For the greater good

I’m writing in response to recently expressed concerns about noise from wind-power projects.

The 1KW windmill I built is close to my house and makes very little noise. It does scream a bit when the wind gusts over 50 mph, but that doesn’t happen too often. A smaller one I had previously purchased and which I inadvertently put on the house, makes much more noise.

On those windy and noisy nights I put in my ear plugs and, fueled by the satisfaction that I am generating power to run my heating system, lights, etc., and saving money, I then just suck it up.

I offer the notion that annoyance is a relative and conditioned thing. Does your dog’s barking or kids’ squabbling bother you as much as your neighbor’s? Do the jets taking off at the airport bother the family whose mom works there as much as the nearby family who has no connection to it? And might a visitor unused to jets, nearby trains, or paper mill odors have an even harder time adjusting?

Now, I ask you, wouldn’t truly patriotic and responsible citizens, once they realized that those windmills meant fewer American youths would shed blood onto Middle Eastern sand, more energy self-sufficiency and security, participation in the economy of the future, less carbon dumped into the atmosphere, and lower future utility bills, wouldn’t they, if not learn to love or be proud of those majestic tickets to a future, at least be a bit more tolerant?

I’ve got a whole box of ear plugs down in my shop. I’d be happy to give anyone a pair. It does my heart good to see those blades spinning. Maybe you will join me.

Peter Baldwin

Brooks