To the editor;
In reading Mrs. Avis Chapman's dissertation on the nearby wind farm on the marsh, I am compelled to conclude she has extremely sensitive hearing or she spends altogether too much time observing the mills, time that might be better spent learning about them. I live in the next house nearer the marsh, and I must say that, as yet, I have heard nothing from the operating mills. Nonetheless, I have observed that regardless of the wind speed, they revolve at a constant rate, which is understandable since to allow them to turn at the whim of the wind could see them torn apart by any itinerant gale roaring in from the southwest, or one of our frequent nor'easters out of the northwest Atlantic.
This doesn't happen, simply because they are geared to automatically feather their blades against the force of excessive wind, much in the way airplane propellers are feathered to reduce the power needed to turn them. Though I haven't yet gone to the marsh to ascertain at what distance they can actually be heard, I am satisfied it will be much farther away than 21 Lawrence St., and I will not have to wear hearing protection to work in my backyard. As for the esthetic view of the marsh being spoiled, that, like any beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
To paraphrase Mark Twain: most of the problems that plague us in this world haven't happened yet. And finally, since the power the mills generate will be of no advantage to us, here in Amherst, at least they are just great for checking the direction of the wind.
John G. McKay, Amherst
