Letters to the Editor
Butler County beware
To the Editor:
I was surprised and dismayed to see that Butler County has approved the construction of 100 wind machines. This is a failed technology that has had many, many problems over the years. It is unreliable and not competitive with other methods of energy generation. The machines are similar to freight cars poised high in the air. Even in the vast California desert, they look like a junk yard spread over thousands of acres. A number of them whirring away together generate much noise.
The major problem with wind power is that a 1,000 megawatt wind (or solar) plant requires 50 square miles of space as compared to only 100 acres for a 1,000 megawatt coal, oil, or nuclear plant. I can visualize every piece of ground in our country being covered with these machines in order to provide for our energy needs. The wind machine proponents will next be proposing they be put in our national parks. The Marion County Record reported they were proposing a wind farm in the pristine Flint Hills of Kansas about three years ago. An article in the Orange County Register on July 2 reported even the environmentalists were suing California wind machine operators because the rotating turbine blades on one 50-square mile operation were killing 1,700 to 4,700 birds each year.
We in the U.S. need to get away from dependence on oil (gasoline here in California is now about $2.70 per gallon). I would think those in the farm belt would be pushing for ethanol. There are of course a number of alternatives. Coal fired power plants are one. The new plants provide for less air pollution but generate much solid waste. Nuclear power of course is the perfect answer. There is no air pollution and very little solid waste which can be reprocessed. They are efficient, safe, and competitive to other sources of power. If it were not for all the unnecessary regulations, nuclear power would be much cheaper than other sources of power generation as it was in the 1960s and 1970s.
I would think the people in Marion County also should be concerned about having the monstrous wind machines next door in Butler County.
Cliff Doubek
Anaheim Hills, Calif.
Not the answer
To the Editor:
I was shocked to read of the potential encroachment of the wind farms into the beautiful Flint Hills area of Marion County!
I will attempt to express in 400 words or less, why this would be a terrible mistake for Marion, Butler, and surrounding counties, to engage in such a questionable project.
In the Jan. 15 Topeka Capital-Journal, our own Governor Sebelius was quoted as "asking the wind energy developers and landowners to use 'restraint' in a large swath of the Flint Hills." In addition, do you realize the 100, 260-foot turbines would only be the beginning of an attack upon the land of the Flint Hills?
According to the article published June 22 in the Marion County Record, Butler County will not see any of the revenue from this project. The greedy landowners will profit from jeopardizing the wildlife habitat and already diminishing prairie chicken population, all to provide only one tenth of one percent of our nation's electricity production!
And landowners who own property next to wind factories will find the value of their property has decreased, their scenic views have been destroyed, and the natural environment has been altered.
There will be no significant tax revenue for our local communities, or the State of Kansas, and most of the money generated will leave our state. We will pay three times for wind energy: higher utility costs, federal incentives, and tax subsidies (both state and local).
Even as recent as January, Westar Energy was quoted in the Topeka Capital-Journal as saying it was no longer in the market to buy wind power after receiving proposals from a dozen companies, wind energy was "simply not in the best economic interest of our customers and shareholders."
Why should our taxes be spent on subsidies given to out-of-state and foreign companies who plan on destroying what is left of our Flint Hills region?
Thank you for taking time to read and consider this dilemma. For more information on the effort to preserve our areas rich heritage, scenic beauty, and natural integrity, please contact: Protect the Flint Hills, PO Box 51, Towanda KS 67144, or www.protecttheflinthills.org.
Mary Alice Parmley
Topeka
Hospital appreciated
To The Editor:
I have just been cared for by the patient-friendly and efficient staff of St. Luke Hospital. Every official person who entered my room focused on how to meet my immediate need, make me more comfortable, and left with a be-sure-to-ring-me-if-you-need-anything.
Over my 82 years, I have been treated by many capable physicians in large and small hospitals, but none matched the health professionals available to us here in Marion.
Don and I would not have chosen to spend our last days here if these outstanding medical facilities had not been in place. We only wish more persons needing medical attention would check out this ministry.
Ruth E. Viets
Marion
