When environmentalism may not be “pretty.”
By Karina | October 12, 2009
I was out in Massachusetts this weekend spending a lovely weekend with my family at Jiminy Peak, home of the Zephyr! which is, probably, the unofficial wind turbine of Tiny Choices. And the turbines are EVERYWHERE, and you can see the line of turbine “stalks” being installed along the top of the mountain ridge moving away from the original Zephyr. I got home and did some research, and it appears that western MA is on the top of many peoples lists for receiving turbines.
What I wanted to post about, though, was the woman who was seated near me on the hay ride at the pumpkin picking place who looked up at the hill top and said something along the lines of “Ugh, so many turbines. One is pretty, but more than that, I just don’t know. ” My sister said to me afterwards that she honestly thought I might yell at this strange woman! ha! Actually it crossed my mind – I thought of some great snide returns like: “Oh hey, know what’s pretty? having enough energy to clean all those fancy clothes you’re wearing so you don’t have to wear them out dirty.” or “Hey, remember how dirty Pittsburgh was during all that coal fired steel mill work? That wasn’t so pretty, now, was it?” Even “Hey, how about those nasty particulate-related illnesses like asthma and heart diesase – that’s not a pretty way to go.”
But I didn’t, I held my tongue. And you know, there ARE valid and legitimate reasons to be concerned about a large scale installation of wind turbines. But I don’t buy the “pretty” thing.
So I’m wondering:
When you overhear a comment like that, do you say something? Or do you just make up the perfect comeback in your head and share it with your dear ones after the fact?
(And you know, a colleague just sent me a link to check out the Daily Show where Jon Stewart interviews William Kamkwamba – he built a windmill for his family in Malawi to generate electricity from a photograph. (You can find the interview starting just after the 2nd commercial break at the link above. It’s pretty amazing!)
[[Photo from this weekend, showing two of the new turbines. There are a total of 10 slated to track across the top of the ridge.]]
Topics: Activism, Home | 14 Comments »
What’s wrong with turbines anyway? I think you really should have yelled at that lady! LOL…
Check out William Kamkwamba on TED: http://www.ted.com/talks/william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind.html
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I just gasp and say they’re so beautiful. But that’s easy for me, I *do* think they’re beautiful.
Try the old standby, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Where some people see flowers, others can only see weeds.
Speaking from Wyoming, where the wind blows HARD and turbines are sprouting up all over, personally I think they are far prettier than dirty coal mines or all those ugly oil well pumps and stinky refineries (We have plenty of those also). Wind turbines are changing, they are getting bigger and heavier (one spoke of three requires a longer flatbed trailer to haul than I have ever seen) and because they are heavier, they turn slower, produce more energy and not as big a danger to the birds. /and now they are creating circular turbines. Oh, how filthy and ugly those coal mines are, and how bad that black smoke is from the coal power plants. Personally, I LOVE wind turbines. I believe in standing up for what is right for the environment.
I think they look great, just outside Palm Springs CA there is a giant wind farm…I love it.
Plus…consider the alternative? Coal power stations?
T
I agree with the person who suggested “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Personally I like the symmetry of the windmills in row at a wind farm. However, there are many people, even those that are environmentally mind who like the idea of wind generated power but don’t want the turbines cluttering up the landscape when they look out of the windows of their lakefront homes. ???
[...] Tiny Choices discusses the aesthetics of wind turbines. [...]
If environmentalists would get over their fear of science books, perhaps they would support the even cleaner nuclear power?
Oh yeah, I forgot, environmentalists only believe in the science to supports their pre determined agenda…
actually, anon, I’m an engineer and take science very seriously – as does Jenn. if you’re a regular reader you will have noticed this in many of our posts. Statements like yours are divisive and disparaging.
[...] When environmentalism may not be “pretty.” [...]
I’m another one that actually thinks they do look pretty!! I think that there is an opportunity to provide another perspective to someone, just by stating your opinion (that they can look beautiful to someone else). Something like that might make her stop and look at them differently. Whereas some of the other things (that we might think in our heads) would just push her further away.
They’re a whole heck of a lot prettier than the pumpjacks and Teppco oil tanks that dot the landscape beneath the Wolf Ridge Wind Farm in N. Tx!
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wolf_Ridge_Wind_Farm_3133687706_2400b5319a_b.jpg
My hubby worked construction on this instillation and we’re hoping they come back and expand it soon. There in negotiations for 2 more sites here.