The Anger Is Blowing In The Wind
For cash-strapped farmers with plenty of open land, wind-energy turbines offer a sorely needed windfall. But "not in my backyard" clashes are arising throughout the East and mid-Atlantic regions, pitting local farmers against "citiots"—people who "buy a second home and affect community decisions by being there two days a week," says Frank Masaino, spokesman for a mid-Atlantic coalition of wind developers.
Citiots say they're just protecting the unspoiled idyll that they paid for. Louis Freedman, a public-policy consultant in Washington, D.C., opposes a project near his second home in Virginia because the land is "sacred" and more valuable than the energy savings. To him, perhaps.
For farmers, one wind turbine can rake in about $5,000 a year in rent, compared with $300 for corn or soybean farming. "These people can't understand that they're living in the middle of my business," says Steven Schwoerer, a dairy farmer from Normal, Ill., whose effort to put a wind farm on his private land has been blocked by part-time neighbors. Such projects, he says, are "good for my community and for my grandchildren, and if you don't like it, go back to town."
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Member Comments
Posted By: oly_7173 @ 11/11/2007 1:31:01 PM
Comment: I was surprised by this article, Ms. Wolverson has wasted an excellent opportunity for open and frank discussion of the real issues surrounding wind energy. Mr. Schwoerer. I'm sorry she treated you this way. But those of us who have been opposing these projects for some time are treated this way by the media frequently. It is my opinion that the wind industry is powerful and politically well connected. Newsweek is simply a mouthpiece for these guys. The tactic of spliting communities has worked well for wind. They fire up neighbors by calling opposition names like NIMBY, CITIOT, and my personal favorite, obstructionist. They tell farmers interested in leasing to them that no one should tell them what they can and can't do with their land. They stoke the fire of hate with their juvenile behavior. In the end, they are the only winners. They build their wind farm, leave, and the community is left shattered in pieces.....Rene Taylor, Ellsworth, Illinois
Posted By: bejoyful @ 11/09/2007 1:08:17 PM
Comment: Roya Wolverson has provided a perfect example of what has become known as "The Drive By Media". After visiting with Roya for an hour she has not only misquoted me but made up words and attributed them to me. The use of a word like "citiot" is an attempt to create anger in the people apposed to wind farms. Inflamitory languege like "cash strapped farmers" and "rake in about $5,000" creates a wrong image among supporters. After spending an hour discussing what the differences and disagreements between the two sides are in my opinion and explaining that we need to inprove communication between both sides, Roya has ignored everything I said. She has ignored the facts in order to write an inflammitory article. I told her the opposition is made up of my freinds and neighbors and we need to improve communication. That turned into the quote "if you don't like it, go back to town.". Both Roya and Newsweek should be ashamed of this kind of "Drive by Journalism" .
Posted By: savenynow @ 11/08/2007 9:07:19 AM
Comment: this article is the reason I would never buy your paper. Poorly researched and rife with gossip.