Wind developers still circling like wolves

(Submitted to HDN, Apr. 15)

These days wind developers circle Kansas like packs of rapacious wolves with a never-ending thirst for tax-credits. Allaying themselves with short-sighted landowners, themselves blinded by dollar-signs, they tirelessly harass rural communities, threatening peaceful country residents with forced industrialization, visual and noise pollution, safety hazards, and an end to the peace and quality of life they had come to assume was their right to enjoy.

In her continuing quest to flog her environmentally disastrous wind project in Ellis County, Krista Gordon has requested a waiver of the one year waiting period for re-application on behalf of Iberdrola. Never mind that more than 50 % of residents in the project area don’t want it and have signed a legal protest petition to stop it. Never mind that her lies, misrepresentations and attempts to bribe local government are now common knowledge. Never mind that numerous members of the community are consumed in an ongoing discussion on how to regulate large scale wind energy projects to protect people and the environment. Much better for the windies if they can get a waiver signed by two stupid old men with the collective environmental consciousness of a bulldozer – before any regulations can be put in place by educated citizens truly concerned about protecting the community.

First it was all hush, hush – now it's all rush, rush. The only reason the windies oppose a careful, independent evaluation of the community impact of their project is they know it would never survive one. The only reason they oppose the development of a sensible wind energy ordinance to protect public safety is they have no intention of following regulations or being held responsible for their actions. It is time, once again, for every concerned citizen to stand up and speak out against this attempted rape of our county by a Spanish corporation.