I am guilty of neglecting Grumbles and Grins in the last few days. Life has a way of inserting itself into my schedule with nary a phone call to warn me of its imminent arrival. Of a morning, I awake with a simple list of tasks which I’m sure, with prudent planning, I will be able to accomplish. Answer my morning emails. Send the kids off to school, go to work. Then, it’s home in the early afternoon for some housework; wash up the dishes, take out the trash, throw some clothes into the washing machine and sweep up the floor. After these chores I most often have an hour or so of quiet writing time, unless the afternoon’s emails require a great deal of my attention. The kids arrive home on the bus, snacks are doled out, supper is pondered and then prepared. And then, while the household quiets down as Mr. Grumbles and the teens busy themselves with their own chores or pleasures, I sit down here at my computer.
And I write.
Sometimes I compose a poem, or write an ‘Observations’ column. I occasionally write an op-ed piece, or a chatty letter. Sometimes I work on a novel or a short story or a commentary. Often, I write a blog entry for GAG.
This one will be short, as I’ve another in mind to post for tomorrow. After all, the Christmas season is upon us, and I want to celebrate it with you and share my virtual home with my friends. Therefore, this entry will be brief. That is my plan, anyway, and my hope. But you know me… I'm hopeless!
For those of you who are regular readers of my dribble here on GAG, you will already know that I am concerned with the looming threat of huge industrial wind turbine developments being built in the rural and unspoiled areas of this great state of Maine. You’ve already concluded, perhaps, that there are many questions regarding these wind ‘farms’ which have not been answered, and which need to be, before we citizens are comfortable with such a large-scale encroachment on our wild regions.
I am a free thinker. I don’t toe the line unless that line is clearly drawn and the destination at its end is one filled with promise and hope and good common sense. I want facts! Then–and ONLY then–will I use my right as an American and a Mainer to decide if these elementally transforming developments with their long-lasting consequences are worthy of my approval.
And I expect, in the future, to be ASKED, first.
Listed here are some informative links on the subject of wind turbine developments. As I obtain more, I may add to the list. I urge my readers and followers to make use of this information. I urge you to become educated, and to form an opinion, and to make your voices heard. If we do not begin to make our desires known, I fear it will soon be too late to do so. Say what you want to say, and what your heart and conscience tell you to. But please…
Say something!
http://www.windtaskforce.org/ Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power
http://www.windaction.org/ Good clearinghouse of info on wind turbine news
http://www.wind-watch.org/ Very similar to the above
http://windconcernsontario.wordpress.com This is a very good, comprehensive website inspired by numerous problems experienced in Canada with wind turbine siting.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8060969.stm Website about farm animals dying due to wind turbine development
www.friendsoflincolnlakes.org
Information on the Stetson (Maine) project, as well as photgraphs.
http://www.slideshare.net/JohnDroz/energy-presentationkey-presentation Extensive analysis of the problems of industrial wind turbines
http://www.vawind.org/Assets/Docs/Very_Shaky_Environmental_Claims.pdf The negative impacts to forest habitat per megawatt can be greater with industril turbines than with conventional plants
www.highlandmts.org Information on the Highland Wind LLC proposed development for Somerset County, Maine atop the peaks of Burnt, Briggs, Witham, Stewart and Bald.
http://www.aweo.org/ProblemWithWind.html This is a long article, but has valuable information on the findings of other countries' wind energy experiments, and more 'links inside the link', too.
http://www.aswag.org.uk/aswag.html
This is a website similar to that of the Friends of the Highland Mountains. My good friend Jack, another contributor to GAG, is a Scotsman, and his homeland is facing similar challenges. This site will allow you to see what other community members on the other side of the Atlantic are doing about this same issue.
http://www.caithnesswindfarms.co.uk/accidents.pdf This website gives data regarding wind turbine accidents in the UK
Wind turbine size graphic courtesy of Dave at WCRE.
ReplyDeleteThanks, friend.
OK here goes, being a business owner in Stratton, I should either agree with the wind projects or keep my mouth shut (they are bringing so much money into the area) I guess the one guy that came in for dinner every night should be worth all that I am lossing. I have lost the most beautiful place in the state of Maine. I have numerous pictures of the Kibby Mountians, they were where I went when life got me down. I can now see huge power lines from every where in town. Due to the new gigantic transfer station, the area has lost power more than before. Area motels that were told they would be booked for the summer sat empty. So like the bio-mass in Stratton, Poland Spring in Kingfield, Trans-Canada has also pulled the wool oiver locals eyes. They throw around large sums on money to the local government to get things passed then just leave us hanging. It makes me soooo happy to sit in the dark with no power and knowing that Borelex out back is producing enough power to power Lewiston and then the powerlines coming down from "God's country" have so much more power and we, the little people that made it all possible for them have no power.
ReplyDeleteOK we do need clean power but not at our expense.
Steph, thanks so much for having the courage to speak! The MONEY is, unfortunately, the hardest thing to battle. We rural folks struggle every day to pay our bills. We often work at hard jobs that pay less than they would in other areas, simply so that we can have the privilege of living in this beautiful, unspoiled land. And when developers come in and talk of reduced taxes, and booming business from construction workers, and all the rest, it is amost impossible to convince ourselves that the development won't be a GOOD thing! We deserve a break, right? Of course we do! And we are all human beings struggling to survive.
ReplyDeleteIf I was HONESTLY convinced that wind turbine developments were financially feasible; if I believed that they were as 'green' as they are touted as being; if I believed that their presence did not affect the health and well-being of humans AND the animals who can't speak up; if I truly thought Americans would get the lion's share of the jobs and the incomes from the manufacturing of the turbines; if I thought our property values wouldn't be negatively affected; if I believed that the tourists who make up such a huge portion of our economy would still find Maine to be the perfect destination spot... if I honestly thought this was the BEST use of OUR tax money (which is where those subsidies come from that are being used to fund these developments!) then I would resign myself to the presence of massive wind turbines on our mountains.
But, I do NOT believe in any of that. And I sincerely hope that residents of Maine will take the time to learn the FACTS before letting themselves be railroaded into something that is irreversible and has long-term consequences.
And, in my own humble opinion, the REAL issue is this: What has happened to the WILL OF THE PEOPLE? LD#2283 has basically stripped us, and LURC, of many of our abilities to have any kind of real and valuable input into such an important issue. Developers helped to write that expedited permitting law. The people of Maine were a road-block, and so... we were removed to pave the way for fast-tracking the placement of these industrial turbines. That simply seems unconscionable to me. We should have the right to decide issues as important as this one. This is OUR home. WE live here. We are also entrusted with protecting the plants and animals in these hills and valleys. I resent the fact that my voice and my vote have lost their power.
As an American citizen and a proud Mainer, I want that power back.