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Can Cape Wind save your ocean view?

Can Cape Wind save your ocean view?

barnet-600_600
  This is a home on Nantucket which is about to fall into the sea due to beach erosion from global warming.

After filling our tanks with liquid gold we can drive around on this beautiful sandy peninsula. Or, needing a mini-holiday, we can travel by plane or ferry to visit our magnificent nearby islands.  And all along the scenic roads we travel we see real estate signs with hefty price tags because there is a "water view."

If one thinks that to be a sound reason for selecting a property that is to become a family treasure into the future, perhaps one needs to do some research on climate change.

"...it mystifies me that the strongest opposition to Cape Wind is comprised of those very ocean viewers who are seemingly heedless of their own future."

At present our air contains 385 ppm (parts per million) of CO2, and we are increasing that by 2 ppm annually.  At 350 ppm polar and glacial ice melt is beyond the tipping point. NASA climate scientist James Hansen says sea level rise of 20 feet in this century can't be ruled out unless we get below 350 ppm pronto!

Therefore it mystifies me that the strongest opposition to Cape Wind is comprised of those very ocean viewers who are seemingly heedless of their own future. Cape Wind is far and away our best local effort to get that CO2 level down to a non-threatening level so our shorelines will be more stable.

I've seen the view of a wind farm 7 miles offshore in Denmark. 

On the first attempt it was invisible due to normal ocean haze. The second attempt worked, and the turbines looked like toothpicks shorter than your thumbnail, and faint at that.

So which is preferable, that minimal change in the view, or inundating a lot of this gorgeous part of the world where we live?

Richard C. Bartlett
Cotuit, MA

33 comments
Blog posts and comments are entirely the thoughts and ideas of the people who write them and in no way represent the views of CapeCodToday.com, eCape, Inc., or its employees or owners.

10/23/08 @ 7:55 am
wavemaker [Member] writes:
Oh Richard, but that is where he sails!
10/23/08 @ 9:27 am
neil good [Member] writes:
Richard,

ASAP, google "Global Sea Level: 1950-2000"

...where you will find....

"In spite of the fact that the most significant segment of the historical increase in the air's CO2 concentration took place over the last half of the 20th century, and the climate-alarmist claim that the global warming of the latter half of this period was unprecedented over the past two millennia, there was no discernable increase in the rate of sea level rise over either of these periods or even the entire 20th century. These observations pretty much prove that either the climate alarmists' claim of unprecedented global warming is bogus or that their claim about such a warming greatly accelerating sea level rise is false or that both of these claims are wrong."
10/23/08 @ 10:45 am
bft [Member] writes:
Neil, I agree about the Global warming alarmist. No one can prove that this is not the natural cooling and warming of the Earth. Regardless, Capewind in not about global warming, Capewind is about Profit for a private developer, while stealing a public resource. It is very simple! Capewind can talk till their blue in the face about how environmental friendly their company is, But it is just a energy company marketing their product like any other for profit business. They will say whatever will help them generate Profit, and the only thing that matters is Greed.
10/23/08 @ 11:23 am
excaper [Member] writes:
Agree bft and neil good. Mr. Bartlett makes me laugh. Erosion from Global Warming? He has got to be kidding. Speaking of Denmark, their CO2 emission rate has gone up, way up, not down. Shall we attribute this to their wind farms? :)
10/23/08 @ 11:34 am
bipr [Member] writes:
As I tell the kids, Google is not a source... it is a search engine. This brief excerpt has no context. A much more detailed analysis, reflecting the work of leading scientists from all over the world, would be the 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The summary for policymakers is here: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_spm.pdf. Not every factor has complete agreement, but the report outlines the evidence and levels of confidence in conclusions.
10/23/08 @ 1:02 pm
docepac [Member] writes:
bipr,

In 2001 those scientists [or maybe only the policymakers?] on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported-

“No significant acceleration in the rate of sea level rise during the 20th century has been detected.”
10/23/08 @ 1:57 pm
CC Rockhopper [Member] writes:
Neil, bft, excaper, right on,, global warming if a farce, a political play, and a enviormental extremist ploy. Most scientific meteorologists can not agree on this and the ones the support it are even split. OH well
10/23/08 @ 1:58 pm
pokerstar [Member] writes:
LOL. And the earth is flat and that gravity crap is nonsense, too.
10/23/08 @ 2:24 pm
Buzz [Member] writes:
pokerstar,

I think they proved the earth is not flat....I'll double check. Gravity? I did hit a golf ball that never came down.

But, how about Mars?

Scientists from Nasa say that Mars has warmed by about 0.5C since the 1970s. This is similar to the warming experienced on Earth over approximately the same period. Since there is no known life on Mars it suggests rapid changes in planetary climates could be natural phenomena.


Hmmmmmm, very interesting. I'm going to cut my lawn until I hear otherwise.
10/23/08 @ 3:29 pm
breeze [Member] writes:
There are "experts" funded by big oil and dirty coal who are in denial, disagreeing with nearly 100% of the scientific community who agree with James Hansen of NASA. Even our intellectually impaired president finally understands that we must fend off man-made global warming
10/23/08 @ 4:40 pm
pokerstar [Member] writes:
I like you, breeze. :-)
10/23/08 @ 4:48 pm
bft [Member] writes:
31,072 American scientists have signed this petition,
including 9,021 with PhDs.

http://www.petitionproject.org/index.html

sounds like more than just a few experts funded by big oil are in agreement that global warming is a farce.
10/23/08 @ 5:06 pm
sparky [Member] writes:
Folks,

Pick any one of the following:

- global warming/weirding
- fossil fuel prices going up
- fossil fuel burning pumping all kinds of crap into the air.

You only need believe strongly in any one of these three to support clean energy sources.
10/23/08 @ 5:22 pm
maverick [Member] writes:
sparky..."Pick any one of the following:

- global warming/weirding
- fossil fuel prices going up
- fossil fuel burning pumping all kinds of crap into the air."

Speaking of crap. Are you suggesting that Cape Wind will affect any of the above?

Do me a favor. Walk to work in the AM. Shut your home power off while at work.

Do you fertilize your lawn? Do you cut your lawn with a gas powered mower?

You are a joke.
10/23/08 @ 6:02 pm
excaper [Member] writes:
sparky. Cape Wind would have no effect on any of the above.
10/23/08 @ 6:07 pm
smahkcep [Visitor] writes:
The question in my mind is...

There is no doubt that the glaciers are melting at an alarming rate...

Where is all this water going?

P.s. Psssst mav... Why yes CAPE WIND will -as confirmed by many scientists & academics- significantly reduce the amount of pollutants dumped into the atmosphere in Southeastern MA...

That is a FACT...

Jack!

(No joke)
10/23/08 @ 6:13 pm
possee [Member] writes:
My proposal is move inland on higher ground!!!!

This global warming crap is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on modern man..

Only the perpetrators are reaping countless millions on the sheep following this hoax...

Keep crying about it..where's the rise in sea levels?
omg..you must've watched that hollywood movie and are in fear since then..

What a friggin joke...
10/23/08 @ 6:16 pm
maverick [Member] writes:
Peck...Ted and I will have a scotch and water. I like 50/50, Ted just wants a splash. Blame me for "where is all the water going"

"the atmosphere in Southeastern MA." Do we control the global environment? I thought we were a pee hole in the snow?
10/23/08 @ 6:21 pm
Peter Kenney [Member] writes:
Two things to consider about the picture that leads this piece:

1. The house shown is threatened by erosion, yes. But caused by global warming? NO! Cape Cod and both islands have seen their coastlines come and go for centuries...long before there were toxic emissions other than wood smoke from our chimneys. In fact, if it were not for global warming we would still be locked in the Ice Age. Remember the Ice Age, people? Blaming all erosion on global warming is just plain stupid and wrong.

2. One would think that CCTODAY would applaud whatever destroys any seaside 'mcmansions'. After all, rich people are evil...unless they want to build offshore wind farms. What do you suppose is the carbon footprint of five story 200 year old brick row house on beacon Hill?

Gee, I wonder if that's the house Jim Gordon rents when he vacations on Nantucket. The rental house he prefers to the fictitious he owns in South Yarmouth, "...two blocks from the Bass River."*

*Verbatim excerpt from the Harvard Business School case, Cape Wind, written by Professor Richard H. K. Vietor, 2008.
10/23/08 @ 6:40 pm
excaper [Member] writes:
LOL Peter. Well said. This LTE is nonsense from start to finish.
10/23/08 @ 6:44 pm
possee [Member] writes:
Peter.
The shame is all these homes are threatening extinction cause of white conservative Bush supporters..
These homes will be spared by mother nature if they are liberal democrats as mother nature only spares those who are in favor of her...
10/23/08 @ 7:33 pm
smahkcep [Visitor] writes:
Thought you were a rummie mav?...

Or was it Solon / me?

I fergit.

We are a pee hole...

Lots of holes make one big *ss hole - ya know?
10/23/08 @ 8:45 pm
nonesuch [Member] writes:
want answers? read and study:

realclimate dot org

10/23/08 @ 9:03 pm
sparky [Member] writes:
Answers to Mav's Qs.

> Speaking of crap. Are you suggesting that Cape Wind will affect any of the above?

Cape wind and similar...absolutely.

> Do me a favor. Walk to work in the AM. Shut your home power off while at work.

Just did a complete appliance eval, replaced a couple hogs, emptied and shut off the second fridge.

> Do you fertilize your lawn? Do you cut your lawn with a gas powered mower?

Yes, and yes ... looking for a way out of that.

Also just had National Grid out for audit, will be dropping several K on insulation and high efficiency heating system.

> You are a joke.

Glad you are entertained.

Anyone thinking that the US energy situation is not going to change significantly over the next decades is deluding themselves.

More nukes, solar, wind, geothermal, efficiency improvements, second gen biofuels...its all got to happen.
10/23/08 @ 9:21 pm
sparky [Member] writes:
BTW...claiming the house is falling in the ocean due to GW...that is a stretch.
10/23/08 @ 9:22 pm
neil good [Member] writes:
[From Jim Peden-]

"Quoting RealClimate.org as a reliable source of information on climate science is like quoting Disneyland.com for reliable information on mouse behavior."

"Real Climate" is a staged and contracted production, which wasn't created by "scientists", it was actually created by a company which specializes in spreading environmental junk science on behalf of numerous clients who stand to financially benefit from scare tactics through environmental fear mongering...

"There you will find the word "model" used a million times, for the entire basis of the Global Warming Hoax is based on computer modeling (not climate science ) which has thus far failed to predict anything accurately since day one."

"Perhaps the best summary of "Real Climate" was given by MIT's Dr. Richard Lindzen, who said,-

"This website appears to constitute a support center for global warming believers, wherein any criticism of global warming is given an answer that, however implausible, is then repeated by the reassured believers."
10/24/08 @ 10:01 am
bipr [Member] writes:
global warming "believers"? Even W. - finally - acknowledges it's happening now. If you want to learn more about climate change's impact on your own backyard, stop by Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve: http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/2008/07/15/environmental-lessons-on-south-cape-beac?blog=183.
Barrier beaches are the first to go. Just look at the impact of Hurricane Katrina.

Oh yeah, I forgot: It's the pointy-headed scientists getting rich off of government grants who are perpetrating this hoax. Not the right-minded folks with a vested interest in the fossil-fuel industry.
10/24/08 @ 10:20 am
neil good [Member] writes:
Can the "believers" produce any solid evidence to prove sea level has been rising abruptly anywhere around the globe? No they can't. Barrier beach erosion is 100% natural, just like "climate change".

Search online for Lorne Gunter's October 20th article titled- "Thirty Years of Warmer Temperatures go Poof"

"...the chart below... clearly shows that in the past four years -- the period corresponding to reduced solar activity -- all of the rise in global temperatures since 1979 has disappeared. It may be that more global warming doubters are surfacing because there just isn't any global warming."
10/24/08 @ 10:56 am
Buzz [Member] writes:
bipr,

From science daily: "astronomers and climatologists has found a striking correlation between holes in the outermost layer of the sun--or the corona--and the globally averaged temperature of the Earth. "What I am saying is the data do not unambiguously support the contention that CO2 increases are the dominant cause of climate variability,"
10/24/08 @ 8:56 pm
Monponsett [Member] writes:
I almost bought a house in Manomet for S40K.. yes, forty thousand. 4 bedrooms, hardwood floors, giant stone fireplace, farmer's porch, lovely sea views... and 7 feet of flat grass from a 150 foot vertical drop to the sea. I almost bought it anyway... have that Hebe lawyer of mine write up a creative waiver and just rent the f*cker.
10/25/08 @ 12:00 pm
barb-g [Member] writes:
The houses are not falling into the ocean due to climate change.... they were built too close to an existing bluff, and then they introduced manicured lawns and in-ground sprinkler systems! Erosion on an island is inevitable, and in this case, guaranteed.
10/25/08 @ 3:18 pm
maverick [Member] writes:
editor...your caption for the pic "This is a home on Nantucket which is about to fall into the sea due to beach erosion from global warming."

I have fished offshore of this home for the last twenty years. And have watched a little more of the bluff go every year.

And the twenty years before that I fished off the Southeast Light at Block Island. And I watched a little of that wash away every year. They had to move the lighthouse due to erosion.

For you to suggest global warming as the cause is totally irresponsible. It has been documented that these islands have been eroding for hundreds of years.

Long before the combustion engine. Fossil fuel burning. Or any other crap you would like to put on YOUR site.
11/24/08 @ 5:41 pm
maverick [Member] writes:
Good Folks...I know this crap get's boring. But the truth is worth an honest look.

One of the "supposed" benefits to Cape Wind is a reduction in global warming. Science has proved we are moving in a different direction earth wise.

For the truth please take a look at: http://hypsithermal.wordpress.com/

Thanks,
Jack
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