'Wind: Justify It!'

To the editor:

Here's my challenge to the commercial wind industry and its backers: justify it! Tell me what we are gaining for the sacrifice of our ridges, wildlife, and scenery.

I posed that question to the panel in State College at the Pa. Chapter of the Wildlife Society's "Wind Energy and Wildlife Conservation: Are They Compatible?" I specifically asked how much carbon offset we could expect from the proliferating commercial wind industry, especially in terms of cleaner air.

I specified that I was referring to the decreased output from the coal-fired power plants in our region.

To my surprise, an industry rep jumped in to assert, "No one ever claimed there would be any." I almost laughed.

That is precisely what the industry does routinely assert and implies even more often. It is also the assumption of most Pennsylvania residents who have declined to object based on their concerns for the environment.

After hearing the panel collectively discuss the increasing demand for electricity and their hope to prevent the necessity of more non-renewable energy sources coming on line, I realized that I had finally heard something almost honest from industry supporters.

If the commercial wind production of electricity ever serves a purpose, it would be in slowing the increasing rate of pollution. Not exactly what the literature would have you think, is it?

Of course, I am now back to the starting point. I have revised my demand for justification to insist on projections. How much will the industry offset from polluting sources based on the state's ambitious backing of the industry?

When the state officially backs an industry that so drastically alters Pennsylvania's landscape, residents should be provided with a clear demonstration of how the gain to the environment offsets the sacrificed ridges, wildlife, and scenery.

Romuald Caroff Cambria County