Going over the Causeway this summer, attending meetings in air conditioned buildings and shopping in air conditioned stores, elicits my nod of gratitude to the wind turbines on Wolfe Island. At the same time, I am reminded of the recent outcries against the wind farm, about human health risks, about bird deaths attributed to the turbine blades, and about its location.

People in Ontario use about 152,000,000 megawatt hours of electricity each year. The total use is split equally between industry, commerce and residences. The average Ontario household consumes 12,000 kWh a year, but I know some families who use about half that amount.

Ontario’s electrical energy mix is about 52 percent nuclear, 21 percent hydropower, and 18 percent coal. Natural gas and other sources (such as solar power) contribute 8 percent, and wind power is currently only about 1 percent.

Globally, 40% of greenhouse gas emissions are from the generation of electricity. The biggest culprits are fossil fuel generating stations, particularly the coal-fired power plants. Pollutants from coal plants include mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, nitrogen and sulphur oxides and ash. The oxides contribute to smog and acid rain, and result in a variety of health effects that the Ontario Medical Association estimates cost the health system $10 billion a year.
So, bring on the benefits from less polluting means of electricity production!

Wind power critics have cited health problems, such as dizziness, headaches and sleep disturbance, so the Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Board of Health requested the Ontario Government to commission an independent study of the issue. This May, the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario released a report that suggests some people may find the noise “annoying,” but it finds no causal effect between wind turbines and the reported symptoms.

More recent local news stories have given prominence to the number of birds killed by the wind turbines on Wolfe Island. Of course this is concerning, but should be judged in the context of future climate change effects on birds and current man-made sources of bird kills. Climate change is already causing a decline in some species, because of changing weather patterns during migration. Warming is causing the early emergence of some insects that birds rely on for food both on migration routes and on arrival at destinations.

Annual bird mortality from anthropogenic sources is approximately one billion. Buildings, power lines and cats are estimated to account for 80% of the mortality, vehicles 8%, pesticides 7%, communication towers 0.5%, and wind turbines 0.003%. Hunting is estimated to kill more than three times the number of birds than wind turbines.

Naturally, most of us are concerned by the reported bird deaths attributed to the turbines. But critics of the turbines do not publicly rail against bird deaths caused by windows in homes and tall buildings, overhead wires, cell phone towers, traffic and hunters. They cherish their cats, even though they are the single biggest killer of wildlife on the planet.

If we don’t mitigate climate change, 20% to 30% of the wildlife species studied will be on a path to extinction by 2050.

And the view from the Causeway? I find the wind turbines are elegant and pleasing to see and deserving of my nod of gratitude for the future.

Until the next time. Cheers—–Leonore

If you want to be on my email list: LFoster@cityofkingston.ca