First, I’ve been in favor of renewable energy my entire adult life.  It just makes sense.  Anyone who lives in central Illinois knows we have an abundance of these three things, wind (for windmills and turbines, sun (for solar power), and corn (for Ethanol).  All three of these are clean, cheap and renewable sources of power.

If you are not for these things, what are the alternatives?  There is coal, not affordable and not clean.  Twenty years ago, 50 percent of air pollutions was from coal burning power plants.  There is nuclear, which is clean energy, but you are left with a radioactive byproduct.  Then, there is natural gas, which is clean and cheap, but fracking is polluting groundwater and causing earthquakes where there never were earthquakes before.

Also, energy is a national security issue.  Any energy source not from other countries makes America less dependent on foreign supplies.  If the Iraq War proved anything, it is that we should be energy independent from the rest of the world.

Then there are the economic reasons for supporting wind energy in DeWitt County.  Landowners in DeWitt County will receive millions of dollars in direct payments each year, money that will most likely be spent in DeWitt County.  And, the schools will benefit from millions of tax dollars per year.  Also, keep in mind, the Clinton power plant, which pays a large amount of school tax, will close in nine more years.

Some people have said that wind turbines will be an eyesore.  Well, I would rather look at 100 wind turbines on the horizon than one smokestack polluting our air.  However, if you don’t believe in global warming, don’t mind paying more in property taxes and don’t object to our military risking their lives for foreign energy, you have the right to your opinion.

I guess you can go ahead and protest the wind farm in DeWitt County.  As for me, even if wind turbines are a slight annoyance to some people, I believe the benefits surely outweigh the negatives.

Respectfully,

John Lappin

rural Wapella