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Dear Editor;
Last night a group of fervent people gave important presentations to the Iowa County Board regarding the proposed industrial turbines which are being proposed in Iowa County. Among the presenters were 3-4 physicians who gave compelling statements regarding the health issues of living too close to wind turbines. Others stated the length of time the turbines are proposed to run, which is well into my grandchild's adulthood. Others reminded us of the environmental impact to our water, air quality, light pollution and bird flight and sight lines.
We need to ask ourselves, WHY are we having to fend off another attack against our beautiful Driftless Area? We are certainly not in the area of greatest wind flow in the country, or even the state. We often get sub-zero weather in the winter which could result in a similar situation to that of Texas this week. Many of us are in the middle of a serious fight against a corporate gigantic trying to run high voltage lines through our county. Has their attempt opened the door for other utilities? It takes a lot of money to fight these entities in court. I often feel like we are being deflected from looking at one hand doing bad things by a shiny object in the other hand.
Could it be that we have taken our health and beauty for granted and assumed that everyone else in the world sees how special it is too?
There are lots of questions to be answered for sure. In the meantime, we need to be aware of the threat at our doorstep. And we need the County Board to make sure that ordinances are current and iron-clad against the evil that seems to be creeping our way.
Jane Batha
Mineral Point