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Saturday, February 21, 2015

Conservative anti-science now focuses on wind energy

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) came out with Wisconsin’s state budget. Hidden deep inside was a little budget jewel supporting environmental research. This is quite surprising since Walker has been in bed with the Heartland Institute which is a big supporter of oil and gas and is a loud and proud member of ALEC.

In 2013, ALEC and Heartland got together to fight the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) which requires utility companies to produce part of the energy from renewable sources.

In addition, the Heartland Institute was exposed in leaked documents vigorously supporting Walker and fighting any attempt to impeach him, naming their pro-Walker campaign, “Operation Angry Badger.” In these same leaked documents, the Heartland Institute revealed their anti-global warming plan which entailed undermining the teaching of and the teachers teaching about it in public schools.

It would now appear that Walker’s budget is paralleling the Heartland’s message with massive cuts to education and no funding for global warming issues. Instead, Walker has set aside a nice little research budget to expose those nasty wind turbines as a health issue.



It seems that citizens living close to the turbines located at Shirley Wind Farm in Brown County complain of lack of sleep, ear noise issues, headaches and nausea. 

Interestingly, two recent studies, one in Canada and one in Massachusetts as well as a Wisconsin advisory group investigated these exact health issues and found no support to tie them to the wind turbines of the size in question. 

There was an issue of some noise, shadows and possible blinking lights on the larger ones, but not the ones in question at Shirley Wind Farm and nothing that was a health concern.

Environmental groups have suggested that another study won’t hurt as long as it is based on ‘sound science.’ Why would anyone believe that Walker, as he is funded by Koch and the Heartland Institute care anything about ‘sound science?’

This is Walker doing an end around science to help his friends in Big Oil to squash renewable energies in his state.

I always feel awful for the citizens of Wisconsin when Walker’s name comes up. Walker is such an absolute waste of leadership and everything he does, he does to advance himself. One day he will leave Wisconsin for a high paying job in one of those ‘right-wing think tanks’ (the perfect definition of an oxymoron) and the devastation to this once wonderful state, to its workers and to its educational system will be catastrophic.


Author Debi Johnson-Champ: I was born in Kansas to a Republican elected Sheriff and a beautiful, hard-working and giving Republican wife. At very young ages, they realized that they had liberal hearts and headed to Colorado in the early 60's and were lifelong liberals. They raised me to help my neighbor and to look to the political process for putting into place the laws that would govern our lives. I am a self-described bleeding heart liberal. I found myself a liberal husband and raised two liberal hard-working kids with kind hearts and big dreams. I, too, have big dreams. Stop by and chat with me on Facebook or find me on Twitter.