On many weekends our daughter Emily and her partner Patty spend some time on Wolfe Island, just out from Kingston in the St. Lawrence river. It is Patty's family home and a lovely place to be, another world from the busy city which is a short ferry ride away. They feel fortunate that they are in the "wrong" end of the island for wind, because there are 86 massive wind turbines at the other end (see above.) Looking out from Kingston the wind vanes certainly dominate the landscape. There has been lots of controversy about these turbines, as there tends to be in most places they are erected. It is possible to have a turbine installed on one's land, far from buildings, but immediately adjacent to someone else's home on another property. While there are set-back rules in most municipalities those who are opposed or live alongside insist that they aren't sufficient to protect health.
Those who are affected say that the constant hum and rattle from turbines is compromising their physical well-being and driving them crazy. While officials insist there are no health effects, their is lots of controversy. Environmentalists point to the toll taken on birds, others label them unsightly.
As I listen to all this I am reminded that even good ideas must be balanced against the broad-reaching effects. Wind power may be an excellent energy alternative -- in rural Saskatchewan. It may be a lousy idea in more densely populated southern Ontario, even in farm country. This is part of the difficult process of seeking out alternatives to fossil fuels and monolithic energy sources such as nuclear. Exploring wind power, solar, micro-hydro, and thermal is important, but it may take decades to discover the best balance.
This week the Ontario government gave back some authority to municipalities to decide where wind turbines may or may not go. This makes sense to me, although political pressure at the local level can be fierce.
Should energy alternatives be considered a faith issue? I would say yes. Recently the United Church Observer did a cover article on wind power which was quite thoughtful. http://www.ucobserver.org/features/2013/02/ill_wind/ In an editorial in the Observer Larry Krotz speaks of eco-ethics and it is a good term. There is a whole new world of ethical consideration which emerges from these energy alternatives, and should be weighed alongside the ethics of fossil fuel dependency.
What are your thoughts? Which end of Wolfe Island would you want to call home? Is the search for alternatives foolhardy or essential? What about the faith component?
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