This letter to the editor was printed in the Clinton County News this week. Share your letter by sending it to Tom Thelen - tthelen@lsj.com. It's limited to 200 words. You must include your name, address, and phone number.
In Clinton County, the application to install 40 industrial wind turbines, although legal, should be rejected because of the justifiable concerns and fears of hundreds of nearby residents. The county boards seem hesitant to implement restrictions which better protect citizens' health and property and animals' lives, but their hesitancy may come from biased information.
First, the promise of several million dollars and thousands of jobs coming to our state is misleading. Other counties in Michigan with operating wind turbines, such as Gratiot, Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola are in litigation in an attempt to collect their promised dollars.
Secondly, in one study, “Green Jobs” were calculated as job years. In other words, one person working one job for 30 years is counted as 30 jobs!
Thirdly, other sources of energy must stay online as backup, so windmills are not "green."
These turbines may affect dairy cattle and are killing eagles, migratory birds, and bats. They are making people physically sick and reducing property values.
New technologies like thorium-powered nuclear and discoveries of methane gas hydrates, found off every continental shelf in the world, are the future of energy.
Dr. Robert and Penny Malesky
St Johns
