Wind turbines along I-70

According to a Lawrence Journal-World article this evening, the Kansas Supreme Court has moved to shut down wind turbines in the Kansas Flint Hills.

Whether or not wind power should be sought in Kansas is still up for debate. It is clear that wind power is unreliable and can not be used for base power. Further, wind power has been proven to be extremely expensive without government (taxpayer) subsidies.

But what can certainly be questioned is why wind power is such a wonderful thing for western Kansas but untouchable for eastern Kansas counties. Why are the Flint Hills exempt from wind turbines? I certainly agree the Flint Hills are beautiful. In fact, I would like to build a homestead there someday. But why is the state using taxpayer money to subsidize wind power in one part of the state and using it’s authority, vis-a-vis the Kansas Supreme Court, to block similar projects in another part of the state?

If wind power is such a wonder source of energy, why are we picking and choosing where we put it? If we’re truly in a global warming crisis, why aren’t groups like GPACE rushing to defend landowners rights to place wind turbines in the Flint Hills? Every bit helps, or at least that’s what we were told when the Holcomb project was fought tooth and nail. Or is this just another case of do as I say, not as I do from environmentalists?

The just released documentary Not Evil, Just Wrong highlighted a glaring problem with the environmental movement where they pick and choose what they want done with property that belongs to someone else. In the documentary, a very passionate environmentalist advocates keeping poverty stricken people in Africa in poverty rather than allowing industry and jobs to come to town. The environmental movement finds poverty ‘quaint’ and ‘homey’ while those living in it disagree strongly.

Is this the same logic that’s now being applied here in Kansas?

Ironically, if government (taxpayers) didn’t prop up wind power with unfair subsidies, there wouldn’t be a demand to place wind turbines in the Flint Hills in the first place.

It just so happens that both topics came up this morning on a Kansas City talk radio program and Kris Kobach, constitutional law professor at UMKC, shared his views on both topics. Listen here.

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