Critical Thinking is the antithesis of 'standing firm'

Dear Editor,

I was rather perplexed when I read the Daily's 10/29/09 editorial, "Balanced education", regarding the Warsaw 8th grade field trip to the Sheldon industrial wind installation. The editor obviously misinterpreted the gist of my meeting with the school board (regarding a field trip that had already occurred) when he reported the Board was right to "stand firm".

The purpose of my visit with the Warsaw School Board was to discuss critical thinking in the classroom, which can only happen when ALL pertinent information is available and considered. Critical thinking is the antithesis of "standing firm" - which can mean close-minded.

To their credit, the Warsaw School Board was very open and receptive to the information I brought to share with them and the 8th Grade school teacher, which included:

1.) NYS Citizens' Questions Document (tinyurl.com/kkkuqz)
2.) DVD copies of Physicist John Droz's 9/29/09 Energy Presentation (http://EnergyPresentation.Info)
3.) the summary I wrote of Mr. Droz's presentation for the newspapers (yet to be published in the Daily News)
4.) articles by environmentalists, energy specialists, economists, etc. which can be found on www.stopillwind.org, www.wind-watch.org, and www.windaction.org

Unfortunately, it's no surprise folks are wondering if both sides of the industrial wind issue are being heard when there are many examples to illustrate the fact that they are not.

For instance, on September 29, 2009, a FREE, scientifically-based energy presentation by Physicist John Droz was offered at The Stage in Warsaw. It was advertised for weeks in advance. We invited every Supervisor in Wyoming County, at least six local newspapers (including the Daily News), and local school officials. Yet, not one representative of any of them attended.

Is it any wonder many don't believe our children are getting the real story about industrial wind technology when those in community leadership positions and the news media choose to avoid opportunities to learn more about the most divisive issue to ever hit our area -- which many of our local elections were based upon this year?

Thus my reason for taking the information to the school board - to make sure the 8th grade teacher and students had access to it. Superintendent Knowles and the school board graciously allowed me the opportunity to speak with them, accepting the information I provided, and agreeing to pass it on to the 8th grade teacher. I trusted that Superintendent Knowles would follow through on his promise, and thanked all for the courtesy of allowing me the opportunity to address the Board.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did let the Board know that I am both a taxpayer and NYS-certified Health Science educator myself, who has been researching the industrial wind issue for nearly five years. As such, it concerns me that our tax dollars were used to bus our children out to a commercial enterprise (an industrial wind installation) to get a "science" lesson from self-serving salesmen who manned the booths the children were required to go through. There are laws against soliciting, so I don't understand how it somehow becomes acceptable to subject our children to such blatant propaganda during school hours.

In a follow-up call to Superintendent Knowles, I relayed to him the fact that there are many local residents who have been negatively affected by the siting of industrial wind turbines too close to their homes. I also let him know that the attorney representing many of these residents offered to come in and speak with the class to ensure that they understood the nature of all these problems with wind. They have yet to accept this offer.

Perhaps, instead of sending young, impressionable minds that are perfect targets for shrewd salesmen into the middle of a politically-divisive issue, science teachers might consider posing questions on how an intermittent, highly-volatile power source could power anything in a society utterly dependent upon reliable, precision power performance? Math teachers could join the discussion by giving their students the formula for converting wind speed into electrical energy, which is based upon the cube of the wind speed, in order to show the actual skittering nature of wind energy. History teachers could explain why steam-powered craft replaced the elegant clipper ships 200 years ago, and why the Dutch no longer use their lovely small windmills to reclaim the land from the sea. Social Studies teachers could have students locate countries worldwide who have spent billions on wind while not significantly reducing CO2 emissions or closing a single coal plant.

Do your own research. Deploy critical thinking. Until people examine ALL the pertinent information, limited liability wind corporations will continue to exploit us, our children, and our state and country - at taxpayer and ratepayer expense. Each of us should be demanding more informed answers from our elected officials to the NYS Citizens' Questions (tinyurl.com/kkkuqz) before we allow our priceless NYS countrysides and quality of life to be destroyed -- all for an ineffectual energy technology which furthers only civil discord while causing serious environmental harm.

Mary Kay Barton
Environmental Activist for Sound Scientific Solutions

Mary Kay Barton
P.O. Box 69
Silver Lake, N.Y. 14549
585-813-8173