Photo: Tom McCarthy Jr. SEPTEMBER 2019 31
of epic proportions on otherwise mostly
pristine land. Other complaints are more
complicated. Wind turbines’ behemoth
size requires permanent foundation pads
that fragment the land, not to mention
the turbines come with flashing warning
lights at night. Also, their blades produce
an irritating whooshing noise and are re-
sponsible for roughly a quarter of a mil-
lion airborne animal deaths per year in
North America, according to studies cited
by the National Audubon Society. More-
over, their profits and future growth seem
to be largely dependent on government
subsidies.
When I place a call to the Abilene Con-
vention and Visitors Bureau, near where I
had my epiphany, the nice lady who an-
swers the phone sums up wind-turbine
ambivalence, offering her opinion that the
machines “are butt ugly up close, and de-
structive. A lot of concrete goes into those
WIND TURBINES
on a cattle ranch
in the Big Country.