Clearing up falsehoods surrounding wind turbines

It is Erie County Legislator John Mills who is muddying the waters. The simple answer to his concerns is that no, wind turbines would not negatively affect our area’s drinking water. The idea that it would rest on falsehoods (i.e., lies) which have been repeated so many times, they start to sound like facts.

Lake turbines do not upset lake floor sediment. They are held in place either by gravity, or they float.

Turbine blades do not shed plastic microbeads. They are made of fiberglass and balsa wood, not plastic.

Plastic microbeads are definitely a global problem, but they have nothing to do with wind turbines. Plastic microbeads are the decay products of thermoplastics, the type of plastics used for man-made fabrics and fibers. It’s our overbuying and throwing away cheap clothing that has created that misery.

Lake Erie wind energy has strong local supporters, people who know that the climate crisis is already affecting the Great Lakes with algal blooms, flooding damage and increased polluting run-off. We’re happy to ally with folks from other parts of the state, but we know how to take care of ourselves.

Stop spreading myths and start supporting lake turbines. We need to take climate action.

Lynn Saxton

Warsaw