I recently drove past Beaumont on U.S. 400 out in the Flint Hills, and suddenly noticed dozens of wind generators on the horizon, a few miles to the south. They’re part of the controversial wind farm that has angered many residents of the area.
One argument is that the wind generators despoil the scenic beauty of the Flint Hills. I don’t agree. It’s a subjective response, in the eye of the beholder. These particular wind generators, to me, don’t dominate the landscape; I could have missed them if I didn’t happen to glance over. But they also reveal and gracefully work with a natural element of the Kansas landscape — wind — in a way that a transmission tower, say, doesn’t. Here’s one reader’s view:
“I think the wind farm at Beaumont is a thing of beauty. The turbines rising from the plains and turning in the wind are an evocation of Dutch windmills — a sight we all find pleasing. The value of energy production, coupled with their stark beauty, make these machines a powerful statement of man’s ability to harness his environment for good purposes.”
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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16 Comments
I don’t think I have ever heard a coherent story on what the downsides of wind generators are supposed to be. Wind power is clean, renewable, and Lord knows there’s always wind blowing in the Flint Hills. I don’t get what the problems are supposed to be?
I think they’re a work of art – equal in appeal to many mobiles I’ve seen. Let’s stop whining about positive things that change our energy outlook for the better.
Agreed. The same people that argue for “federalism” and “ownership rights” are the ones trying to block wind power.
We’re the Saudi Arabia of wind. Let’s use it.
BTW, why IS Kansas so windy? Because Nebraska blows and Oklahoma sucks.
Spoils scenic beauty? I guess seeing a delapedated silo, unsightly grain elevators, and rusted junk yards full of old farming implements that spot the landscape everywhere is different than a wind turbine!
Those people are nuts.
As jet vapor trails are the bane of any western movie director, they can also be a beauty to behold in a calm sky. So must be the outlook upon wind generators as viewed by the adjacent land owner verses the passerby.
The only downside I’ve heard is that they can be hard on the birds. Other than that, I think they’re wonderful. It’s about time we got serious about nonpolluting and nondepleting energy sources.
It is pretty lonely out there in the hills. This is the only way they get any company – even if their guests are all reporters and lawyers.
Don’t you just love the “Not in my back yard” synrome? These are the same people yapping about gas guzzlers and government regs. Morons.
It is a fact that prairie chickens will not establishes leks – breeding grounds – within a 1000 ft. of a manmade structure be it a house or a wind power generator. Our populations of prairie chicken in Kansas have been in slow but steady decline for well over a decade. I think wind power is great, but I sure don’t want to see the Flint Hills covered by these farms. We’ve just lost 7-8000 acres of potential breeding grounds for these beautiful birds. Let’s not loose huge expanses all over the Flint Hills to similar encrouchment. Put future farms out in NW Kansas away from prairie chicken populations.
Call me old-fashioned, but I put power generation ahead of chichen sex any day. I’ve also heard the one about prairie chickens flying into the windmill blades. Ouch! But that’s self-correcting. They’ll only do that once.
We’ve put off moving to alternate energy sources way too long. Don’t get me wrong; the idea of horizon to horizon windmills in the Flint Hills isn’t that appealing, but neither is $20 per gallon gas.
If you drive on highway 58 between Mojave and Tehachapi CA, as well as along highway 111 from I-10 into Palm Springs, you will see thousands of these wind generators.
They are not pretty…but they are necessary. Sort of like the oil pumps we see in Kansas, OK, TX, etc. Not pretty…but realistically needed.
They are much nicer than the brown haze that hangs over the LA basin, and nicer than having to depend on foreign countries for energy.
Choices to be made..they are not necessarily visually pleasing, but the non-pollluting energy freedom they represent is beautiful.
Dictionary.com wants money?
Like any other bird/animal, the prairie chicken will learn to adapt. If it doesn’t, that it’s time is past. That’s the way nature has been since the first KBOE member crawled forth from the primordial ooze.
Yeah! Drilling for oil kills a lot of worms.
If anyone is worried about prairie chickens, spend your time and energy abolishing prairied chicken hunting season, not trying to stop these graceful dancing ballerinas that are helping to lead the clean power revolution.
If anyone is worried about prairie chickens, spend your time and energy abolishing prairie chicken hunting season, not trying to stop these graceful dancing ballerinas that are helping to lead the clean power revolution.