{"id":361,"date":"2008-06-07T09:23:17","date_gmt":"2008-06-07T13:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/v3\/?p=361"},"modified":"2008-06-10T09:29:46","modified_gmt":"2008-06-10T13:29:46","slug":"tahs-students-chime-in-on-gamesa%e2%80%99s-proposed-ice-mountain-wind-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/?p=361","title":{"rendered":"TAHS students chime in on Gamesa\u2019s proposed Ice Mountain wind farm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
Results of student wind farm survey<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TAHS tenth grade U.S. Civics students participated in an informal survey to provide a \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d answer to Gamesa\u2019s proposed Ice Mountain wind farm. A total of 132 students took the survey, which was similar to the survey registered borough voters took at the April 22 PA primary. Here are the results.
\n\u2022 92 students were in favor of the wind farm project
\n\u2022 33 students were opposed to the project
\n\u2022 7 students were undecided or undeclared<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Tyrone Area High School tenth grade U.S. Civics students recently participated in an extensive project involving Gamesa Energy USA\u2019s proposed 10 to 15 turbine wind farm on Tyrone Borough watershed property atop Ice Mountain.
\nThe proposal is part of the Sandy Ridge Wind Farm project. Tyrone\u2019s part of the project is estimated to pay the borough $3 to $5 million over the 30-year life-span of the wind farm.
\nTAHS Civics teacher Todd Cammarata presented his students a community issues project entitled \u201cThe Sandy Ridge Wind Farm Proposal – Energy Independence or Environmental Hazard.\u201d The goal of the project was for the students to assume the role of advisor to borough council, and determine what course of action council should take in its voting of the wind farm proposal.
\nStudents had the opportunity to research a plethora of material provided by The Daily Herald, Altoona Mirror, Gamesa, Save Ice Mountain group, Juniata Valley Audubon Society (JVAS), and results from the community survey taken during the Pennsylvania primary April 22.
\nAlong with the provided information, students also heard the pros of wind energy and development from Gamesa Project Developer Josh Framel. A presentation was also given by Dr. Stan Kotala, conservation chairperson for JVAS and representative for Save Ice Mountain, on the cons of the proposed wind farm on Ice Mountain.
\nCammarata said that the project was more than simply listening to the presentations. The students were also required to develop questions for both Framel and Kotala, through researching facts and opinions that both supported and opposed the wind farm. As a final project, the students weighed both sides and presented their opinion on the issue in the form of a paper, poster, brochure, or PowerPoint presentation.
\n\u201cStudent interest in this project was very high,\u201d noted Cammarata. \u201cOne of my principle goals in teaching Civics is to make the subject relevant to their lives, so when a controversy like this boils up in the community, it presents a great teachable moment.\u201d
\nCammarata\u2019s 132 tenth grade Civics students took part in the project, but other students at Tyrone in the Science and Social Studies departments, and several twelfth and eighth grade classes, were invited to sit in on the guest speakers\u2019 presentations.
\nThe project was very successful in Cammarata\u2019s eyes, because it gave his students an understanding of the complexity of the wind farm proposal and that real-life decisions are almost never black and white. He said that the students gained a much better understanding of the issue, noting that \u201cmost of the students felt that both speakers made excellent points.\u201d
\n\u201cI was very impressed by the quality of the questions by the students,\u201d added Cammarata. \u201cThey were not afraid to challenge both presenters with an opposing point of view.\u201d
\nHe added, \u201cThe most popular argument that I heard for the proposal was its potential to provide clean energy for their future. The majority of the students who were against it were opposed to the particular site selection and wished it could go somewhere other than Ice Mountain.\u201d
\nCammarata said that the $3 to $5 million that would be generated into the borough due to the wind farm was a consideration of many students, but it was not as much of an issue as he expected. He said more of the students were focused on the environmental costs and benefits than the dollars and cents issues.
\nTenth grade student Logan Harper said he already knew some things about the wind farm because he lives near the proposed wind farm construction site. He enjoyed the project and stated that both presenters were very informative – but as for a decision, he said the fence is where he\u2019s sitting right now.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s reasons why I would like them, and there\u2019s a few that I don\u2019t,\u201d said Harper. \u201cI\u2019m more for it. It\u2019s good for the environment.\u201d
\nStudent Kaitlin Spangler said she would probably vote \u201cno\u201d on the wind farm proposal.
\n\u201cI learned a lot about how they (wind turbines) function and how much energy they produce,\u201d said Spangler. \u201cWith them only really working at full capacity 30 percent of the time, I don\u2019t really think it\u2019s going to benefit us too much.\u201d
\nVeronica Detwiler, a tenth grade student, said she learned that the wind at the Ice Mountain location is only a Class II, which she thinks \u201cisn\u2019t that great.\u201d Although she is in the middle as for what she would vote on the proposal, the killing of bats and environmental effects are her major concerns.
\nStudent Christina Brisbin thought that Framel was \u201cvery convincing\u201d when she listened to his presentation on the pros of wind energy, which she said has her leaning more towards the proposed wind farm. She noted that the younger generation might look at wind energy more differently than others.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to say we look at it one way, but there\u2019s a lot more arguments with the adults,\u201d said Brisbin. \u201cIt seems like from what I\u2019ve heard, the younger generation seems more one-sided.\u201d
\nShe added, \u201cWith these windmills, I\u2019d say we\u2019re a bit more educated than most of the town, but that\u2019s only because we had the opportunity to hear these people speak.\u201d
\nSome of the students expressed that they felt there should be more money involved for Tyrone Borough in the proposal, and if there was, it would influence their decision even more.
\nCammarata agreed with Brisbin that this generation might look at clean energy more differently.
\n\u201cI do think that this generation is generally more concerned and more aware about the environment than older generations,\u201d stated Cammarata. \u201cMost are eager to see our country move away from fossil fuels.\u201d
\nCammarata was grateful for all the help he received for making this project possible, adding that Tyrone Borough Councilperson Pat Stoner helped him get in touch with the right people to enhance the project.
\n\u201cWithout the willingness of Josh Framel from Gamesa and Stan Kotala from Save Ice Mountain to spend the day with my students, this opportunity for them to study this important community issue would not have been possible,\u201d added Cammarata.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Results of student wind farm survey TAHS tenth grade U.S. Civics students participated in an informal survey to provide a \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d answer to Gamesa\u2019s proposed Ice Mountain wind farm. A total of 132 students took the survey, which was similar to the survey registered borough voters took at the April 22 PA primary. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area","category-excerpts-from-the-tyrone-daily-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}