Wind turbines impact our environment

Letter to the Editor

To my fellow landowners, 

Iowa, the land of the Midwest, the soils of the Greater Mississippi Basin are our nation’s wealth, our most powerful asset, because of its high quality. This soil-rich region of the world is only one of three, the others being Ukraine and a region of South America, but our dynamic nutrient-rich soil is the largest contiguous piece and includes the mighty rivers that transport the produce of our nation’s wealth to market. Production, the accumulation of capital, our nation’s power occurs here, because of the soil. 

The construction of industrial wind turbines affects aquifers, water flow, tile lines, soil erosion, soil compaction, air pressure and current, in essence–it is destruction of the best soil in the world. Timber and wetlands are degraded and fragmented affecting the habitat and ecosystems of wildlife. 

Easement contracts give away the land-use rights for 30-plus years. The companies that hold the leases may use them as collateral, whether they are utilizing the easement or not. Construction companies may file a lien against the landowner when the easement owner does not make payment. If the company fails or when the turbine is no longer functional, the landowner is responsible for decommissioning. 

Do not sign an easement of a “good neighbor agreement” with a wind energy company. Do not allow the destruction of your county, as others in Iowa are experiencing.

Matt and Kim Brenneman

Seventh-generation

Iowa farmers

Parnell, Iowa 

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