A Whirlwind in Maine…

Citizens from around the state convened last Saturday at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport to hold a legislative summit. Individuals and citizens’ groups concerned about the industrial wind plan for Maine’s mountains and hilltops have submitted several pieces of legislation to be considered in the current Session, and we came together to combine our resources, share ideas and develop factual talking points to use when these bills are heard in Committee.

The event received some coverage by the press, but the real story was found in the responses to the summit by supporters of industrial wind. One gentleman, Jeremy Paine, executive director of the Maine Renewable Energy Association, was particularly vocal in his attempts to trivialize Mainers who oppose this expensive and unnecessary proposal for our state.

"Better organization by a vocal minority shouldn't be interpreted as growing public opposition…Their voices may be growing louder," he (Payne) said of opponents, "but their numbers aren't growing larger."

One wonders how Jeremy Payne can be so sure of himself and his facts. Surely he doesn't want readers to believe he is a party to the inner workings of his opposition? This quote sounds like it comes from a man who is very worried. He may believe that if he states his opinion often enough, citizens will believe it is the truth. That may have worked, once upon a time, but no longer. Citizens all across Maine are becoming informed about the FACTS regarding this industrial wind energy plan, and as they do, they are stepping forward to have a say. We were denied that right by the passage of the emergency bill, LD2283, the "expedited wind permitting law". Now that the realities regarding the negative impacts of grid-scale wind facilities are coming to light, common-sense folk are determined to restore fiscal and ethical responsibility to the process.

Another article about the summit quoted Mr. Payne as saying, “Every time a turbine is spinning, it is offsetting fossil fuels".

I would like to see proof of that. If an apparent expert like Jeremy Payne can give such a sweeping statement, surely he is prepared to back that up with the facts which support his claim.

I believe that less than 2% of Maine's electricity is generated from oil-burning power plants.

I believe that many new fossil-fuel generating plants are being built in the U.S. and around the world for no other reason than to take up the slack when the wind doesn't blow, or when it blows too fast and hard.

I believe that oftentimes, when wind-generated electricity flows into the grid and must be used, it is renewable, storable and reliable hydro-power which is off-set.

I believe that Maine's predominant use for oil is in home heating and transportation-- neither of which can currently be efficiently or economically replaced by electricity.

Mr. Payne's job is to promote industrial wind energy facilities-- regardless of the cost to Mainers or to the environment. Surely, if average Mainers have access to the FACTS about wind energy, Mr. Payne must already know the truth.

His livelihood depends upon Mainers buying his story. We're too smart for that, and we're growing impatient with the corporate interests which are making our energy policies.

Let’s let scientists and economics experts have a hand in it, for awhile. Then we'll see which way the wind blows.

Many Mainers are tired of being asked to tow the line and quietly sacrifice for an industry which benefits a few in the short term, rather than benefitting us all, for the duration. Wind was abandoned 100 years ago for good reason. Until the electricity it can produce can be stored, we should not even have to have this conversation.

Blown Away by the Big Wind Regatta

The Big Wind Regatta is now a thing of the past.

Last night, people from across Maine and New England joined together, attending a fund-raiser hosted by Nancy Gray of the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport. Six weeks of preparation had gone into the gala affair. I’d met twice with the owner and the management team at the Inn to plan the event. The Harraseeket is staffed by an amazing group of people. The owner, her daughter, the managers of operations and sales, the audio tech, the wait staff, the house-keeping crew, the chef… each one I interacted with was phenomenal. Polite, helpful… and yet, full of vim and vigor and cheer. I was and am terribly impressed!

We began the evening with registration and a social hour, during which time our guests could wander through the rooms wherein we had our silent and live auction items displayed. Mrs. Gray had a cash bar set up, and waiters roamed the rooms with trays laden with scrumptious-looking hors d’oeuvres. I know they were delicious, because I asked our guests, but I didn’t partake. Pre-show jitters and rich food are not a good combination. Lucky for me, I learned that fact early on.

As people strolled through the rooms and wrote down their bids for the silent auction items, they also bonded with other Maine citizens who are engaged in battles similar to the one we are waging. In attendance were people from many other activist groups intent on fighting the destruction of Maine’s mountains by industrial wind developers. There were people there representing Friends of the Boundary Mountains, Friends of Lincoln Lakes, Friends of Spruce Mountain, Mars Hill, Friends of Bigelow, Friends of Saddleback and the Citizens’ Task Force on Wind Power, as well as us; the Friends of the Highland Mountains. It was uplifting and encouraging to see so many brave and hard-working citizens who care about doing what is right. I dare say there wasn’t a single person there who wouldn’t prefer to spend his or her free time doing something other than fighting Big Wind. It just goes to show you… this state is populated by some wicked awesome folks!

At six thirty we moved en masse to the Casco Bay room, where an amazing dinner was served. Roast beef, salmon, roasted baby potatoes with garlic, fresh salads, asparagus… it looked divine! (Yes, I said “it looked…” Remember… food + my nervous stomach = disaster on stage. I could only look and smell, but not taste.) Mr. Grumbles said it was an excellent meal, though, and he wouldn’t say that if he didn’t mean it. He’s painfully truthful, that way.

During dinner, several speakers addressed the crowd of 170+ people. Jonathan Carter was emcee for the evening. He introduced Steve Thurston, one of the co-founders of the Citizen’s Task Force on Wind Power. He was followed by Bob Weingarten of the Friends of the Boundary Mountains, and then Dick Fecteau of the Friends of Bigelow gave a short Power Point Presentation showing the impact the Highland Development will have on the Bigelow Preserve. Lastly, our own chairman, Alan Michka, spoke to the guests and introduced our DVD, “Save the Mountains of Highland, Maine”.

I hope those good men who gave speeches will forgive me for not going into detail about what they said. I am positive that they were engaging and articulate, and that they dispensed wise words of advice. They may have even cracked a joke or two! But I simply have no recollection of what they said. I was in the dining room during most of the dinner, but I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I’d scurry over to my computer to make sure Dick’s Power Point Presentation was properly loaded. Back out to the foyer to check on the members who were handling the live and silent auction details. Over to the “reserved” table to sit for a minute, making sure my husband and Dave Small, my Designated Laugher, both loved me, still. Up to the doorway to ask that the lights be dimmed. Back to the lobby to answer the manager’s questions about when to serve dessert. Up, down, around… I am sorry to admit this, but I didn’t hear a thing those esteemed gentlemen said. What I do know is… they LOOKED really sharp!

After our video played, it was my turn. Early on in the planning stage of this event, Jonathan suggested that it would be a great idea if I stood up and did a short comedy sketch, and to my utter horror—I said “sure”. He’d been in my audience previously at a couple of fund-raisers I held; one to benefit the New Portland Community Library, and the other to raise money for Alzheimers of Maine and Androscoggin Home Healthcare. But cripes… I’m pretty sure he was drinking alcoholic beverages at those events, so how could he competently judge my laughter-inducing abilities? I agreed to try to come up with something for the Regatta, hoping against hope that our guests would make numerous trips to the bar before it was time for me to go on stage. It was my only hope.

I’m pleased to say: They did! There was a good-sized line in front of the patio bar before dinner, and the bar set up outside the dining room was equally well attended! I thought I just might survive the night, after all.

And I did. Heck, anyone can survive ten or fifteen minutes of sheer terror, right? So what if I called the chairman of the Forest Ecology Network—an organization 10,000 strong—a “cheap b@$*@*d”? What does it matter if I mentioned my cleavage to a large contingent of activists whom I hope will take me seriously? And really, who will remember that I made fun of a former governor of the state of Maine? I’m not going to mention which governor, for I am more circumspect when I am not performing on stage. Besides, Angus will forgive me, I know. Once you’ve discussed your virginity with a man, a certain bond is created…

Yes, I survived. And if nothing else, I saw Mrs. Gray laugh while I was spouting my foolishness. That made the whole effort worth it, and then some.

But man, was I hungry! Thirty-six hours without a bite, and as soon as I stepped down off the podium, the nervous tension fled and I was ravenous. Naturally, by that time, the food had been cleared away. Not even one of those decadent pieces of cheesecake could be found! It serves me right for agreeing to try to make an idiot of myself on purpose, rather than allowing nature to run its course… In due time, the same thing would have happened, anyway.

The evening concluded with a live auction of some wonderful products and services donated by generous people from across the state. As guests filed out of the dining room, my big buddy Dave was there to collect their bids and hand over their purchased items. And then… it was time to pack up and go home. Back to Lexington. Back to the country, and my quiet hillside home.

I count the evening a huge success. We had no idea how many people would attend the affair, and so it was a pleasant surprise when a table had to be added to a room which was set for 160 diners. I was delighted to see people from as far away as Mars Hill, at the top of Maine, and folks from Massachussetts, down beyond our southern border. My fellow Mountain Defenders came out in force, and we are more determined than ever to right some serious wrongs and to join together in order to collectively give our quiet voices some much-needed strength.

This IS America, even though sometimes it seems as if our country and its founding principles have slipped away from us. We have allowed a government which is too large and too powerful to take our rights away. We’ve been a bit lazy, I think. I know I have been. The problem is that those in authority who have been charged by the citizens of this state and this country to protect our natural resources, our wildlife, and our people, have dropped the ball. Hell, they’ve thrown it! The power to shape policy has been held by those with the most money and influence. But you see… mountaintop industrial wind is WRONG. The whole concept is flawed, and the developers and the administration KNOW that it is wrong. However, there are billions of dollars at stake and sadly, when that is the case, many people are oblivious to the realities which are staring them in the face. They can’t see the forest for the trees. And so, they cut them down and replace them with colossal industrial wind turbines...

The issues are many, huge, and varied. There are countless arguments as to why industrial wind should not be allowed on Maine’s mountains. Those “in charge” are well aware of those reasons, but they are blinded by greed. So now it is up to us—the proud NIMBYs of this state--to take a stand and show our government employees and the industry which influences them, what—exactly—they need to do. A good first step will be to enact a statewide moratorium on mountaintop industrial wind. Let’s do it before our mountains, our tourist economy and our heritage are damaged beyond repair. Before anymore of our fellow Mainers are driven from their homes, or our animals are forced to migrate to quieter regions. Before we allow the expenditure of billions of OUR tax dollars on an experiment which has already been proven to be a failure. Before it’s too late, we need to stand together and speak together and set the policies which will demonstrate common sense and common decency.

Yes, I was humbled at the outpouring of support I witnessed last night. I was overwhelmed by the frustration and anger which infused our guests. More than ever, though, I was encouraged. Sometimes when you take an unpopular stance and embrace it, you feel a little lonely. You feel like the child who’s warming the bench… or the fat kid who is always chosen last. Every Mountain Defender, ever Wind Warrior in last night’s crowd has sacrificed something in order to do what they feel is right. It felt good to not feel lonely.

I was in the company of greatness.

And I was hungry, too.

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Drawing: Windtoons Artist John Terry's "Vacationland"
Photos: Jean Marie and Marcia of the Harraseeket Inn-- What lovely and helpful women!
Dave Miller's bird prints
Jonathan Carter and Nancy Gray--our awesome hostess
One of the bars
The F.A.R.M. in Lexington Township
The Board of Directors of the Friends of the Highland Mountains: l-r, Dan Bell, Alan Michka, Karen Bessey Pease, Jonathan Carter, Greg Perkins. (Note the fashionable "X-it Lite" hat I am modeling...oh, brother....)

Poem Contest!

It's once again time for me to make a complete idiot of myself in front of friends and strangers, alike. And since I like to spread the love around, I am inviting readers of Gag to enter a short-running poem contest. I am the "comedic entertainment" at the Big Wind Regatta at the incredible (and way swankier than I'm used to!) Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, Maine. And I would like to treat one of my GAG readers and their guest to a night out on the town! Mrs. Gray, owner of the Inn, is the generous sponsor of this fund-raiser, and she is a hostess without equal. Enter, and maybe you can come down to the town that's home to the world-famous LL Bean and hang out with the classy folks! And ME!!

Just write a short (or not) four line poem using the words "wind", "blow(s)" and "gust" and put it in the comments section of this blog posting. I will read them all, and love them all, I promise! But I will have someone in my family draw the winner out of my droopy straw hat... so your poetic skills aren't on the line, here. It will be the luck of the draw!

The contest ends in six days, so hurry up and enter! And if you are "from away" (or if you're already planning to attend) and want to try your hand at winning this poetry contest... I'll make sure you get a prize sent to you in the mail. How about a "Lexington, Maine" t-shirt and an autographed copy of Grumble Bluff? (Surely, not everyone in Australia and Scotland and Tennessee and Florida and Arizona has already read my book? It makes a great gift, and Christmas is right around the corner!)

So... get your poetic juices flowing! I don't have much free time to promote this contest, so please tell your friends!

Below, for the fun of it and because he deserves a bit of recognition for his talent and generosity, I'm pasting in photos of the birch bark and bitter-sweet-framed mirror Mr. Grumbles has built to auction off at the event. Just because... (it was sheer hell living here through the building of this! A perfectionist such as Mr. Grumbles is NEVER happy with what he creates! Much storming, stomping and grumbling went on. Just saying.... hehehe.)

All right... let me see a poem or two!

xx
Kazza

The finished product...

Top corner before the glass...

Curly little pieces of bitter-sweet...

The bottom arch with bitter-sweet... Pretty nifty, huh?

Windtoons...An Artist's Contribution to a Cause

Meet John Terry, a retired art teacher from New Jersey and part-time resident of West Virginia. John is the artist behind the website 'windtoons.com' and his depictions of life in the shadow of industrial wind are stark reminders of what the future might hold.

I was contacted by a reader of GAG a couple of months ago, and this gentleman pointed me in the direction of the Windtoons website. I meandered over and liked what I saw. Since that day, I have showcased different Windtoons on Grumbles and Grins, with the website's permission.

The Friends of the Highland Mountains, thanks to the generous benevolence of Nancy Gray, owner of the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, are holding a benefit supper in an effort to raise money to fight the development of Highland's mountains. One of the ways in which we will do this will be to hold an auction of donated items and services on the evening of the event.

Sitting here at my desk the other day, I wracked my brain; trying to think of unique items that might garner good bids. I wanted something windy; after all, that is the theme of the Big Wind Regatta. And all of a sudden, I had a thought! (That happens so rarely that I thought I ought to point it out...)

I contacted the Windtoons website, not having any idea who was the talent behind the industrial wind turbine drawings. I made my plea to the anonymous artist. Would he or she print off one of the cartoons, autograph it, and send it to me to be framed and auctioned off? I was contacted by John Terry the very next day.

And the rest-- well, it's soon to be history!

Mr John Terry not only generously agreed to donate a Windtoon to our cause, but he volunteered to create an ORIGINAL, one apropos to our particular fight here in the western mountains of Maine! And then... oh, and then... he drew us TWO! Actually, three, if you count the color and the black and white versions of the vacationland Windtoon! And not only has he drawn, signed and donated them; but he's matted and framed them, too.

Holy smokes! What a man!

I've said it before. I am constantly humbled by the goodness and generosity of the people who have come together to teach about and decry the folly of industrial wind on our mountaintops. Rarely have I been so impressed by a grassroots movement. These people come from all walks of life, all political persuasions, all corners of America. They are polite. They work to spread facts, and not propaganda. They fight honorably, and they make me proud to be counted among them.

With good people like these, I believe we will prevail in making sure this state stays: "Maine-- the way life SHOULD be!"

Thank you, John. You're a Wind Warrior, for sure.

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.