Stossel on Cape Wind
First off, let me say that I am an unabashed John Stossel fanboi. I've told Bonnie that if he ever runs for office that I'll campaign for him, and she thinks I have a little crush on him too. Anyway, Stossel's libertarian views and ability to cut through bullshit like a hot knife through butter earn him high marks in my book.
Recently he took opponents of a proposed wind farm in Nantucket Sound to task, and while I don't agree with everything he said, I think he's on the right track.
His point is that many of the opponents of the proposed wind farm are basically adopting a NIMBY (not in my backyard) approach to the issue -- sure, they're all for renewable energy, they love wind farms -- as long as they're not where *they* can see them.
Who are these opponents, Stossel asks? Among others, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who doesn't want such a facility "where his family might see it from their elegant compound in Hyannis Port." And Vineyarder Walter Cronkite, who "likes to sail on Nantucket Sound." The Cape has long been a playground for wealthy weekenders and retirees -- that's no secret to anyone who lives here or has been here often enough. Statistics show that 50 percent of the *second* homes owned in Massachusetts are on Cape Cod, as well. So it's not just the rich and famous that are barking. It's well-heeled soft-bellied upper middle class folks from Lexington and Concord that are up in arms too.
Stossel dismisses arguments that the turbines will be a hazard for boats, noting that they'll be 1,800 - 2,700 feet away from each other. If you look at the Cape Wind Web site, you'll find that the proposed site occupies Horseshoe Shoal, in a spot that's outside of the shoreline boundary of the Cape and Islands, off ferry routes, and clear of shipping channels too.
My point here is that three miles offshore is unlikely to affect the vast majority of weekend sailors, jet-skiers and other recreational boaters, many of whom stay close to shore. It might put a crimp in some recreational fishermen's plans, admittedly.
And unless they're incapacitated to the point of not being able to operate their vehicles safely to begin with, boaters should be able to dodge the turbines pretty easily. Frankly, I think it might be pretty cool to take a sailing craft through the turbine field like a skier through a slalom course, but that's just me.
There may be some environmental impact from the farm, and if that's the case, and it'll cause irrevocable damage, then let's forget about it. But I'd much rather see something like this used to generate power for three-quarters of Cape Cod than electrical plants which use barges laden with oil that have a penchant for causing millions of dollars' worth of damage in Buzzard's Bay every time they split open.
I'm also intrigued by the study that suggested that the wind farm might help ease electricity costs and free up natural gas resources. As someone who already pays a hefty amount to power and heat his house, I would welcome any savings in this area.
Comments
Cronkite and the other NIMBYs are right - it'll be a _horrific_ eyesore -
http://www.capewind.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=9&page=1
but, hey, I'll take their depreciated waterfront property off their hands for, oh, 200K any day.
Posted by: CapeCoder | August 3, 2003 06:33 PM