Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> We all think we know what government is. >> How it works and what it does.
>> But what is it really? What do we mean by "government"? >> Is it this?
>> Or this? >> Are these people the government? >> Are you?
>> These are just some of the questions we'll try to answer for you today. >> On Engage.
>> Hi, I'm Paloma. >> And I'm Zach. And right now, we're in the Rotunda
of the Wisconsin State Capitol. >> Get this, the interior volume of this dome is greater than any other
in the entire United States. >> The dome is visible for miles. And people here in Madison pay
big bucks for homes or offices with views of the capitol. >> But what about the things that people
don't want near their homes? There's a common phrase called NIMBY, not in my back yard. >> When conflicts about
NIMBY come up, the government may have to step in. And sometimes, the final decision is made right here,
in the Wisconsin State Capitol.
>> Wisconsin's landscape is changing. Wind turbines, hundreds of them, have been popping up
all over the state. You've probably seen them yourself. To many, these are sleek
powerful machines, important symbols of our move to green energy. >> A few years ago, we made it
a priority in this state that we were going to try to capture renewable energy to offset carbon fuels.
>> By the year 2015, ten percent of all the electric energy used by the consumers in Wisconsin must come from
renewable resources. >> Most of that, we think, is going to come from commercial wind projects.
Well, personally, I like wind energy, because it's a clean and native resource. >> We are a state that has not
the strongest wind in the Union, but we have very good wind. >> A locally available resource. It doesn't deplete over time.
It's self-replenishing. >> I think wind development has a strong future in Wisconsin.
>> But not everyone is a fan of wind turbines. >> I'm all for green energy. The more we can do to save
Mother Earth, I'm all for it. But look around. >> They're everywhere. You can't look in any direction
and not see all of them. This is just such a mess right now. >> Ann and Jason Wirtz
moved into their 100-year-old Victorian home in 1986. Every night when I drove home, I looked to see which way
those turbines were facing. And I knew by the direction of the wind, and how they were spinning,
whether I was going to get a good night's sleep or not. >> You could actually put your hand on the wall
and feel the vibrations. >> The longer I was exposed to it, the worse it got. It just had to change,
or I wasn't going to survive. The realtor told us there's real concern over selling property with wind turbines
this close to it. We can't continue to live here, and we can't sell it. What choice do we really have?
We're just walking away. We're abandoning it. >> Sometimes, the individual does need to sacrifice
for the betterment of his or her community. >> Individuals should never have to pay the price
of health and safety. Ever, ever, ever. My name is Lynda Barry. I'm an advocate for people
who are living in industrial wind farms in our state. I'm trying very hard to get the word out
that there are down sides to wind power. I actually got interested in it because a neighbor of mine
invited me to a meeting about this wind farm that was coming. And when we got to the meeting and started to find questions
that people had, it just raised some red flags for me. I started to do some research, and really began to become
troubled about the proposal. I found that there was no place on the Web that specifically addressed
what was happening in Wisconsin. So, I started a Web site called Better Plan Wisconsin.
I started to hear from people who live in wind farms. And once I put the Web site up, I started hearing from members
of local government, who were also trying to find out about ordinances. >> We had town governments
adopting ordinances in the past few years trying to regulate the siting of wind turbines.
>> Saying there can be no construction in our town of a wind farm. >> What we were finding
is local villages, local towns, local cities, you know, were saying the not in my back yard thing.
We're having a hard time siting these wind farms, because of this hodgepodge of local ordinances.
If we're going to capture wind, we need to be able to put these windmills someplace. >> Wind energy is no problem.
But when you put them right next to people's homes, there is a problem. >> You can't have one village,
one city, one town, dictate energy policy for the rest of the state. And we built that into the bill.
>> Senate Bill 185, relating to regulation of wind energy system and granting rule-making authority.
>> It's a bill for being able to site windmill farms here in the state of Wisconsin. What the bill does,
is it charges the Public Service Commission with establishing criteria, establishing guidelines.
>> The Public Service Commission is an independent state agency that regulates utilities. The bill that is pending
would allow the Public Service Commission to make standards for these large wind projects in areas such as noise,
setbacks, which is how far the projects are from somebody's house. >> This was all about taking the
power away from local government and giving it to the PSC. >> Local control is the idea of protecting the community
and the neighbors in the area. So this bill still retains some local control, but within the guidelines and parameters
that the Public Service Commission is going to set. >> Sometimes, you need a third party, like the PSC, to make
some of these tough decisions. >> I am in Madison today visiting legislators at the Capitol.
The Capitol is like being in a big video game. I get lost there every time I go.
You can't believe that you're really supposed to be walking all alone down these little twirly little corridors.
This is just part of wandering. So, 319 South, I'm trying to find it. Let's see, 319 South.
Where am I? >> Again, good morning and thank you very much for the members' attention
to Senate Bill 185. We did have a public hearing. A public hearing is an opportunity for members
of the public to come and have their voice be heard. Anybody who's here who wants to testify in front of this
committee is going to have an opportunity. >> The fact of the matter is, we have PSC approved wind farms
that are running right now, where people are having a whole lot of trouble. It sounds so big when I tell
my friends, yes, I was up testifying at the Capitol today. But it turns out, anybody can testify.
>> Are there any questions from the members? >> So, I took off from work. I spent the day in Madison.
I testified in front of the Senate. My name is Ann Wirtz. I'm married
and I have four children. My family is leaving our home. We are leaving because we are forced to live
amongst 400-foot wind turbines. I did want to go, but it was very hard. I have not been able
to sleep well for most nights since the wind turbines started turning. I spent all day down there,
testifying with hundreds of people. This needs to stop. >> We hear people coming in.
And you know, this stuff really bothers them a lot. >> You will not and cannot understand
the devastation that these wind turbines did to my life. Absolutely devastated my life. >> I understand when people
come in and they're distraught. >> I would ask you, beg you, please, no more wind turbines. >> The difficult part
is that even when we see some very heartfelt, some very real concerns, we still have to do
what's in the public interest. >> One of the things I learned is that in a hearing like that one,
there's a three-minute limit. >> We still have about a hundred people or so who want to testify.
>> Three minutes. So, you really have to have your point of view down. >> When average citizens
take a day, take that time to drive to Madison, sit in a crowded room so that they can actually voice their
opinion, that has meaning. That has value. >> When I saw all of the people there testifying,
I actually felt pretty good. >> It's something powerful to be in a room full of people from different parts of the state.
You don't know each other. And to see other people stand up there. It's a good civic thing to do.
>> Legislators have to balance the needs of a particular industry segment with what they consider to be
the public interest. >> There's really only one solution for this problem, which is to establish
permitting standards that would be uniformly applied across Wisconsin. >> We heard from people who were
very much in favor of the bill. We heard from people who were very much opposed to the bill. A lot of concerns were raised
at the 8-hour-plus hearing about health concerns. And I think because of that public hearing, we have a much
better bill in its final product than in its first draft. Legislation that strikes that middle ground, that balance that
provides for the common good, but does not sacrifice personal liberties is always going to be a balancing act.
There's 132 legislators in this building, 33 in the Senate, 99 in the Assembly.
Each of us represents a unique and individual district. So, not everybody is going to agree.
A bill has to pass in both the Senate and the Assembly before it gets to the governor for his signature or his veto.
>> Senate Bill 185, relating to regulation of wind energy systems and granting rule-making authority...
>> The rules of the Senate, the rules of the Assembly can be somewhat confusing. (man speaking very quickly)
>> Adoption of Assembly Bill... adoption of Senate... commerce and utilities, energy... >> Somebody once said
that making laws is a lot like making sausage. It's not always pretty. I think we have struck
that middle point between the folks who want it all and the folks who want nothing. It's not an easy process.
It's not an efficient process. It is a slow process. But it should be. We've spent an enormous
amount of time in our committee, with the committee members working on this bill. >> It took us a long time
to get us to where we are right now. And there's nothing wrong with that.
>> When you're making laws that impact people's lives, it should be a slow, difficult, cumbersome process.
>> All those in favor of -- signify by saying "aye" as your name is called. Those opposed, "no."
>> If this is the plan for the state, it's important to get this thing right. >> Decker, Ellis...
>> This bill represents our best chance to fix the problem. >> Hanson, Harsdorf... >> It's a big bill
with large consequences. >> We don't have a king that's going to make a decision. >> Kanavas...
>> Decisions that really affect people in a very dramatic way. >> I felt like my life was in their hands.
>> Kreitlow, Lasee... >> Dictatorships are very efficient. Democracies are not.
>> There are 23 ayes, 9 nos, so it gives final passage to Senate Bill 185. >> The stuff that we do
in this building impacts everybody in Wisconsin. We change the legislation. It was good to know, we're going
to have a rational energy policy here in the state of Wisconsin. I think it's important for people to get involved.
This is their democracy. This is their government. >> When you get involved, what you will find
are the people who really care, who are really working hard, and whose minds are actually changed by the information
that you give them. Letters matter. Phone calls matter. It all makes a difference.
So I have more faith in government now, because I'm one of the active members. We the people is real.
We the people is a real thing.
>> For more information, visit us on the Web at: ecb.org/engage