This Week's Mail: Romney asks MMS to put Cape Wind Review on Hold

In a February 28th, 2006 letter from Mitt Romney to Secretary of the U.S. Dept of the Interior, Gale Norton, the Governor asks that strict guidelines and regulations be in place for off-shore wind energy facilities before a project like Cape Wind be allowed to operate and that the Nantucket Sound be given a special designation under the new MMS rules.  

"Certainly, treasures such as the Grand Canyon and Chesapeake Bay are not suitable for commercial development, and Nantucket Sound is worthy of similar protection."

While Governor Romney restates his support for the development of renewable energy sources that will lesson our dependence of foreign oil and believes that there is promise for wind projects off the coast of MA he states that MMS should not move forward in assessing Cape Wind until strict guidelines that apply to all off-shore alternative energy facilities are in place.

"It is important to reiterate that existing regulations apply only to oil and gas platforms, whose footprint is minuscule when compared to the unprecedented use of 24 square miles of ocean real estate."

"Reviewing offshore alternative energy projects under existing regulations would undermine the goal of developing a single, comprehensive process for permitting, and therefore, would continue to deny states, such as Massachusetts, the opportunity for meaningful participation in the siting process"

The Governor goes on to state that the State's should be given a part in the process in order to strike an appropriate balance between federal government and state and local governments. And cites the Deep Water Port Act in which a Governor "may approve, disapprove or set conditions for approval of offshore energy projects." In the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 projects outside of state waters are required to be consistent with enforceable policies of the state CZM program. And finally the Outer continental Shelf Lands Act which establishes the law of each adjacent state (when it is not inconsistent with federal law) is the law of the United States for the portion of the Outer continental shelf that would be within the state if the boundaries were extended to the outer margin of the shelf.

In 2003 The Governor appointed an Ocean Management Task force, an effort similar to those undertaken by other coastal states. "Any new MMS regulations in this area must protect the right of coastal states and communities to participate meaningfully in the siting and permitting of alternative energy projects in adjacent waters."

With regards to questions posed in the Federal Register notice as to siting, the Governor believes that MMS should establish a process to identify high value resource areas like the Nantucket Sound that should be set aside and be off limits to development.

"Potential sites for alternative energy projects should be evaluated, in advance of any formal proposal on the following criteria: transportation safety, search and rescues concerns, effects on fisheries and maritime industries, homeland defense, marine life and avian migration, seascape views, and the effects on a state's environment or regional economy - especially in tourism dependent regions."

Letter to be continued..... Please check back later. Magical Eye

48 comments »

Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership Weigh in on Wind Farm SAFETY

This just in... The 3,000 Member Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership Weigh in on Wind Farm Radar SAFETY in a two page letter (with membership list attached)  strongly supporting the amendment to H.R.889 which would prohibit the siting of any offshore wind energy facility within 1.5 nautical miles of established shipping lanes and ferry routes.

Addressed to the U. S. House of Representatives and Senate Conferees by Edward J. Barrett, President of the Massachusetts Fisherman's Partnership, Inc. an organization representing 18 commercial fisherman's associations with 3,000 members from all gear and geographic sectors of the Massachusetts fishing industry, the letter states that a wind energy facility consisting of 130 wind powered generators in a grid occupying 24 square miles of the Nantucket Sound whose waters are normally fished daily in rain, snow an even fog would be in the middle of one of the richest fishing grounds in the region, Horseshoe Shoal. 

"This particular area is very congested with commercial and recreational traffic. With the wind farm as currently proposed for Nantucket Sound, it has the potential for creating a significant hazard to safe navigation for our vessels and other users of the waterways. In addition, Nantucket Sound experiences some of the foggiest conditions in the world. Fog can appear in a matter of minutes any given day or night."

"These Waters are dangerous enough even without a wind farm, as evident by the loss of life to fisherman in just the last few years in Nantucket Sound."

The Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership cited in detail the radar, navigational and communications systems interference issues relative to offshore wind farms by the 2004 UK studies for the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency as causing them great concern for navigational safety. They are also deeply concerned about search and rescue missions in this area of the Nantucket since the UK Helicopter Search and Sea Rescue report indicates that the 24 square mile wind farm will prevent helicopter search and sea rescue missions inside the wind farm because of the loss of Navigational Radar capabilities at night time and in inclement weather.

"A separation zone of at least 1.5 nautical miles needs to be a requirement in order to minimize the potential radar interference and navigational risks that we will encounter, especially in Nantucket Sound where such adverse conditions such as night time work, fog, snow, high winds and high seas are common place."

In closing, they respectfully requested that the conferees realize that the threat to life and limb created by the loss of navigational radar is real, and not something to be taken lightly and that they not only support the amendment but urge that it be enacted as it "would begin to address some of the navigational and safety concerns we have with the proposed siting of this wind energy facility in the middle of our rich fishing grounds."

For more on the Amendment, click on this article from Today's Cape Cod Times

*If you would like to send an email in support of this vital amendment to your representatives please click Here

31 comments »

Steamship Authority and Charter Fisherman Strongly Support Safety Amendment

In a two page letter written by General Manager Wayne C. Lamson and addressed to The Honorable Trent Lott and cc.d to Senators and Representatives of Congress dated February 23, 2006 The Steamship Authority, "Lifeline to the Islands", who in 2005 operated over 22,000 trips carrying over 2,600,000 passengers, 455,000 automobiles and 141,000 trucks on two ferry routes between the mainland of Massachusetts and the Islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, stated for the record that it strongly supports an  amendment to H.R.889 that would ban the siting of offshore wind energy facilities within 1.5 nautical miles of established shipping lanes and ferry routes.

Cape Wind has the potential for creating a significant hazard to safe navigation:

"Our licensed captains normally navigate from buoy to buoy within established navigational tracks. Under certain conditions, it occasionally becomes necessary for out captains to use tracking maneuvers outside of our normal navigational tracks to ease the motion of the vessel and allow for a greater margin of safety with regard to the passengers and freight on our vessels, or to provide a greater margin of safety between vessels transiting within established ferry routes.

The area is very congested at times with commercial and recreational traffic. With the wind farm currently proposed for Nantucket Sound, it has the potential for creating a significant hazard to safe navigation for our vessels and other users of the waterways."

Radar Study shows that clutter in the radar display, due to the presence of wind turbines, was found to be considerable:

"A 2004 study in the United kingdom for the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency, relative to the effects of offshore wind farms on marine radar, navigation and communication systems, concluded in part that "clutter in the radar display, due to the presence of wind turbines, was found to be considerable." In addition "both ring-around and false plots were observed. The observed problems could be suppressed by using the gain and range settings of the radar." However, the study found that "this may have the unwanted side-effect of no longer being able to detect some small targets." this study further found that "these effects can be mitigated by vessels keeping well clear of wind farms in open waters or where navigation is restricted, keeping the wind farm boundaries at suitable distances from established traffic routes.

"Since there are no regulations or guidelines for siting of the wind farms in federal waters, we support the amendment to H.R.889 that would require a separation zone between an offshore wind energy facility and any established shipping lanes and ferry routes."

"A separation zone of at least 1.5 nautical miles, appears to be a reasonable requirement in order to minimize the potential radar interference, navigational risks and disruption of service that we are likely to encounter, especially in adverse conditions such as fog, high winds and high seas."

**Please note that the report actually advocates the adoption of 2 nautical miles from shipping lanes-where shipping is unable to deviate.

Photo from http://www.islandferry.com/

Charter Fishing Boat Captain Supports Safety Amendment

Fishing In The Fog with Captain Jack Riley

It is Memorial Day weekend and the Maverick is departing Harwich Port for Tom Shoal off of Martha's Vineyard in a blind fog.

Captain Jack, has a group of great guys on board all looking to enjoy a day of fishing for stripers and blues. The Maverick's course will take them over Horseshoe Shoal, the proposed site of Cape Wind, and bring them to an area off Chappaquiddick that produces very well in the early season.

Charter boats like the Maverick can't fish Monomoy, which is much closer, as the stripers have not gotten that far north in their migration.

As the Maverick crosses the sound there are a number of targets ahead on the radar screen. From experience the target size and speed indicates two of the ferries from Hyannis to Nantucket. One departing, one returning.

There are also other small boat traffic on the radar. Maverick's party wonders why he is not chatting with them. But, that is his mate's job as Cap't Jack has his head buried in the radar adjusting speed and course to avoid these targets.

Thankfully, none of the boats have to dodge the proposed generator and 130 turbines projected for this area. On a day like today they all have their hands full in this blanketing fog without the need for more hazards to navigation. Not to mention the additional time it would take to avoid that proposed minefield.
 
Once at the Vineyard they mix in with the fleet of charter boats which could only be seen on radar even though they were just a few hundred feet away.

They set the lines in and the fishing is superb. Each angler keeps a striper for dinner and the other 34 keepers are released for another day.

Massachusetts law allows two fish per angler but these guys are true sportsmen and conservationists. The large majority of charter boats release most or all of their catch keeping only what the party can use for dinner.

Now the guys can sit back with a beer and reminisce about the great day of sport fishing they enjoyed. The fog never does lift.  So, the Maverick rides home in the Chatham Sunshine, the locals term for fog.

Captain Jack says "If charters canceled all trips due to fog they would hardly ever leave the dock and the good folks would not have the opportunity to experience the thrill of a lifetime. The recreational and fishing community doesn't need any more obstacles and safety hazards than Mother Nature already provides" And adds "Please help us find a land based or deep water location for any proposed wind farm."

Captain Jack Riley can be reached at the Maverick

 

Finally, I ask, who knows better about matters of public safety and navigational hazards than those who have their fingers on the pulse of the Nantucket  Sound most every day of their lives? 

Please join them in support of the Amendment to H.R.889. If you would like a sample letter to email the senators and representatives concerned with this bill you may contact me at donatracy@hotmail.com and I would be happy to send one along with a contact list.

*** The Documents referred to in the Steamship Authority Letter can be reviewed in their entirety on the Windstop  Website.

If you would like to send an email to your representatives in support of this vital amendment please click Here

128 comments »

Who can argue with public safety?

Cape Wind could be stopped dead in its tracks with an amendment to the Coast Guard Authorization Bill sponsored by former tug boat Captain,  Rep. Don Young. This amendment would ban the placement of offshore wind turbines within 1.5 miles of a shipping channel or ferry route.

Please call or email the following Senators with your support of this vital Amendment. Who could possibly argue with common sense and public safety? Whether you are for or against Cape Wind public safety should not be ignored.

Although Cape Wind claims it will be killed by the Amendment, it does have a choice to compromise and move to a location that will not jeopardize public safety. It is important to call or email today as the Amendment could be voted on as early as this coming Monday or Tuesday.

I just called the Senators' offices. It took but a moment but here is a case where each and every email counts. Just tell them you support the Amendment to the Coast Guard Authorization Bill sponsored by Rep. Don Young.

Senate Subcommittee on Fisheries & the Coast Guard
 
Senator Olympia Snowe, Chair
 (202) 224-8172 phone
 (202) 224-9334 fax
 http://snowe.senate.gov/webform.htm
 
Senator Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member
 (202) 224-8172 phone
 (202) 224-9334 fax
 http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/
 
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation
 
Senator Ted Stevens, Chair
 (202) 224-1251 phone
 (202) 224-1259 fax
 http://stevens.senate.gov/contact.cfm
 
Senator Daniel Inouye, Co-Chair
 (202) 224-0411 phone
 (202) 228-0303 fax
 http://inouye.senate.gov/webform.html

Please click HERE to send an email to the Senate and Congress in support of this vital amendment for public safety

 

83 comments »

Answers to some of Cape Wind's Pesky and Misleading Promises

Magical interviews science editor and writer Eric Rosenbloom for answer to some of Cape Wind's pesky and misleading promises.

ME: When asked how much electricity Cape Wind will provide Cape Wind's response is:

"Cape Wind will be rated to produce up to 468 megawatts of wind power as each wind turbine will produce up to 3.6 megawatts. Maximum expected production will be 454 megawatts. Average expected production will be 170 megawatts which is almost 75% of the 230 megawatt average electricity demand for Cape Cod and the Islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket."

ER:  "It is all based on the misrepresentation of 'average' as 'typical'. (Not to mention the assumption that the turbines will work at all -- the record for offshore facilities is not good.)

Because generation falls off eightfold for every halving of the wind speed, production at or above the average rate is seen only about a third of the time, so it is obviously impossible for the turbines to provide 75% of the Cape's electricity. Further, the times when they are producing will coincide with actual demand only by chance.

And then, because the wind can drop again at any moment, the effect of significant production is only to ramp another plant down or switch it to standby, in which state it still burns fuel. Several studies have concluded that such use of those plants adds to cost and inefficiency.

ME: Cape Wind tells the citizens of Cape Cod and The Islands that:

*Power goes right into local grid, reducing need of 'dirty plants'" "The wind power will go into the Cape Cod grid at the Barnstable insertion point. But by the laws of physics, that power will be expended first on the Cape and Islands unless the wind farm is generating more than is consumed on the Cape and Islands."

ME: Would explain how the grid works and how it applies to Cape Wind's claims?

ER: Yes, the description of where the excitement of electrons goes is accurate. I find it useful to think of electricity like water. Picture the grid as a system of inspouts and outspigots where the pressure has to be kept constant. That is, as more spigots are opened more inspouts have to be opened. Or if some of the inspouts open only when the wind rises, other inspouts have to be closed when that happens so the pipes don't burst. The New England grid is actually called a "pool." All of the excitement can go anywhere in the pool, but if your spigot is close to an open inspout that's the stuff you're likely to get.

Now imagine that the pumps on most of the inspouts are powered by coal or natural gas fueled engines that need a while to warm up before the can start pumping. This is akin to most thermal electricity plants, which may need hours, days even, to get going. When the wind-powered pumps kick in, the fossil fueled pumps have to correspondingly stop. But since the wind-powered pumps may cut off again at any moment, it would be foolish to cut off the fossil fueled engines altogether. Instead, they keep burning their fuel so that they stay "warmed up."

In short, it is one thing to say that Cape Wind will provide electricity, thus displacing electricity from other sources. It is quite another to say that Cape Wind will cause those other sources to use less fuel. Thus they completely misrepresent the possibility of displace emissions, basing it on reduced generation but not on actual reduced fuel use.

ME: When asked How would Cape Wind impact electricity prices? Cape Wind replies:

"Cape Wind will help to stabilize and even reduce the price of electricity. Cape Wind will do this in 3 ways:

1) Cape Wind will reduce the clearing price for electricity in the New England spot market by reducing operations of the regions most expensive power plants, this will reduce electricity prices in New England by 25 million dollars per year 2) Cape Wind will reduce the implementation costs of the Renewable Portfolio Standard to Massachusetts electricity consumers by increasing the supply of renewable energy certificates. 3) Cape Wind will pursue long-term power contract(s) that will lock-in a fixed price for electricity for a term of ten or more years. This would provide electricity consumers purchasing Cape Wind energy with far greater electric Price stability and price certainty than is typically available.

"Cape Wind would like to sell most of its electricity in long term price contract(s) to the organizations that sell electricity to consumers on Cape Cod and the Islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. In a competitive electric market place, consumers can choose their electric supplier. Cape Wind will provide consumers with superior value."

ER: Point 1 of the effect on electricity prices is pure wishful thinking. Cape Wind can fix a long-term competitive price because two-thirds of its capital costs are aid for by federal taxpayers. Note in point 3 that ten years "or more" is noted. The production tax credit applies for only ten years. The benefit of accelerated depreciation is used up in six.

Unfortunately, if utilities actually try to rely on such an intermittent and variable source, they will find themselves using the spot market more, paying the highest prices possible. *That's why Denmark has the highest electricity costs in Europe.

One way the wind developers get around that is to cut utilities in on some of the lucrative profits from "renewables certificates," which are "generated" in addition to actual energy. So point 2 is correct -- since RPS requirements also provide a way to buy yourself out of them, and that is big wind's main purpose, not providing energy but rather a means of not cutting emissions.

ME: Thank you Eric for your time, consideration and for setting the record straight.  It is most appreciated.

*In closing, I would like to add that not only do the citizens of Denmark pay the highest electricity prices in the world but Greenhouse gas emissions in Denmark rose 6.2% in 2003 (National Environmental Research Institute). 

The facts make the following additional Cape Wind claims down-right outrageous:

That equivalent amount of energy displaced by backing off fossil fueled generators will eliminate criteria pollutants in the New England region consisting of approximately 360 tons of particulate matter 2,400 tons of sulfur oxides, 800 tons of nitrogen oxides, and an astounding 1,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide, for every year of operation, and The reduction of criteria pollutants offset by wind power will statistically eliminate in the New England region approximately 12 to 15 premature deaths every year, 20 cases of bronchitis, 200 emergency room visits, 5,000 asthma attacks, and 35,000 cases of daily upper respiratory symptoms and other related afflictions according to an extrapolation of data in a recent Harvard School of Public Heath report on power plant emissions. The monetary value of these health effect reductions using the EPA valuation of a premature death and associated health care cost data from the Harvard report amount to savings of approximately $53 million dollars every year. The dramatic reduction of the offset in carbon dioxide will take a positive step in reducing climate change and the impact of rising sea levels and dramatic changes in global weather patterns, and The reduction in nitrogen oxides will abate the ozone air quality indicator for Barnstable County, currently the worst county in the commonwealth as well as in the Cape Cod National Seashore which is among the worst parks in the nation for ozone and sulfate air quality indicators  thus improving health, recreation, and visibility...

Talk about Snake Oil!

 

183 comments »

Nantucket Sound is no Yellowstone?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been taken to task over his New York Times Op-Ed by pro wind advocates who attempt to spin down his passionate view of the Nantucket Sound to simply his property view and the property views of the rich. And they scorn his comparison of the Nantucket Sound to Yellowstone. Never mind that there are people all over the Cape and beyond who share his love and passion for the Nantucket Sound who are not rich and who do not have a view of it from their homes.  And never mind that for some of us, the Nantucket Sound is our Yellowstone.

One such scornful op-ed letter appeared in the 2/03/06 edition of the Cape Cod Times entitled "Nantucket Sound is no Yellowstone". The writer states

 "Nantucket Sound is a flat body of water surrounded by lots of other flat bodies of water, all the way to Europe. There's no island there to picnic on, no coral reefs or sunken ships to dive to, nothing. Period."

But a recent interview with Neil Good of Mashpee shows otherwise. Mr Good says

 "The writer could not be more mistaken.  People have been picnicking on Muskeget and Tuckernuck Islands for over one hundred years now.  (See "Place Where Time Stopped' Tuckernuck Island: A Simple Paradise for Generations" )

"And perhaps he should consider joining one of the tour groups (Cape Cod Travel Guide, Nantucket Adventures, Explore Nantucket) that travel to the islands in the summer.  He could look north towards Horseshoe Shoal and contemplate the new view should Cape Wind be built. No doubt it would be a memorable trip.  In 1980 Muskeget Island was designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service. That counts for something, doesn't it?"

"And the claim, "There are no sunken ships to dive to. Period." is well, full of holes.  Over seventy ships have sunk in Nantucket Sound according to "Unfinished Voyages," John P.  Fish's chronology of Northeast coast shipwrecks between the years 1606 and 1956.   Only a few of the seventy-plus ships lost on Nantucket Sound have been raised or salvaged.  The remaining wrecks are potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. One shipwreck, shown here on a 1777 British navigational chart, may have been a victim of the Revolutionary War.  The ship went to the bottom just southwest of Horseshoe Shoal, in water about sixty feet deep. Chances are good some evidence is still there today. "   

One has to wonder if the writer of "Nantucket Sound is no Yellowstone" and pro wind advocates would still state that the opposition to the wind farm is and always has been about the rich people's view and that the Nantucket is no Yellowstone.

Because to those of us who really love and treasure her, the Nantucket is the one who is rich. Rich in natural history. Rich in human history. And rich in exactly the same natural beauty as our other National Treasures.

Photo Credits: The seal and sunset photos are copyrighted and are the property of  Nantucket Adventures. Thank you!

Check out my new blog Sound Views

99 comments »

NWW: For Immediate Release

NATIONAL WIND WATCH INC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATIONAL WIND WATCH CAUTIONS WIND ENERGY DOES NOT MEET BUSH'S 2006 AGENDA OBJECTIVES

Rowe, MA (February 3, 2006). National Wind Watch, Inc., an organization dedicated to providing the facts about wind energy, welcomed President Bush's call this week to become less reliant on foreign oil for America's energy needs. The organization agrees advances in technology are essential, but warns further appropriations for wind energy would be a distraction from Bush's defined energy objectives.

National Wind Watch president, David Roberson, stated, "Wind is not a reliable form of energy and, as such, cannot replace traditional modes of electricity generation. And industrial wind development will not meet the criteria outlined in Bush's 2006 Agenda", referring to the objectives of reducing fuel prices and US dependence on foreign oil. "The simple fact is wind can do little to eliminate our need for foreign oil, because less than 3% of our oil consumption is used in electricity generation, " Mr. Roberson noted. He added that rural America is facing an onslaught of wind energy proposals that could result in thousands of industrial towers, many standing over 400-feet high, and thousands of miles of associated transmission lines. At best wind will deliver only small amounts of electricity at a high cost. "In the face of rising energy prices, our federal, state, and local governments are grasping at wind energy as the solution to energy independence, but wind only increases both our economic and environmental costs," Roberson said. "The mission of National Wind Watch is to help educate communities and decision makers on the realities of wind."

National Wind Watch, a nonprofit corporation, seeks to promote knowledge and raise awareness of the risks and damaging environmental impacts of industrial wind energy development. Information and analysis on the subject is available through its website, www.windwatch.org

12 comments »

Wind Turbines: Pulling at the threads of the web of life

It has been shown over and over again that when man interferes with the interconnectedness of Nature there are always hidden consequences.

"Wind Turbines Kill Raptors, Lead to Rat Infestations"

Written By: James Hoare
Published In: Environment News
Publication Date: February 1, 2006
Publisher: The Heartland Institute

---

Predictions by bat experts that expanded industrial wind farms in West Virginia will increase numbers of disease-carrying mosquitoes and crop-destroying grasshoppers, locusts, and moths are not the only expected ecological consequences of expanded wind farms. Giant wind turbines take an even greater toll on birds, including many endangered species and birds of prey instrumental in controlling rodent populations.

According to the December 18, 2005 Riverside, California Press-Enterprise, up to 1,300 birds of prey are killed each year at Northern California's Altamont Pass wind farm alone.

Rat Infestations

Residents near California's smaller San Gorgonio Pass wind farm report that even in an area with far fewer wind turbines than Altamont Pass, the declining number of birds of prey associated with the wind farm is causing an ever-worsening rat infestation.

According to the Press-Enterprise, longtime residents Nancy and Peter Wright have witnessed a steady decline in golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, and barn owls near their San Gorgonio-area home. At the same time, report the Wrights, rats have begun taking over.

"The only thing that's changed out here is the presence of the windmills," Nancy Wright told the Press-Enterprise.

Peter Wright reports he must engage in "rat wars" on daily basis. The rats nest in his palm trees and devour the backyard citrus he used to pick and eat.

"It's a regular job, rat catcher," Peter Wright told the Press-Enterprise.

Rats Invading Homes

Another San Gorgonio resident, Xandi Shaw, has brought three new cats to her home in an attempt to keep the rats at bay. However, "other than the coyotes, there's nothing out there rats are scared of," Shaw told the Press-Enterprise. "I've never seen it as bad as now."

Other neighbors report rats becoming so prevalent and bold as to move right into area homes and establish nests.

Daniel Patterson, a desert ecologist with the Center for Biological Diversity in Joshua Tree, California, confirmed it is commonly believed the deaths of birds of prey at wind farms lead to booming rat populations.

"It's possible there is a connection; it needs to be investigated," agreed Kelly Fuller, spokeswoman for the Sierra Club's California/Nevada Desert Committee. "All of nature is connected: You pull on one place, it moves in another."

Other Sources Greener

"All forms of power entail environmental trade-offs," said Alex Avery, director of research and education for the Hudson Institute's Center for Global Food Issues. "Wind power fares especially poorly in this equation.

"Wind turbines are absolutely devastating to wildlife," Avery explained, "and in particular to wildlife that greatly benefits humans. Small birds and bats control harmful insects such as disease-carrying mosquitoes and crop-destroying moths, while birds of prey control rat populations. For all this environmental damage, wind turbines produce only intermittent, undependable, and quite expensive power."

Other energy sources are much "greener," Avery said. "Nuclear power, with zero emissions and a very small ecological footprint, is perhaps the most environmentally friendly power source," Avery noted. "Beyond that, hydropower produces far more power, far more cheaply, and with a similar or reduced environmental impact as compared to wind turbines."

-- James Hoare

"Wind turbines are absolutely devastating to wildlife, and in particular to wildlife that greatly benefits humans. ..."
Alex Avery
Center for Global Food Issues
Hudson Institute

57 comments »

More Golden and Sea Eagles will Die from Turbines

The Herald February 02 2006

Watchdog warns windfarm would kill scores of golden eagles
 
VICKY COLLINS

SCORES of golden eagles would be killed by a massive windfarm in the Western Isles, according to a new assessment.

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has reviewed Beinn Mhor Power's plans to build 113 turbines on Lewis and now warns that one golden eagle would be killed every three to six weeks by the structures, not every three to six years as originally claimed by the company.

A white-tailed eagle would be killed every eight to 15 weeks, rather than every eight to 15 years, according to David MacLennan, Western Isles area manager for SNH.

The figures emerged in a letter from Mr MacLennan to the Scottish Executive, obtained under freedom of information laws by an objector to the plan for Eisgein Estate in the south of the island.

SNH had rubber-stamped the original environmental statement by Beinn Mhor Power, but an "independent party" later pointed out the mistake, leading to the advisory body's reappraisal. Beinn Mhor Power has accepted the error, according to the letter.

The Scottish Executive is currently considering the application, alongside another development planned by Lewis Windpower for a 209-turbine farm just outside Stornoway.

The islands of Lewis and Harris are home to around 60 pairs of golden eagles. There are only 32 pairs of white-tailed, or sea, eagles in the UK, the vast majority in Lewis, Mull, and Skye, where they were reintroduced 30 years ago.

The turbines would wipe out a fifth of the UK population of these birds within a year, according to the new assessment.

The Beinn Mhor Power windfarm is a private venture by Nicholas Oppenheim, the owner of the Eisgein Estate, who refused to comment. However, the company looks set to press ahead, with an announcement yesterday that it had reached an agreement with the National Grid to connect the windfarm to the mainland network.

Jed Carter, the objector who obtained the SNH letter, said: "The project is sited in one of the most important eagle habitats in Europe and the predicted impact is of extreme concern. If the proposal had been properly scrutinised it would never have survived into a full-blown planning application."

SNH said it received a large number of windfarm applications for consideration every week and that, while it did some validation work on environmental assessments, it was difficult to do so comprehensively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Magical Eye:

Many people do not realize just how rich Cape Cod is in avian life with the exception of water birds. And even more do not know that we have Bald Eagles here... and perhaps more still do not know that Bald Eagles can be found hunting for fish and migrating through the Nantucket Sound.

Listed as Endangered in the State of Massachusetts, these awesome birds need our continued and thoughtful protection. When we are making decisions regarding the Nantucket Sound, it is my hope that we will keep these spectacular but vulnerable birds in mind. Not only are they the symbol of our country but they are still struggling to survive due to our use of DDT in the environment, nearly causing their extinction.

The loss of even one of the mates of a pair of breeding eagles to turbine collision could have a profound effect on the Bald Eagle population in Massachusetts.  And unlike pro Wind advocates who like to point to avian mortality due to cats as having much more of a damaging effect on bird populations than wind turbines, eagles do not meet their deaths due to cat predation! Power lines (which will be added not subtracted in the event that Cape Wind finds its way into the Nantucket Sound habitat) kill eagles, cats don't.

Photo credits:

White-tailed Sea Eagle www.mullbirds.com/SEAEAGLES.html

Bald Eagle  www.bergoiata.org/fe/Rapaces/10.htm

Golden Eagle www.illinoisraptorcenter.../Field%20Guide/golden.html

7 comments »

President Bush Misses the Mark on Energy

An Excerpt from  The New York Times Editorial

"Simply calling for more innovation is painless. The hard part is calling for anything that smacks of sacrifice — on the part of consumers or special interests, and politicians who depend on their support. After 9/11, the president had the perfect moment to put the nation on the road toward energy independence, when people were prepared to give up their own comforts in the name of a greater good. He passed it by, and he missed another opportunity last night."

The State of Energy

Published: February 1, 2006

President Bush devoted two minutes and 15 seconds of his State of the Union speech to energy independence. It was hardly the bold signal we've been waiting for through years of global warming and deadly struggles in the Middle East, where everything takes place in the context of what Mr. Bush rightly called our "addiction" to imported oil.

Last night's remarks were woefully insufficient. The country's future economic and national security will depend on whether Americans can control their enormous appetite for fossil fuels. This is not a matter to be lumped in a laundry list of other initiatives during a once-a-year speech to Congress. It is the key to everything else.

If Mr. Bush wants his final years in office to mean more than a struggle to re-spin failed policies and cement bad initiatives into permanent law, this is the place where he needs to take his stand. And he must do it with far more force and passion than he did last night.

Read entire Op-Ed Here:

The following quote from and op-ed in Cape Cod Today

"But by targeting only Mideast oil, Bush was ignoring the largest sources of American petroleum consumption - Mexico and Canada.

Imports of oil and refined product from the Persian Gulf make up less than a fifth of all imports and 11 percent of total consumption, according to statistics from the federal Energy Department ."

 

192 comments »