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Canadians Ask For Clean Energy But Then Complain When It Blocks The View 

I'm driving North down a country road in Southern Ontario. Everything is quiet and still, the air is fresh. As my car drifts over a ridge, I spot several giant figures looming in the distance. I drive onward and my vehicle quickly becomes surrounded by these monsters flailing their arms overhead. The monsters let out a constant low growl and are frightening enough to keep all other lifeforms far away. These aren't traditional monsters of course, but some of the wind energy turbines that are beginning to dot our nation's landscape.

It turns out that Don Quixote isn't the only one who is afraid of windmills. A huge number of Canadians are also battling them, do they too look foolish?

The construction of wind farms across our country has been of heated debate ever since they started popping up in the mid-90s. Major construction started in the prairies in 2001 and in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia in about 2004. The current Conservative government has plans for even more expansion, in hopes of cultivating as much of this renewable resource as possible.

On paper, wind energy in Canada seems perfect. We have three windy coastlines and thousands of kilometers of open land perfect for installing wind farms (the term given to groups of wind turbines that work together to power homes). When the wind spins the blades of the turbine, it spins a turbine inside a small generator to produce electricity. The Canadian Wind Farm Association (CANWEA) says that one turbine generates enough electricity to power 500 homes annually.

This is great, but in order for it to be a relevant energy source in Canada, their needs to be lots of them.  And that's where the problems start. It seems that Canadians love the idea of sustainable wind energy, just now where they can see it. Wind farms have been installed and will be installed in some of Canada's most beautiful, unspoiled land.

The most common argument against their construction is noise pollution. A turbine emits as much noise a small jet plane. This has the potential to lower property values and irritate neighbourhoods.  While more efficient turbines continue to be developed, there has been no change in the amount of noise pollution they emit. 

There is also the problem of visual impact. Turbines are large, more than 100-metres tall, and made of steel - so they don't exactly blend into the landscape. This is particularly true in coastal regions. They also have small red lights that can be seen for kilometers at night, disturbing for country dwellers used to darkness as far as the eye can see. 

Finally, wildlife has been effected by wind turbines. Dead birds have been found at the bases of these structures, probably because the moving blades act as a suction to oncoming birds. Wildlife is also disrupted during construction as the bases have to be dug quite deep. 

Moving into the future, should a few dead birds and some small communities complaining about noise be reason enough to halt the construction of these creatures of sustainable energy? Don't people complain about how ugly a nuclear power plant is when one of those is constructed? When it comes down to it, we need to make sacrifices if we want to continue our electricity sucking lifestyles. Maybe if people spent more time out in the nature they are fighting for, then watching the television, we wouldn't have such a problem.

 By Allison Smith 

Allison Smith
		About the author:
		Allison is a graduate student at Ryerson University in Toronto and the Green Editor for WOMAN.ca. She is a sometimes journalist who digs music and adventures. Her weaknesses include vegetarian food, men with beards and Ontario wines. She can be seen cruising the city on her bicycle, sipping organic coffee and dining at restaurants she can't afford. To Allison, the green movement has everything to do with moving towards a more natural way of life.
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