EDITORIAL: Rahall and Mollohan Anti-Wind Energy Stance a Lot of Hot Air
Congressmen Alan Mollohan and Nick Joe Rahall have come out suddenly as born-again environmentalists in the fight against, of all things, wind energy in West Virginia. Never mind that our country needs to broaden its energy portfolio like never before. Never mind that gasoline is the highest it's ever been.
Apparently, none of these pressing concerns mean much to Mollohan and Rahall. Rahall has even gone as far as to introduce legislation which would essentially stop wind energy projects, despite the industry having taken off nationally for several years now. With few problems, wind turbines across West Virginia and the nation have been quietly cranking out more electric watts which wouldn't be produced otherwise. No air pollution, no sound pollution.
West Virginia happens to be one of the better states for wind energy,
thanks to those mountains. Some of our counties are among the very top potential producers of a clean form of energy that can help to greatly reduce our carbon footprint. But Mollohan and Rahall don't care about that. They care about....birds and bats. Or so they say.
True, there have been some birds and bats who have been caught up in some of the wind turbines. However, what you won't hear from Mollohan and Rahall is that new technologies involving radar equipment positioned near such wind turbines will help to keep birds and bats from getting in harm's way. Developing such radar systems is the responsible thing for wind energy producers to do, and they are doing it.
So why won't Rahall and Mollohan give them credit for doing so?
The obvious answer is that Rahall and Mollohan, never among the Congress's top environmental activists, are merely using the poor birds and bats as a surface excuse for opposing wind energy. The real reason may be found in another energy-producing industry closer to their hearts--and campaign war chests: Big Coal.
Rahall and Mollohan have been in Big Coal's pockets for years. Could it be possible that the large coal concerns are concerned about a potential rival, even if only a small fraction of the energy market starts to head towards a cleaner energy source such as wind turbines?
Let's face it: Big Coal is used to being king in West Virginia, and yes, it deserves a place in our hearts for all the energy it has produced for us over the years. However, so do new innovative energy sources, like wind energy, which help to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and give us an example of clean, steadily-flowing, renewable energy.
As for our newly-minted environmentalist Congressmen, Mollohan and Rahall, we salute them for their deep and abiding concern for birds, bats, and....coal executives.
