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.
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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’.

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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.

Kill a Baby, but Build an Orphanage

Kill a baby, but build an orphanage…

In the murky world of Industrial Wind permitting, it’s referred to as “mitigation”.

At forty-six, you’d think I would have “seen it all”. That I would be cynical, hardened, and wiser than I am. But I’m not. I’m still naïve; still believe in the innate goodness of all mankind... still believe that there are some things which money can’t buy. Yep, I’m naïve…

But I’m growing out of it fast.

Today, to show support for the citizens opposing the development of another of Maine's beautiful and rugged mountains, I attended the Land Use Regulation Commission’s technical hearing for the Sisk Mountain/Trans-Canada proposal. Three environmentally-minded agencies were opposing a part of the development… not all of it, but a section. Each representative stated their agency’s reasons for opposing the placement of 400' tall turbines on the south end of Sisk Mountain; one of the Boundary Mountains between Maine and Canada, along the historic Arnold Trail. One wanted to protect a rare tree; another, a rare bird; and the third… the wilderness experience in a remote-feeling outpost. After their testimony, Trans-Canada’s razor-sharp attorneys cross-examined them. These same three entities had endorsed the Kibby Mountain project just a few miles away, and the wind developer’s lawyers quoted their testimony given at those hearings back to them.

They made them look like fools.

You know what, though? Those red cheeks and shuffling feet were well deserved. These agencies are each charged with protecting a segment of Maine’s natural resources. In my opinion, they shouldn’t have endorsed the Kibby Project in the first place. They should have been taken to task, should have had their words thrown back at them! And when the Trans-Canada fire got a little too hot, what happened?

Oh, man. I was mad enough to spit nails...

One expert attempted to clarify his agency’s position on the Kibby project. He stated that they never actually ENDORSED the wind turbine development that is being built there… they simply withdrew their opposition because Trans-Canada had enabled them to purchase a large parcel of land elsewhere to put into a conservation easement. They had received “mitigation”, and so they withdrew their opposition. And then that gentleman--that expert--went one step further. He stated that if Trans-Canada wished to offer similar “mitigation” for the Sisk proposal…

Oh, hell.

Before the cross-examination was over, another of the three agencies admitted to the same thing… that they had sacrificed that which they are duty-bound to protect in exchange for something else of value. That the natural resources of Kibby had been important, but not so important that they couldn’t be forfeited if that agency received something bigger and better. It was justified, you see…

It was all for the greater good.

That saddest part of this whole thing? Our government endorses this practice. After all, “mitigation” is written into that misguided Expedited Permitting Law, LD 2283. I believe our administration may even encourage it, since if the opposing parties can reach a “meeting of the minds”, then the desired development is approved that much quicker, LURC is saved the trouble of having to agonize over a decision, and our governor gets closer to reaching his goal of 2,700 megawatts of land-based wind power by 2020.

Mitigation. Kill a baby, but build an orphanage. I guess that makes it all okay.

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Top photo is of the Boundary Mountains, Maine

Big Wind Regatta at the Harraseeket Inn, Freeport, Maine

This posting to GAG is by way of an announcement, I suppose. I made the acquaintance of the most wonderful of Maine ladies. Nancy Gray, owner of the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, is generously hosting a fund-raiser for the Friends of the Highland Mountains.

A gala event is being held at the Inn on June 5th, and Mrs. Gray is not only providing the beautiful conference room, but she is serving a sumptuous buffet meal, too. For a small, $10.00 donation, guests can look forward to hors d’ouevres and a cash bar at 5:30, followed by the meal. There will be several brief speakers during supper, and then we will have the premiere showing of the DVD, ‘Save the Mountains of Highland, Maine’. After this awesome video, our guests will be entertained by a bit of Big Wind.

Yeah, that’s me. I’ll be performing a little ‘stand-up comedy’. Oh, Lord. Here we go again! How do I get myself into these things???

See, there’s a reason why I’ll put myself through this agony yet again. When I’ve concluded the entertainment portion of the evening, we will wrap things up by auctioning off some awesome items donated by generous people from all corners of this state, and even a few friends ‘from away’. I am humbled by the generosity of so many people who are dedicated to preserving the wildlife, ecology, environment and quality of life in these western mountains of Maine. And it’s a proven fact: people tend to spend more money when they are happy. Therefore, I will make a complete and total ass of myself beforehand.

It’s all for a good cause. Really. That’s what my friends keep telling me.

Sigh…

Those who care to spend the night in this elegant Inn can also take advantage of the special rates Mrs. Gray is giving to our friends. Rooms, each normally rated at $235.00 on a Saturday night, can be reserved for a mere $95.00, and that price includes a full, hot buffet breakfast and afternoon tea. Check-in is at 3:00 p.m. and check-out at 11:00 a.m. If you’d like to reserve a room from this block that is being set aside for us, please do so before May 10th, and reserve under the name ‘Turbine Wind Power’.

Wow. The awesome generosity of the people of Maine humbles me every time. Wow.

Come down to Freeport. Eat, drink, learn some facts about industrial wind, and see me have some fun at my own expense… and maybe at the expense of the Windustry.

Big Wind... can I say that it blows? Come find out if I dare. June 5, 2010, 5:30, at the Harraseeket Inn, 162 Main Street, Freeport, Maine 04032. (To make reservations, please call (207) 865-9377) Hope to see you there.


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P.S. Please tune into Maine Outdoors, the North Woods Sporting Journal's live, interactive radio show on Sunday night, 4/25, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. for a discussion about mountaintop industrial wind and it's impacts on the pristine mountains of Maine. I will be the guest of host V. Paul Reynolds, and I encourage you to listen and call in. This is a wonderful opportunity to spread the facts about Big Wind to the people of Maine. WVOM-FM, 103.9 and WQVM-FM 101.3.

NIMBY--and Damned Proud of It!

When I decided to enter the campaign to save Maine’s ancient and iconic mountains from development, I had a huge dread. That dread was the fear of being seen as a ‘Nimby’ (Not in my backyard). I didn’t want to be perceived as someone who was not interested in current events unless they directly affected me. I saw the acronym ‘Nimby’ as a form of slur… and no one likes to be insulted.

Several months have passed since I entered the fray. My education has been equivalent to the school of hard knocks. Trial by wind, per se. I knew nothing about how to mount a battle to change the policy of a government and administration which I strongly disagreed with. I had no idea how to work to defeat a proposal designed by a wealthy industry and supported by people in positions of power. In fact, I’m still learning. Every single day I make a mistake. Most often, I learn from it, thankfully. But occasionally, I repeat it.

Occasionally, I repeat it.

As I researched the phenomenon of mountaintop industrial wind, I discovered many surprising facts. I began this process with an instinctual aversion to the plan to develop our wild peaks. My instincts rarely lead me astray, if ever. But I was lacking a lot of the details about the plan to place wind turbines along more than 300 miles of pristine summits. All I knew was that it couldn’t be a good thing; that the proposal that was being thrust upon us–one we were not consulted about and about which we have no control–did not seem to be a reasonable one. There were too many obvious ‘down’ sides.

By now, I’ve established what many of those negative impacts will be. I’ve also come to the conclusion that a Nimby is exactly what I want to be.

We human beings have a lot on our plates. We have families to raise, jobs to go to, homes to build and buy and improve and maintain. We have to pay for those homes, and those kids, and for the vehicles to get us to those jobs which pay those bills. We have parents and siblings and other relatives who need us. We have friends to lend a helping hand to. We have schools to support and a civic duty to our town. Life is busy and–more often than not–life is a struggle.

We simply cannot devote ourselves to every battle that needs fighting. We do not have the capacity to throw ourselves into the mix every time a task needs doing or a wrong needs righting. What we do, most often, is depend on others with the same values and common sense to take up their swords and defend their own territories, their own homes, their own families and ways of life. That’s what ‘home rule’ is. That’s one of the most fundamental precepts–not only of America as a country, but more elementally, it’s instinctual in almost all living creatures. We defend our turf, or die trying.

Whether human or wild, the animal kingdom is made up of communities. The primary and most significant of these is the family; parents and children first, and then it extends outward to grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. Next in importance is our neighborhood and then the larger village which these neighborhoods combine to create; those people upon whom we depend, but to a lesser degree than we rely on our kin. When this country was founded, America’s strength rested in the small communities scattered across this vast and wild land. Men who provided for and took care of their families were called to action to defend from home the larger community; the rest of these colonies which would later become the United States of America. Our Minutemen and militias defended their home turf successfully and defeated a larger, more organized and better funded campaign.

I think that is the heart of the matter. Yes, I care about what happens across the country and around the world. But I simply cannot make every battle a cause that I must wholeheartedly throw myself into. None of us would survive if we took on every single struggle that we believed in. Yes, we try to do our part to help when issues of importance are made known to us. But we have to keep something in reserve. We have to save ourselves for the conflicts that affect us directly, because we know that our distant neighbors will only be able to aid us on the periphery, just as we do when they need our support.

So, no. I no longer have an aversion to the title ‘Nimby’. Nimby is synonymous with home rule and home defense, and that is something in which to take the utmost pride. I am a Nimby, and damned proud of it! And if my family and my friends and my neighbors are successful in protecting our home front, then we will set the standard for other Nimbys… our fellow Americans who are doing the same. We will be helping other Americans who have the courage to stand up and say ‘Not in my backyard!’

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Top photo from Peaked Hill, Lexington Township, Maine, copyright by John and Joan Hassam
Bottom photo taken from Bigelow Mountain by Franklin Sargent, Highland Plantation, Maine

More Wind from The F.A.R.M.

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