Another Left Wing Cause Bites the Dust -- Environmentalists Turn on Wind Farms

Red Nova reports:

One of the greenest forms of energy -- wind power -- is picking up opposition from the very people you might expect to champion it: environmentalists.

In fact, some Kansas groups are among the leaders in a growing groundswell that's reached other states and even Europe.

"This is not just a Kansas problem," said Larry Patton, a member of Nature Conservancy and Audubon of Kansas, two groups that are raising red flags about wind farms. "We all wish that wind turbines were a silver bullet that would solve all energy problems, but that is not the case."

....

Among their arguments:

--The effect of wind energy on global warming will be minuscule. Wind is intermittent and the technology will only allow it to produce a small amount of electricity, so power plants will still be needed.

--Wind farms needed to produce that small stream of electricity are huge, with dozens of turbines that can reach almost 400 feet high. That's an eyesore, especially in scenic areas such as the Flint Hills.

--The turbines, with blades longer than 100 feet, kill birds and bats and disturb the habitat of numerous animals on the ground, including the disappearing prairie chicken.

--Wind farms are too expensive, costing billions of dollars in federal, state and local tax breaks and grants for a small amount of electricity.

"Some environmentalists think just because a wind turbine is renewable it is good, and they are willing to ignore siting issues and tax expenditures," said Ron Klataske, executive director of Audubon of Kansas. "This is a dual tragedy because great places are being destroyed and taxpayers are being hoodwinked into paying for these things with enormous subsidies."

Read it here.

Once again utopian dreams fail to survive contact with the real world. As any number of commentators have pointed out, the costs of most proposed environmental reform are immense, and the payoffs far from certain.

And then there's the NIMBY factor which ensures that if wind-power is applied its most harmful effects will fall on the most vlnerable members of society -- those who cannot afford the interminable legal challenges needed to keep the zealots at bay.