At roughly 6:30 tonight, the Cape Cod Commission will be holding a public meeting on the Cape Wind Energy Project Final Environmental Impact Report. The public comments are expected to address the adequacy of Cape Wind’s FEIR, as this document is to guide state agencies through the permitting process.
I suspect that Cape Wind supporters will have nothing productive to add the content of this meeting. I will even venture to say with some certainty that all Cape Wind and Clean Power Now supporters will drone on and on about “how long the FEIR is” and that “5,000 pages in enough” and that “6 years has been long enough”. I would much prefer to hear about specific sections of the FEIR and discuss how they are adequate. Unfortunately for them, that just isn’t possible because the FEIR is an inadequate document. Look at the report on fishing, look at the bird surveys! Look at the whole damn thing!
Despite all of this I am hopeful that project opponents such as the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, Mass Fisherman’s Partnership, and elected officials will come out in full force and share the FEIR’s inadequacies with the Commission. There is plenty to work with.
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Comments: 5
I'm gonna assume at least some of that to be true, if I'm wrong my apologies in advance. There are plenty of others who fit that description in particular our favorite drunk driver Ted Kennedy. Who's shrill cry for alternative energy sources suddenly reverse direction when this project which will provide clean non-polluting power for most of the southeastern portion of Mass or at least generate enough power to do so. That call ends because it's a great thing but NIMBY. Not in my back yard, or in Mr Kennedy's case my view of Nantucket Sound. If you have ever been to California and driven from LA to Palm Springs you pass by an ENORMOUS wind farm. Literally thousands of windmill turbines for miles. They are not the eyesore some would have you believe but actually have an aesthetic appeal as they spin . Not to mention that they provide the power fo the entire Coachella Valley without an ounce of pollution created. The environmental impact studies that are continousally thrown in the face of this project are nothing but a red herring designed to drive up the cost of the project in the hopes that the developer will give up. As a boater of the sound I can tell you, I have very little fear of accidentally running into a windmill that stands over 100 feet tall. If I can't see it long before I get too close, I am either blind, drunk, or the conditions are so bad that no pleasure craft should be out in it anyway without serious electronic equipment (ie chart plotter, radar etc.). This endless bickering is nothing more than NIMBY plain and simple most of the opposers think wind energy is great.....just not there.
For the record I am a boat owner, and recreational fisherman, who has spent a considerable part of my life on the cape. I have no affiliation whatsoever with this project, other thinking it is long overdue
Unfortunately, I am not as you pinned me, though I do accept your apology in advance.
Appreciate the comments. I think alot of that comes out when I discussed how Cape Wind will not have an impact on global warming. As far as Al Gore goes, his message is an important one, but overstated. There are planty of other gloabl challanges society needs to face, we shouldn't turn a blind eye to them.
As a boat owner and recreational fisherman I hope you will submit comments to the Cape Cod Commission regarding the adequacy of Cape Wind's section of the FEIR on fishing, it covers both commercial and recreational.
I address "NIMBY" issues in an earlier piece I publish on gather entitled "Value Conflict on the Road to Energy" - my views about alternatives, place, and environmentalism are most explicitly outlined there.
As far as navigational hazards, your boat can easily navigate the turbines, but ferries and other large vessels do not have that leisure. The turbines are too close to the shipping channel.
This is not just about the view. It is far more complex, and those who oppose the project do not all fit the mold you described.
True that the Canal and Buzzards Bay are narrow passageways. I was able to attend the Cape Cod Commission Public Meeting last night and found out that an amazing amout of dredging will be needed to move the barges over Horseshoe Shoal to construct the wind turbines. Those boats will range from 90 to 400 feet. While the Canal is deep enough to handle vessels of that size, as a boater I am willing to bet you have dinged your prop out there a couple of times, because I certainly have!
I'm not bird specialist, so I would refer you to donatracy.gather.com for more info on that. I read a piece by her the other day and she recounted how the breeding population of an endangered eagle in Norway was wiped out by an offshore wind farm.