Sunday, March 29, 2009
Wind farms do cause problems for wildlife
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From the RoundTable blog
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Wind farms do cause problems for wildlife
Below I offer clarification for Lars Hagen's March 20 letter, ("For some, wind farms in Virginia will never be OK"):
n At least 4,000 bats were killed during six weeks of 2004 monitoring at the Tucker County facility. Since then, Florida Power and Light has barred research to determine effective mitigation.
n Radar studies at the proposed Highland County site show exceptionally high bird and bat migration, giving experts reason to believe that wind turbines there would result in massive kills.
n The Virginia State Corporation Commission permit requires monitoring, and if mortality exceeds a level deemed sustainable, then it requires mitigation. In the case of bats, mitigation consists of stopping the turbines on low wind nights during migration seasons.
n Protective measures become all the more important for wildlife under pressure from other sources.
n Bats are primary consumers of night flying insects, decreasing the need for expensive and questionably safe insecticides and helping control disease vectors.
n The proposed Highland project would place an industrial project in the midst of a watershed where The Nature Conservancy, most private landowners and the National Park Service have long partnered to preserve the exceptional natural beauty and biological diversity found there.
Board member emeritus Highlanders For Responsible Development
Boat ramp needs a comfort station
My husband and I go to the Hardy Road boat ramp quite often to fish or just watch the boats leave and come in, but there's one big problem: no bathroom facilities. You would think they would have one for the patrons.
They used to have a couple, but for one reason or another they took them out. Why?
After a couple hours, we just leave.
If there were bathrooms, we and a lot of other patrons would stay longer and enjoy ourselves. So please bring back the bathroom facilities.
Want real change? Institute term limits
We all know President Bush was blamed for all the world's problems for the last eight years. And rightly so in many cases. But the Democrats were far from innocent. If it weren't for Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Christopher Dodd, we wouldn't have all the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac problems. But of course this was all blamed on Bush as well.
But now we have the AIG bonus scandal. Now who do we blame? Sorry, Bush is gone. Can't blame him. I guess this starts a new era. The President Obama administration era.
With the AIG and all the other travesties you would think the blame would begin to fall in other directions. But I'm sure they can find some way to blame everything on the Bush administration yet. Am I saying the Republican Party is always right? No, far from it. I think it's time for change, but not the change President Obama is giving us.
Democrats were always complaining about all the spending. Now what are they doing? Exactly the same thing. There isn't any change to be had. It's time for real change like congressional term limits. And then possibly we could have more real change.
It wouldn't have been the same school
I greatly regret the closing of Raleigh Court Elementary School in Roanoke. My sons received an excellent education there for six years, and I was a classroom volunteer for 11. It was a wonderful, nurturing experience for the three of us. Gary and Gerald had terrific teachers, and their principal, Clark Vandergrift, set the tone for an outstanding educational experience.
Raleigh Court was a community, with dedicated parent volunteers, delightful students and an exceptional staff.
The heart of Raleigh Court is found in the front office in the person of school secretary Carolyn Henritze. I met Carolyn in 1988 and soon realized she was the "command center" of Raleigh Court. With kindness, good humor and an incredible storehouse of knowledge, she kept the school running smoothly. Long hours did not lessen her enthusiasm or efficiency.
Henritze is retiring this year, and I always told her whenever she retired they would need to close the school. I know that to not actually be the reason, but it truly seems Raleigh Court was not meant to continue without this exceptional person at its center. Many students, teachers and parents are thankful for her years of service.
Obama's plan offers new opportunity
President Obama recently introduced a budget for the coming year that will repower America with clean energy, jump-start our economy and cap climate change pollution. At a time when we're facing the greatest economic challenges since the Great Depression, Obama's vision is just what this nation needs. Capping emissions will create a market for clean-energy technology investment, spur job growth, improve national security and protect our planet.
The recently passed economic recovery bill will create an estimated 1.6 million green jobs -- a critical step toward a new energy economy. The emissions cap-and-trade system is the next vital step to mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars for investment in clean energy and energy efficiency, which will both protect natural resources and save Americans billions on their energy bills.
Obama has laid out an impressive plan for taking our nation in a new direction. His plan correctly links economic recovery with a clean energy future. The challenges we face today offer real opportunity for growth, and Obama is shrugging off the policies of the past, looking to new solutions to repower our nation. Congress should follow his lead.
Obama isn't helping small businesses
Since President Obama has been in office, things are looking more bleak. There are more companies shutting down and more people getting laid off. There is no assistance for small business, which is the foundation of our country. It is the big banks and big corporations getting the money.
So while we struggle, work and try to survive these hard times without any help from the president, while all the other people are getting bailed out, we will try on our own. With God's help, we will survive.
Bonus mentality brought disaster
Modern capitalism has spawned a monster. Its name: bonus.
During my tenure as a businessman, applicants were often surprised by the salary offered, one more than anticipated. I would explain that the compensation was commensurate with the performance expected, that anything less than expectations would engender dismissal. Salaries would increase incrementally with the cost of living, but bonuses were not offered for maximum output. Hell, they were hired for maximum output.
The whole area of compensation is topsy turvy. Salary should not match the employee; rather the employee should match the salary. Those entering a new field of employment should be carefully vetted as to qualifications, compensated for anticipated proficiency, and be made to understand that within a short period optimal results be attained.
Triggering today's financial meltdown was greed that, in turn, was triggered by the bonus. Traders in finance, tempted by the bait of the-more-you-produce-the-more-you-earn, and abetted by lax government oversight, dreamt up schemes that sent shudders -- or should have sent shudders -- down the spines of honorable "suckers" who played by the rules.
The most disturbing aspect of the bonus landfall is the tacit endorsement by politicians who have turned a blind eye towards their benefactors.
