Wind Farm Aesthetics (Dutch Treat)
Multiple lengths. Letter to the editor.
Washington State version - 200 words
Regarding the proposed Horse Heaven Wind Farm, aesthetics have not received enough attention. Some call wind turbines “hideous” as though that matters. However, it is just an opinion and as such it is not dispositive. I find wind turbines futuristically beautiful, but my opinion is also not, as they say, dispositive.
I do think aesthetics matter, though, and when the project is approved I hope the developers will consider beauty in the design of their whirly gigs. The Dutch have been building windmills for centuries, and they are so beautiful that artists travel from afar to make images of them. Could we not have something a bit more Dutch?
Also, I see where on March 15 in this newspaper, a scientist recommended building wind farms in Tornado Alley. I sense he was suggesting that they go build these things in the path of danger. That is a hostile variation on NIMBY, like telling a nitroglycerin manufacturer to position a factory atop the San Andreas Fault.
Money talks, and so do politicians. All that money and talk and politicking are vastly more dispositive than just about every other argument. The turbines are coming. Let’s make them look good if we can.
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This work was published in Tri-City Herald on May 13, 2021.
Kansas version - 182 words
Regarding the proposed Pretty Prairie Wind Farm here in Reno County, and others in this region, aesthetics have not received enough attention. Some call wind turbines “hideous” as though that matters. However, it is just an opinion and as such it is not dispositive. I find wind turbines futuristically beautiful, but my opinion is also not, as they say, dispositive.
I do think aesthetics matter, though, and when the project is approved I hope the developers will consider beauty in the design of their whirly gigs. The Dutch have been building windmills for centuries, and they are so beautiful that artists travel from afar to make images of them. Could we not have something a bit more Dutch? Judicious use of stone, brick, and shingles could go a long way toward charming the naysayers.
Money talks, and so do politicians. Lately, the talk has been about meeting green energy goals above all else. All that money and talk and politicking are vastly more dispositive than just about every other argument. The turbines are coming. Let’s make them look good if we can.
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This work was published in The Wichita Eagle on April 11, 2021.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.