The Runcible Architect.: Albany Wind Farm [or, why I can't go into politics].

Wind turbines powered by wind from the ocean, Albany wind farm, Western Australia.

Outside of Albany on the south coast of Australia, 12 massive turbines provide 75% of the town's power [not bad for a town of 35,000], and they stand in a park, complete with boardwalks and an "art walk," where you can get up close and personal with the turbines. There are interpretive signs about the turbines, the local flora and fauna, and benches set up so you can gaze at the ocean or, on specially angled benches, up at the turbines themselves. The only sounds are the rustling of birds and animals, the light breeze, and the slicing of the turbines through the air. In only a 7 mph wind, the blades move at 80 mph...

I've often heard the argument against wind turbines that they are "ugly." Uglier than a coal plant, or mountaintop removal, or generations of miners afflicted with black lung? These turbines were in a park for goodness sake. Even standing directly under them, they barely whisper, and all I could smell was the sea air from the Indian Ocean. There is no such thing as an impact-free way to generate lots of electricity, but in my mind, this is pretty darn close.

I've also heard the argument that the coal industry provides jobs, while a bunch of wind turbines doesn't. While I don't know what the exact numbers are on jobs provided by wind turbines, I can say from my work and research in West Virginia that the job numbers surrounding mining are greatly misunderstood. According to the 2000 census, only 4% of jobs in the state were mining and forestry related. The biggest job sector? Health care and services, at 25% of jobs statewide. The biggest culprit of getting rid of coal mining jobs are the mines themselves: with the massive draglines that open pit mines use, one man can now do the job previously done by hundreds.

I just saw [yet another] article about how possible presidential candidates don't believe in global warming. While these politicians bury their heads in the sand, no one has yet given a reasonable explanation why coal fired power plants are better than wind farms. With coal plants' [and their attendant infrastructures'] devastating impact on the environment and people's health, it's hard to imagine their advantage for anyone other than those in charge - and even for them, the gains are short term. To me, it's illogical, and flies in the face of collected and observable data. Power generated at the expense of mountains, forests, animals, and people's health? Um, no thanks. Power generated using a clean, ever-present source, that can be located in parks? Yes please! Think about the design possibilities, both in the urban and rural contexts, if our power generation was no longer a blight and a hazard, but a delight and a destination.

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