Retired Los Angeles teacher Joyce Manley, who lives near hundreds of turbines, complains of the ceaseless high-pitched whine and bright lights.
MARK BOSTER: LOS ANGELES TIMES |
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By JANET WILSON
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — In a blustery stretch of desert two hours east of here, where many of the world's first power-producing windmills were built, a plan for more turbines has triggered a backlash that echoes a national debate over the merits of wind energy.
A proposal to build 50 windmills next to Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument has aroused passions in a region already dotted with 3,000 windmills, with opponents charging that the wind energy industry has neither delivered the promised power nor spared the environment. The industry, born in California, has projects in 40 states and $8 billion in investments over the last two years, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
Supporters say wind power has come of age and will help slow global warming, while critics contend that it has delivered only a quarter of its promised energy, proved lethal to wildlife and, in the view of many residents, blighted the landscape.
Around the country, blogs and anti-wind energy Web sites hum with angry postings about projects on picturesque ridge- lines, seascapes and farmlands from New England to Texas.
Politicians and celebrities have weighed in. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and his Nantucket Island neighbors so far have successfully fought installation of offshore turbines. Their opposition has prompted criticism that rich liberals are all for alternative power providing it doesn't mar their views.
Full article:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/4695284.html
