Spirituality of Wind Farms?
In the last couple of days I have read a number of articles and posts about wind farms and their unsightly effect on the NZ landscape. Several have also commented on the need to think through spiritual issues surrounding wind farms and land use. That wind farms have an impact on the aesthetic of the landscape is undeniable; however, I wonder if this is actually entirely appropriate. Regardless of how energy is generated there is an impact; whether from flooding a valley, damming rivers, extracting silica or burning coal. Some of the discussions I have read about our spiritual connection to the landscape seems to romanticise the idea of spirituality, as if spirituality were synonymous appreciation of a beautiful scene. There seems to be a danger of making beautiful views a commodity in consumer spirituality. A deeper spiritual issue may be the profound disconnect in our lives between consumption and production, and our lack of willingness to personally pay the piper for the requirements of our lifestyles. Yes, wind farms are a blot on our ability to view the landscape unhindered. Perhaps that is not a problem? Or maybe they are simply a blot on the wrong landscape. The Otago Daily Times (bless their neutral objective cotton socks) ran a polemic cover shot showing wind turbines in the Dunedin CBD and Octagon. Placing the price (aesthetically as well as financially) of energy generation in the heart of the area that consumes the power might be a good reminder, and help remedy the sanitized disconnect in our lives.
Comments via Facebook