That's easy to predict because there aready are jurisdictions dealing with the issue. There will be applications for permits to install windmill farms and at individual residences. We already have a windmill farm or two in Missouri and more will come.

Green living will come slowly for multiple reasons. In the case of windmills at a home, there will be opposition from nearby residents who deem them to be unsightly and the installation costs, which will vary depending on what is required. Proposed windmill farms have run into opposition on the basis that they are viewed as being detrimental to the landscape.

Just as there has been opposition to towers for communications purposes, there will be the same for wind towers. We don't have the facts, but a sound guess is that most zoning codes don't have specific provisions dealing with windmills.

Franklin County does not have regulations pertaining to windmills for energy.

There already is litigation in some jurisdictions where appeals have been made to decisions by zoning boards regarding windmills. It is not an easy subject since the height of the towers varies depending on locations. Some cities have imposed height limits in their codes, such as 45 and 75 feet. Other codes have banned them for single-family homes.

The practicality of erecting a windmill for a home comes into play. The average cost is about $30,000 and it can take many years to recover that cost through energy savings.

There is a fear factor in neighborhoods where homes are close together. Since they are heavy, more than 1,000 pounds in most cases, if one should fall it could cause damage to property and lives. However, apparently some "bend" rather than collapse.

Probably the project that has received the most publicity is a proposal for windmills off the Atlantic Coast in the Cape Cod area. Stiff opposition has developed from people who say the windmills would spoil the natural beauty of Nantucket Sound.

According to The New York Times, residential turbines are a tiny fraction of the wind energy market, but requests are beginning to come from the New England area, the Midwest and far West. Nearly 2,700 wind units with capacities of 10 kilowatts or less, the size for single-family homes, were sold nationwide last year. The wind needs to blow at least 12 miles an hour for a turbine to generate electricity. That rules out many sites.

The market for wind turbines is growing, if slowly, and the number of companies making them is on the rise. There have been a few contacts made by windmill companies for a manufacturing plant in this area, but nothing has gone beyond a call or two.

The windmills for energy is a tiny movement at this stage, but it will grow. There is an inexhaustible supply.

Who owns the wind-a country, state, county or city? Does a homeowner have an inalienable right to the wind that passes through his or her property? Just wondering!