Letter to editor

I use to appreciate the arguments for and against wind generated energy in Vermont, but a recent event put me solidly in the "anti" category. As a private pilot I see the world from a valuable perspective. While flying near Carbondale, Pa. I stumbled across a large number of generating windmills that stretched for miles along a mountain ridgeline. John Denver's song about "scars across the land" is truly the perfect description of what they looked like. No one laying eyes on this sight could think of it in any other way. So, I am left to wonder why organizations inclined to keep Vermont's ridges clear of these animated towers have not enlisted the best tool available to dramatize their argument: photographs. Everyone, including the media and our Legislature, speculate all day about the effect windmills will have on our views. It is not necessary to build a trial site in Vermont. There are existing full-blown operations that perfectly replicate how things will look. One photo in the Free Press would be worth a thousand words. As for me, I understand that many accommodations must be made due to the realities of modern life. But nothing says I have to put my outhouse on the front lawn. JOHN PAVESE St. Albans

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/bfpnews/editorial/4000h.htm