines can carry 1.5 miles, farther over rolling terrain and water. Sound described as “like a cement mixer in the sky.”

·         Marshall County requires that turbines be placed only 1,000 feet from homes, although globally, doctors recommend that they not be located within 1.5 miles (7,920 feet) of a home.

·         A NextEra representative has stated that the wind energy produced will not be used locally!

Potential Resulting Problems:

·         Reported decrease in property value and re-sale value for land and homes next to or within sight of a wind farm can be as much as 30%. Land value where one or more turbine is situated actually increases because of the income the land owner receives from the wind energy company.

·         Visual and audio disturbances to our everyday life: “shadow flicker” and persistent noise.

·         Addition of cell phone and radio towers on land leased for a wind farm, at the company’s discretion.

·         Threat to wildlife: wind turbines kill birds and bats both of which are necessary to our fragile ecosystem and bats in particular play a vital role on farms in the way insect control and pollination.

·         Serious threats to human and animal health and well-being: symptoms of those living near wind farms include headache, nausea, blurred vision, sleeplessness, ringing/buzzing in ears, dizziness and vertigo, memory & concentration problems, and depression.

Misconceptions about Wind Energy:

·         Wind energy is free. No! Wind energy is not economically viable and comes at an ultimately higher cost than our current energy sources. The wind industry is heavily subsidized (funded) by YOUR TAX DOLLARS.

·         Electric rates in our local area will go down. No! NextEra has stated that our local electric rates will increase.

·         The energy generated will be used locally. No! A NextEra representative said that the wind energy from this particular farm will not be used locally and may be sold out of state.

·         The wind farm will help to decrease our country’s dependence on foreign oil. No!  In the U.S., electricity is generated by U.S. coal, natural gas, and in some regions, nuclear plants.

What Can You Do?

·         Sign the petition against the proposed wind farm. Your voice counts!

·         Use this handout and our blog to educate your neighbors and friends.

·         Post questions and comments (can be anonymous) to our blog.

Additional Resources; Do your own Research:

·         “Shadow Flicker” YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbIe0iUtelQ

·         Wind turbine noise YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoVKP0G_f8M
*       Property value/resale value impact studies:
         http://www.wind-watch.org/ww-propertyvalues.php
  Health concerns:

·         www.windturbinesyndrome.com

·         http://windfarmfactsutah.org/HEALTH_IMPACT.html

            http://www.ehow.com/list_5927800_health-living-near-wind-turbines_.html

Is that a storm? Or....?

In areas where there are large commercial wind farms, an interesting - and potentially dangerous - phenomenon occurs: the motion of the turbines creates a "signature" on local doppler radar that looks just like a storm. The large rotating blades affect the flow of wind and on doppler radar, it appears there is a sizeable storm in the area. Below is an image from http://www.wlfi.com/ which is Lafayette's local tv station. You can see the date and time in the upper left corner of the radar image. This was a CLEAR day and the nearest storms were in northwestern Illinois. Where there appear to be a couple hefty storms near Lafayette, there are commercial wind farms.

The question is, can these large wind farms actually interefere with doppler's ability to show rotation in real storm clouds thus endangering the public because of late tornado warnings? If you go to a national radar image, these false storms do not show up; it only happens on the local doppler radar that is used to predict  severe storms.

Doppler Radar from WLFI.COM  Lafayette, Indiana, April and August, 2011

  Excellent visuals and explanation of wind turbines interefering w/ weather radar signals (New York):

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/buf/windfarm.htm

Don't Like Bats? We Need Them.

Some Important Bat Facts:

• Nearly 1,100 kinds of bats account for almost a quarter of all mammal species, and most are highly beneficial. A single little brown bat can catch 1,200 mosquito-sized insects in just one hour. Bats have an enormous beneficial financial impact on local agriculture and they play a key role in human and animal disease control.
• A colony of 150 big brown bats can protect local farmers from up to 33 million or more rootworms each summer.
• The 20 million Mexican free-tails from Bracken Cave, Texas, eat approximately 200 tons of insects nightly.
• Tropical bats are key elements in rain forest ecosystems, which rely on them to pollinate flowers and disperse seeds for countless trees and shrubs.
• In the wild, important agricultural plants, from bananas, breadfruit, and mangoes to cashews, dates, figs, rely on bats for pollination and seed dispersal. This is the case for U.S. agriculture as well.
• Bat are exceptionally vulnerable to extinction, in part because they are the slowest reproducing mammals on earth for their size. Most produce only one young a year.
• More than half of American bat species are in severe decline or are already listed as endangered. Losses are occurring at alarming rates worldwide.
• Loss of bats increases demand for chemical pesticides, can jeopardize whole ecosystems of other animal and plant species, and can harm human economies.

http://www.noreswindnk.com/wildlife_effects.html

Exploding Bat Lungs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRqu4WiLQfk