RFK Jr. defends Cape Cod from industrial development

Somehow I doubt that a few dozen wind generators placed thousands of feet apart will put small fishermen out of business. What they should probably be more worried about is mercury from burning coal contaminating the water. Or acid rain. Or many other things more dangerous than wind farms.

Incorrect. Fishing is dependent upon ones ability to follow the fish. With 130 turbines, and hundreds of miles of cables running on Horseshoe Shoal, it is likely that as fisherman try to make a living, their gear will become hung up on fixed structures on the shoal. This will serverly damage and/or break the gear, endangering the fishermen and resulting in major economic losses.

but will it cause more damage than what the draggers have done over decades. Maybe, just maybe the turbines will create a new breeding area for fish where they are safe from human predation.

On the other hand, since conservation is an important part of the energy mix, maybe we can get all of the opponents to the wind turbines to conserve more than the rest of us. if you assume 30,000 houses per megawatt of power produced, how many supporters houses would go dark to make up for the power the wind turbines could have produced?

Horseshoe Shoal will be destroyed by the dredging that is required just to bring in the barges to shallow locations where the turbines will be errected. The shoal is still healthy and teeming with fish, Cape Wind will ruin that.

Are you somhow suggesting that you commercial fishing in Nantucket Sound should stop altogether? Have you ever been to Cape Cod...ventured down from "Greater Boston"...why don't you tell those families that they should give up their livelihood.

dredging/dragging, pollution from lawn chemicals runoff, by catch discards *will* destroy horseshoe shoals. there will be nothing left for anyone. the turbines will cause some short term destruction but provide a long term benefit by preventing any fishing that damages the ocean floor and limits boat size capable of fishing those waters. these limits will provide a good place for fish to grow and replenish the rest of the surrounding waters.

yes, I am saying that commercial fishing should be limited because since we haven't, we have savaged our fisheries and now faced with the unpleasant choice of wiping out fisheries or remove significant numbers of fishermen from the waters. it sucks, it devastates families but can't keep subdividing a fixed resource.

before you cry about out of work fisherman, shed a tear for the gutting of the new england manufacturing, tool and die, textiles, computer and financial industries. industry declines very devastating to families and communities. maybe the fisherman could use their knowledge and lead the way with inland aquaculture and hydroponics. at least you can't outsource that business (too much)

It is fair to say that we should shed a tear for all those who have lost jobs in New England, and around the world. I do not wish hardship upon anyone.

Commerical Fishing in Nantucket Sound is not what it is made out to be. Fisherman in the Sound cannot overfish the species in the sound because there just are not enough of those species in the waters. Hence, the coming of Cape Wind will put fisherman out of business, but these are not the fisherman who are "raping" the sea. These are fisherman who are part of the local community, making day trips in the Sound. Lets not equate giant packing ships that sit 200 miles offshore and stay at sea for over a year with community based fishing. It just is not the same thing.