What "sustainability" looks like

To build a new home in rural Whitman County, landowners must obey “viewshed” rules that prevent new homes from impacting the views and privacy enjoyed by their neighbors. They also must comply with “highly visible property” rules that discourage folks from building on hilltops. They must sign and notarize an affidavit acknowledging that farming comes first here, and that they and their heirs accept that.

Neighborliness comes from the heart, not from laws. But I am happy to comply. I don’t want my freedom as a landowner to offend my neighbors, mar the landscape, or impact farming. These rules protect each of us from our own blind spots and those of our neighbors. They protect the Palouse.

Why don’t the same rules apply to erecting wind turbines as tall as skyscrapers (highly visible structures) in plain view of Kamiak Butte and a county park (a public viewshed) that was established because the place is beautiful and should be enjoyed by all? How can hundreds of mixer loads of concrete, access roads, turbines and equipment not impact farming? “Wind Farming” is an oxymoron.

Is there nowhere else to put turbines except on fertile farmland so unique that it draws landscape photographers from all over the world? The county has rules that protect us from our own blind spots. What about the blind spots of corporations?

In a hundred years, the Palouse and her farming families will still be feeding the world (and pleasing photographers). That’s what sustainability looks like.

John Silzel

Oakesdale