By Don Smith: Why I Chose to be Arrested at Rollins Mountain

********ROLLINS MOUNTAIN, LINCOLN, MAINE**********


My name is Don Smith. I am a native Mainer and I am 82 years old. I am a veteran and a grandfather. I was arrested and charged with criminal trespass at the Rollins Mt. wind project site in Lincoln on November 8. Five were arrested as we formed a human barricade to the site. Dozens of others braved the cold rainy November day to protest First Wind’s project.
Many people have asked me why I did this. Good question. I hope I give good answers. The first reason is that nobody seems to be paying attention to the negative aspects of wind power. Least of all is the complacent and complicit media in Maine. If we had just stood out there with signs, even the local reporter would likely have overlooked the event. By putting myself on the line to dramatize why this project is so wrong, it caught the attention of media far and wide.

It seems that most people understand utility scale (or industrial) wind power superficially, accepting wind power as “green” and “clean” and the panacea for solving energy and climate challenges. It is the result of years of masterful propaganda by the wind industry. Some of us have actually done a lot of research into industrial wind and have found huge negatives. By dramatically raising the visibility of the issue with the arrests, we are getting people to discover these negatives as the follow up dialogue transpires.


I have gained insights from my research into industrial wind. The wind industry would not exist without massive government subsidies. For example: the US Energy Information Administration reports that in 2007, wind received $23.37 per megawatt hour in subsidies; the next highest subsidy was $1.59 for nuclear. Those are our tax dollars going into something that doesn’t work.

We are putting up wind turbines in places where there isn’t enough wind to generate electricity. Look at the NREL map of wind potential in Maine. The area around Lincoln Lakes is all white. Look at the color code and white means “poor”. My guess is wind turbines are not about generating electricity, they are about selling a carbon tax in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates, raking in Production Tax Credits, and having the taxpayers pay the cost of construction.

Another reason I got arrested is to protest the proliferation of these industrial wind projects. I retired to live a quiet life on Caribou Pond, with a view of Rollins Mt. That ridge will have fifteen turbines, each 389 feet high. The total number of turbines will be forty on Rollins Mt. and the ridges of Rocky Dundee. An acoustics expert stated that the noise from these turbines will negatively impact hundreds of people on the lakes and nearby country roads, the same well-documented noise problems that have been experienced at Mars Hill, Freedom, and Vinalhaven.

I am not a NIMBY. I don’t believe these industrial machines belong anywhere in the rural landscape. Not in anyone’s yard---back yard, front yard, side yard. The noise issue is just one of many. If you could see the destruction of Rollins Mt. taking place right now, you would never consider this a “green” project. The DEP would fine me if I moved a rock at my home, yet they approved ridges being blasted away and scalped. They will never be the same. The Rollins project will blast away more than seven miles of ridges and clear-cut more than one thousand acres and install twenty miles of powerlines to tie into the grid.

That is for just one project. Without thinking through the ramifications, in 2008 the Legislature passed LD 2283, a horrible law to give favoritism to wind power. They chose an arbitrary figure of 2700 MW of installed capacity by 2020, which at a generous actual output of 25%, ends up being just 675 MW of intermittent, unpredictable, unreliable power. If Rollins is 60 MW, then it will mean 45 more projects like this to achieve that goal. Do the math. Based on the impact of Rollins, that means at least 315 miles of Maine ridges and mountains blasted away to install 1800 turbines; 45,000 acres or more of carbon sequestrating forest permanently clear-cut; and 1,000 miles or more of new powerlines. The price? Rollins’ pricetag of $130 million times 45 is a staggering $5.85 billion.

Why did I get arrested? To help bring forth what a folly this is and how damaging it is to Maine’s environment. Wind power is bad economics and bad public policy. It is far from “green”. The negative impacts of these projects on the environment and our quality of place far outweigh the pittance of good they might do for the planet.

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Top Photo-Dr. Gary Steinberg
Seond Photo--Don Smith being loaded into cruiser (taken by Brad Blake, I think...)
Third Photo--Brad Blake
Bottom photo by Nick Sambides of the Bangor Daily News

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This is an epilogue, of sorts. I spoke on the phone to Don Smith today, and heard a tale that was disturbing.

On November 9th, the day after the Rollins rally during which Mr. Smith got arrested, the Portland Press Herald published a very disturbing opinion piece.

Please read the PPH's "view" for yourself.

This is how the commentary started:

Protesters hoped that by stalling work on the Rollins wind farm in Lexington Township, they would draw attention to what they see as harmful development of Maine's wild places. Instead, they called attention to the self-centered and small-minded attitudes of some environmental activists and, ultimately, the ineffectiveness of bullying tactics used by groups...

And this is what Don told me this afternoon:

Don said the handcuffs were put on quite tightly before he was loaded into the police cruiser. After a few minutes, he complained that they were hurting and asked that they be removed. Of course, they couldn't do that. Law enforcement officers have standard operating procedures. Understandable, even if Don is an 82 year old man. He then asked if the cuffs could be loosened a little. An officer complied, but Don told me it felt like the officer tightened them, instead. Another cop noticed that Don's wrist was bleeding, and the gent informed them that he took medication to thin his blood. At that point, the officers decided to take Don to the hospital in Lincoln, where his cut wrist was bandaged.

Please read that opinion piece in the PPH. And then decide for yourselves who is bullying whom. Objective opinion piece from the newspaper which is owned in part by Governor Baldacci's brother? Gentle treatment of an old man who is standing up for what he believes? Who's the bully, here?

In case you've never noticed, I don't like bullies. Just thought I'd say...

Oh, and by the way.... readers left over 100 online comments to this op-ed containing factual information about industrial wind and the Lincoln project. Guess what? They've all mysteriously disappeared. Again.

We've got a big problem here in Maine. Luckily, we've also got Mainers like Don Smith.

Spanish Wind on Maine's Mountains

Well, I knew this day was coming. Knew it was inevitable. Like a runaway freight train, industrial wind has been bearing down on the mountains of Maine. For the last ten months, I have been fighting for my neighbors, and for the People and the Mountains of Maine, in general.

But on Tuesday, Lexington Township received notification that Iberdrola, the Spanish company which owns Central Maine Power Company, has submitted a permit application to LURC (Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission) for permission to erect meteorological towers on Fletcher Mountain, in Concord (to my rear [or north, for those of you who don’t know which way my rear is usually pointed]) and on a ridge just behind Peaked Hill… which stands only a mile or so west from The F.A.R.M.

I’ve been accused of being a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) for months. I’ve worn that title with pride: for if I, and others like me, don’t defend our back yards, who will? Certainly not the state government now in power… it has paved the way for these intrusive, environmentally damaging and economically unfeasible monstrosities to be built with a minimum of scrutiny or oversight. I have, in fact, been proud to be a NIMBY, although I often prefer to think the acronym stands for “Not In MAINE’S Back Yard”.

Now, however, it IS going to be in MY back yard. On MY door step. In MY view shed. Within MY range of hearing. I thought this was “personal” BEFORE. I was wrong.

Now, this is “personal”.

I feel like raging. Feel like ranting to Whomever is in charge of the Cosmos—a small part of which includes Lexington Township and my family home. But ranting and raving and wailing don’t—and won’t--accomplish much, short of making me look like a half-dipped dipstick.

But the question is: What WILL accomplish the goals of those who have taken it upon themselves to try to avert disaster for the state of Maine?

I have never, ever witnessed a group of people work so long and so hard and with such dedication as the Wind Warriors of Maine have been working. Are we having an impact? Yes. Absolutely! We are educating more Mainers every single day about the realities of industrial wind. But are we winning? Oh, brother.

BIG Brother, to be more specific.

How do we fight something so huge and powerful, and something that has been sanctioned and shepherded into the state by our own government? Day by day, I’m learning how to fight it… but am I learning how to win? Is winning even possible??

You bet yer a$$ it is!

I absolutely refuse to believe that the people of Maine are powerless! I cannot accept that common sense has gone the way of the dodo bird. And I’m getting fed up with being lied to and of not being consulted when our money is being spent and our quality of life is being disregarded. Most especially when what it’s being traded for will not benefit the people of Maine-- or anyone, realistically.

If we were in a fair fight, we’d win. If we were slightly out-numbered and out-gunned, we’d be victorious. But we are up against an industry with money and power, and a government that’s doing its best to push mountaintop industrial wind all across this state. In order to change policy at the top level, we have to find very courageous legislators who will stand up and do the right thing. There are a few out there, but there are not enough. Not yet.

Unfortunately, it often comes down to one thing. Re-election. If the tide turns and enough Mainers cry ‘Foul!” our senators and representatives will have to listen. Otherwise, they’ll be out of a job. We need to write letters to them. We need to fill the newspapers with factual articles. We need to have an advertising campaign and the money to fund it. We need our experts to stay the course and continue to look at real data… and REPORT that data. And we need to do all of this… NOW!

November is coming. This is an election year. This is also the Year of the Wind. Everywhere one looks across this state, small towns and townships with no zoning ordinances (or worse, under LURC jurisdiction and in the ‘expedited wind energy zone’) are being targeted by wind developers who are hoping to build their grid scale energy plants and collect our tax dollars. Some of them are desperate… barely hanging onto solvency, if news articles are to be believed. So… they NEED those subsidies.

And WE need to be vigilant.

The truth is out there. The truth is reaching more people every day. But to save the mountains of Maine, we need to step up our efforts. We need more enthusiastic and committed individuals to help spread the facts. To ask for support from their legislators. To demand accounting from wind companies, and from any government agency involved in the siting and permitting of wind turbines.

It’s time to stop the foolishness and the waste, and the corruption.

I knew this day was coming, and now… it’s here. Who has time to blog? I’ve got work to do! I think I’ll start by having a word with my senator; Peter Mills of Cornville, Maine. If you’d like to do the same, he can be reached at pmills@mainelegal.net. I’m sure he’d be happy to hear from you…

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Can I add a P.S. to my blog? Today I heard, from a third source in as many weeks, that members of the Maine Guides' Association have been instructed to support land-based industrial wind. They have been warned against opposing wind developments on the mountains of this state. Maine Guides have been told that if they oppose industrial wind, they will lose their rights to bait on public land. Now, this is hear-say. I don't know if it's true. I don't WANT to believe it, but I have a feeling that it is based in fact. So... maybe I've changed my mind. Maybe my FIRST contact will be with someone in the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Perhaps Commissioner Roland Martin. If anyone else is curious, I'm sure he'd be pleased to answer any questions you might have. He can be reached at :

Commissioner Roland Martin
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
41 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0041

And while you're at it, maybe you could ask him what studies are being conducted on bird deaths due to collisions with turbine blades, and bat deaths due to barotrauma. That'd be good to know..

Unbelievable! (Sadly... No, It's Not!)

On Tuesday, August 3rd, I got wind of a motion filed by Trans-Canada, the industrial wind developer who is attempting to get a permit to extend its Kibby Mountain project over to Sisk Mountain, in Chain of Ponds Township. This is the letter I wrote in response... and I sent it to each of the state's daily newspapers, asking them to please publish on Wednesday morning.

To the best of my knowledge, no one did.
*********************************************************

At their July meeting, LURC commissioners took a ‘straw vote’ to see how the board stood on Trans-Canada’s permit application to develop Sisk Mountain. After a 5-2 vote to deny, they ordered LURC Staff to prepare a decision document to that effect, with their official vote due to be made at the August 4th meeting in Bangor.

Since that time, the Wind Industry and its supporters have been scrambling, doing their utmost to influence the commissioners’ decision. People and entities such as Professor Orlando Delogu, who prepared reports for the Governor’s Task Force on Wind Power, Jay Wyman, a selectman in the town receiving the most ‘tangible benefits’ from Trans-Canada for the Boundary Mountains project, and Alison Hagerstrom of the Greater Franklin Development Corporation have been inundating the media with commentaries designed to sway the Board’s decision. Like schoolyard bullies who resort to unsavory tactics to make sure their will prevails, the Wind Industry called in its gang.

It was a mistake for the LURC Commissioners to take that straw vote. They opened themselves up to the castigation of industrial wind proponents. In addition, they provided Trans-Canada with a month-long grace period in which they could try to develop a new strategy to compel LURC to vote in their favor.

They certainly were not idly waiting for that official decision. On Friday, July 30th, in an 11th hour move, Trans-Canada submitted a motion to table the vote on the Denial decision and re-open the record so they can introduce an amendment to reduce the number of turbines in the Sisk project from fifteen to eleven, claiming such a change would significantly reduce environmental and scenic impacts.

In reality, such a change will simply reduce by a small amount the millions of tax-payer dollars with which Trans-Canada can line their pockets if their strong-arm tactics are successful and they convince LURC to sacrifice that high-terrain peak which casts its shadow over the unique and beautiful Chain of Ponds.

LURC must hold firm, stand up to the bullies, and do what’s right. They must stand by their decision to deny Trans-Canada’s permit application for the development of Sisk Mountain. ‘Might’ must not triumph over ‘right’.

**************************************************************

And THIS is what will be in this morning's Bangor Daily News!

Canadian firm to scale back Kibby Mountain wind project8/4/10 08:37 pm Updated: 8/4/10 08:40 pm
By Kevin Miller
BDN Staff


BANGOR, Maine — A Canadian energy firm is scaling back its expansion plans for Western Maine’s Kibby Mountain wind farm after state regulators made clear that they could not support placing an additional 15 turbines in the area.

TransCanada officials told the Land Use Regulation Commission on Wednesday that they plan to file a revised application removing the four southernmost turbines in the 15-turbine project. The project is proposed for Kibby and Chain of Ponds townships, approximately two miles from the second phase of the Kibby wind farm now under construction.

TransCanada’s attorney outlined the proposed changes on the same day that LURC was poised to deny the company’s permit request at its Bangor meeting. Despite opposition from the project’s critics, commissioners voted unanimously to table the issue in order to allow TransCanada to revise its application.

“This proposal is not lightly made,” said Juliet Browne, who represented TransCanada before the commission.

During a meeting last month, commissioners largely agreed with concerns raised by opponents that the proposed wind farm expansion would harm views from nearby lakes and trails.

In its written recommendation to the commission, LURC staff noted that while both the original Kibby project and the proposed expansion would “significantly compromise views,” the southern seven turbines within the proposed expansion would have “unreasonable adverse impact to the scenic character of the Chain of Ponds and of the Arnold Trail.”

Commissioners also voiced serious concerns that the southern half of the project would have unacceptable effects on the subalpine fir forests and the Bicknell’s thrush, a bird dependent on subalpine fir forests that the state lists as a “species of special concern.”

Several commissioners had indicated last month that they likely could support a project containing just the eight northern turbines because they had fewer effects on scenic views or subalpine forests. Browne said Wednesday that the eight-turbine project was not economically viable, however.

“We think this is very responsive to the commissioners’ concerns about reducing the subalpine impacts, reducing the impacts on Bicknell’s thrush and reducing the visual impacts on Chain of Ponds,” Browne said.

Critics of the 15-turbine project argued unsuccessfully against allowing TransCanada to revise its application so late in the process.

The most forceful statements came from Bob Weingarten, president of the organization Friends of the Boundary Mountains, who criticized TransCanada for seeking to revise and delay the project now after working hard to keep the project on the fast-track for so long.

Weingarten said the company’s inflexibility caused hardship to his small group of volunteers as they tried to share their views with the commission.

“TransCanada had months and months to change their proposal while the record was still open,” Weingarten said. “TransCanada had months and months to listen to the other side.”

The first 22 turbines of TransCanada’s Kibby wind farm are already operating, and the company is building another 22 turbines at the site.

Last month, three protesters with the group Maine EarthFirst! were arrested while blocking the road leading up to the company’s construction site. Maine EarthFirst! and other critics of industrial wind power contend that projects such as TransCanada’s destroy mountaintops and do little to offset the use of fossil fuels.

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Unbelievable! And yet, sadly... it's not.

A Pressing Matter

The Friends of the Highland Mountains held a press conference in the State of Maine room at Portland City Hall on Wednesday, June 30th. The purpose of the gathering was to officially release our DVD, ‘Save the Mountains of Highland, Maine’.

We wrote up a press release and faxed and emailed it to every major media outlet in the state of Maine; television stations, radio stations and newspapers. We chased the written announcements with telephone calls—member Jonathan Carter made the original calls the night before, and I followed up with reminders the morning of the DVD's release.

More than a dozen of our members took time out of their busy lives and drove the long distance to southern Maine to stand together for the event. I was humbled. Whenever I mention a need—in this case, a simple, public showing of support—the Friends (who are truly ‘friends’) never let me down. More importantly, they never let the mountains down, or each other.

I don’t have experience in the public arena, so I don’t really know if success was achieved by the number of media that showed up for the press conference. There were two television stations, ABC and NBC, which cover a large portion of the state, and a radio station, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, which also has a far-reaching audience. What constitutes ‘ample coverage’ eludes me, but I was somewhat contented. I handed out informational packets and copies of our DVD to each reporter and cameraman, and then-- we were ‘on’.

Jonathan introduced us and our DVD. He has 25 years of experience dealing with the media, so that seemed to be a good idea. I then spoke for approximately five minutes. My statement is pasted in, below. Following my words, we showed our twenty-five minute video… a documentary that details our struggle to protect the five mountains of Highland Plantation, Maine.

After that, it was over. We packed up our computer, and the power point projector and screen and left City Hall. The other members of the Board of Directors and I walked to the offices of the Portland Press Herald (which did not attend the press conference) and to the Associated Press office and delivered our packets and copies of our DVD. After that, any control that we had of the situation was out of our hands.

My statement to the press, June 30, 2010

Good morning. `My name is Karen Pease, and I’m a member of the Friends of the Highland Mountains. I’d like to thank Jonathan Carter of the Forest Ecology Network, who, along with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, the Citizens’ Task Force on Wind Power, and many other organizations, is standing with us in our effort to protect the mountains of Highland Plantation. Today we are releasing to the press a DVD which we’ve created, and we hope that you will dedicate 25 minutes of your time to watching this production. In the DVD we have outlined our concerns regarding the industrial wind development which Angus King and Rob Gardiner propose to construct atop Highland’s five mountains.

In the months since Highland Wind LLC first submitted their permit application to Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission, I have read reams and reams of material pertaining to the topic of Industrial Wind. What I have learned has astounded me, and some of it comes from the developers’ own permit application. I learned of the serious negative impacts to our environment and its ecosystems. I read of high, low and ultra-low frequency noise and shadow flicker, and its effects on humans who live in the vicinity of wind turbines. I’ve spoken with people who live in the shadow of these energy plants and I’ve received first-hand accounts of what they are dealing with. I’ve talked with wildlife biologists who are deeply concerned about the effects of fragmentation of habitat, abandonment of homes and nesting sites, and deaths resulting from blade collisions. I’ve paid attention to economists, scientists and physicists who have nothing to gain and much to lose by speaking out… and they are saying: Mountaintop Industrial Wind in Maine DOES NOT DO what developers promise. It is unreliable, intermittent, is not proven to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels, and… it is very, very expensive. Expensive to electrical rate-payers, expensive to the tax-payers who are footing a large percentage of the cost of these projects through government subsidies-- and it will no doubt negatively impact our economy, which is driven in large part by tourist dollars and the real estate market.

I realize that as good reporters, you will go to Mr. King for his comments on the DVD, this press conference and our intention to stop his Highland project, so please let me say this. Mr. King has been known to give statements which are not grounded in facts. He has been quoted as saying that our only complaint is the visual impact of these turbines. That is not true. He knows that is not true, for I wrote him a personal letter stating our concerns.


As stewards of this earth, and as conscientious individuals, we are attempting to protect our natural resources and our quality of place and quality of life. Mr. King might trivialize our concerns about the effects of the noise, the shadow flicker and the lights. But he has also been quoted as saying that you “cannot hear a truck from more than a mile away”. In regards to the turbine noise, he has repeatedly said “a half-mile is about right. Hear them for miles? Never!” He trivializes the fact that the dwellings within a half mile of his proposed project are nothing but ‘summer camps’. He completely discounts those people who own them, and he has no idea what future plans the owners have for their unique properties. There are many standard lines which this developer uses to make light of our concerns, and I hope that you will take them with a grain of salt. He and his partner stand to make millions of dollars from this project, and they would like the public to discount us. I hope you will give our words credence. We are trying very hard to be factual. We want the people of Maine to know the truths regarding mountaintop industrial wind.

We in Maine ALREADY HAVE what millions of Americans crave—abundant and beautiful natural resources. Our mountains represent a way of life--and a way of making a living. It is unconscionable to expect us to sacrifice our natural resources to satisfy another region’s electrical needs. This DVD is one way in which we are attempting to educate the Maine people about the impacts of a misguided plan. It is our hope and our intention to protect these natural resources which stand at the gateway to the Bigelow Preserve and the Appalachian Trail.

Thank you for your time. We will be available after the DVD to answer any of your questions. And if we do not know the answers, we will do our very best to find honest, factual, truthful answers for you.

Thank you.


In addition to my statement, I am going to include the story written by the AP reporter, Dave Sharp. He couldn’t attend the press conference, but he read my hand-delivered statement—perhaps even watched the DVD—and called Jonathan on his cell phone before I’d even jigged my over-long truck out of the too-small space in the municipal lot. Mr. Sharp chose to write a different story. Something that had less to do with the Highland mountains and our group’s very real concerns about the negative impacts of a 48 turbine development on those pristine ridges. Please note the focus of the story… a story which was picked up by media outlets across the state, and even nationally.

Carter, King clash over wind power project
6/30/10
By The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine — A former Green Independent Party candidate for governor exchanged charges of greed and hypocrisy Wednesday with a former governor who’s promoting a 128-megawatt wind power project in Somerset County.

Building 48 wind turbines in Highland Plantation would require blasting of 1.6 million cubic yards of rock and dirt, decimate fragile alpine terrain and generate visual and noise pollution all while failing to reduce greenhouse emissions, said Jonathan Carter, director of the Forest Ecology Network.

Former independent Maine Gov. Angus King, one of the Highland Wind LLC business partners, said the project carries an environmental impact but that it’s more benign than oil, gas, coal or nuclear power. It would create enough clean energy for about 54,000 homes, or all the homes in Franklin, Piscataquis and Somerset counties.

King also took a jab at his former political foe in the 1994 gubernatorial race, saying the environmentally minded Carter was supportive of wind power until a project was proposed near his home.

Carter, who lives about 3.5 miles from the turbines, responded by calling King a “mountain-slayer and a profiteer.” He said he’s not against wind power, but he’s against large projects that destroy mountaintops: “Industrial mountaintop wind, wherever you put it, is a disaster.”

The war of words began with a news conference at Portland City Hall by the Friends of Highland Mountains, which has created a DVD outlining its opposition.

Carter described the construction of wind turbines on mountain ridges as “Maine’s version of mountaintop removal.” And he said there would be no reduction in greenhouse gases because carbon-emitting power plants would have to be kept running and on standby for times when the wind isn’t blowing.

Furthermore, he said the turbine towers with blinking lights would be built in the face of the Bigelow Preserve and could be seen by hikers on the Appalachian Trail.

“I’ll buy him a bus ticket to West Virginia, where they’re tearing mountains to the ground to feed our fossil fuel addiction,” King retorted. He said there would be a “1-to-1” reduction in greenhouse gases because existing plants would be throttled back whenever the turbines are in operation.

He said the remoteness of the site is part of its appeal. He said there are only two vacation homes a half-mile from the turbines and that other homes are at least a mile away, reducing the impact.

Maine is the leader in New England when it comes to wind power, with 432 megawatts of wind power either in operations or under construction. Large projects already in operation include TransCanada’s Kibby Mountain, First Wind’s Mars Hill, and First Wind’s Stetson I and Stetson II.

Central Maine Power is beginning a five-year upgrade of the power grid to make it more reliable and to increase capacity for future wind power projects.


As you can see, the AP reporter chose to focus on Jonathan and Angus; two men who were pitted against each other in the gubernatorial race of 1994. The two are old foes, and the reporter decided to exploit an ancient controversy rather than devote the majority of his coverage to our battle to save our mountains. To many, the fact that we received such broad coverage was a good thing, no matter what the focal point was of the story. To others, disappointment ruled the day. We'd had high hopes... hopes that thousands of Mainers would learn of our struggle against big money, influence and power. We hoped that they would hear about our concern over a financially wasteful plan which, if implemented, will cause serious damage to our environment, its ecosystems, our wildlife, and our people.

But we can't control the media nor can we dictate what they choose to report. What we can do-- what we WILL do-- is learn from our mistakes. We can and will also continue to take our message to the people of Maine, and we will speak of this issue armed with facts. Science and economics tell the story, no matter what sub-plots the news media puts forth for readers' consumption.

We were surprised today, and some were momentarily discouraged. But the Friends of the Highland Mountains is made up of some cool, tough, dedicated individuals who don't despair when we hit a bump in the road. Instead, we tighten our seatbelts, shift into low gear, and increase our power. We'll get where we need to go. It might take us a little longer to arrive, but we WILL save the mountains of Highland Plantation, Maine.

And by the way... Angus' statements sound good because he puts just enought truth in them to make them believable. But they can and will be factually refuted. He's coasted along on star power and some lingering popularity, but I think the people of this great state are waking up to the truth... and they WANT the truth. The WHOLE truth.

And NOTHING BUT the truth.

We can help them discover it.

www.highlandmts.org

http://www.windtaskforce.org/

http://www.windaction.org/

http://www.wind-watch.org/

http://windconcernsontario.wordpress.com/

http://www.aweo.org/windconsumption.html