Don't mess with our views, plebes!

Let me get this straight: Cape Wind is a bad, bad, bad idea, and it's just a coincidence that it would be located within the views of the oceanside estates of the uber-wealthy of Hyannis and the upper Cape.  But now that an alternate site has been proposed by another company where Ted Kennedy and his rich friends don't have to see it, it's perfectly fine.

The opponets of Cape Wind say the following:

The proposed Cape Wind project would be directly adjacent to a major shipping lane. For a ship or boat traveling at just over 5 knots, the turbines would be spaced about 2 ¼ minutes apart, and only one minute apart at a speed of 12 knots jeaporadizing a ship or boat crew’s ability to take avoidance action in an emergency.

The alternate site (proposed by prominent local developer Jay Cashman) would be located in Buzzards Bay, which is far busier.  The turbines in Buzzards Bay would be spaced even closer together and would jeapordize a boat crew's ability to take avoidance action even more. 

Every single turbine would be in navigable water over ten feet deep exposing ships and boats to collision with the structures. Hundreds of flashing red and amber lights on the towers and the radear interference generated will make safe navigation nearly impossible. Further, the inability of the Coast Guard to perform helicopter rescues in bad weather in the project area is of great concern.

These same issues would be compounded in Buzzards Bay.  Buzzards Bay is a narrower area, with more overall shipping and boat traffic.  Opponents have decried the fact that the Cape Wind turbines would be close to shore.  Yet the proposed Buzzards Bay site would be even closer--two miles opposed to five-plus miles.

Additionally, a tanker loaded with tens of thousands of gallons of fuel products visits the Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard monthly. This vessel navigates down the main channel that directly abuts the southern end of the turbine field. If a tanker were to run into trouble and collide with a turbine with prevailing southwest winds, the result could be an environmental disaster.

Buzzards Bay is a well-traveled shipping lane, and has already seen a similar environmental disaster.  A tanker spilled 98,000 gallons of oil into the Bay.  But who cares about that?  As long as the uber-wealthy don't have to see tiny dots on the horizon, it's all good.

One of the new proposed sites is not far from Horseneck Beach, a state reservation.  That's all well and good, it's not like we're drilling for oil, but it strikes me as odd that Nantucket Sound is a protected area that can't be touched, but the rest of the ocean and its protected areas can be.  That Nantucket Sound is a busy shipping lane and needs protection, but the rest of us can go to hell.

Kennedy and his friends, of course, decry the accusations of class entitlement.  They insist it isn't about the views from their beachfront homes, but of true environmental and safety concerns.  That we shouldn't build wind turbines in a protected area like Nantucket sound.  That it will interfere with shipping.  That it will hurt migrating birds.  That the process isn't fair and open.  Yet they went through some scummy backdoor channels to kill Cape Wind, and they don't seem to mind the increased shipping and environmental hazards of the Buzzards Bay proposal.  Not in their backyard, so what do they care?

But it's not as if the opponents, who formed an organization called Save Our Sound, are grounded in reality.  According to these folks, we have an energy surplus, and we don't need wind.  So much for not being against wind power, just against wind power in the Sound, which is sacrosanct. 

By the opponents' own criteria, the proposed Buzzards Bay site is actually worse than the Cape Wind site.  I'm sure this has nothing to do with their ocean views and NIMBYism.  It would be nice if the ultra wealthy did their part and dealt with something being in their backyards.  Just for once.

Comments

[catty]

Well, I DO know for a fact that wind turbines DO kill large amounts of bats and birds... :(

So I do feel that Kennedy is opposing the Cape Wind for all the wrong reasons, there are valid concerns over wind turbines as alternate energy regarding concerns for wildlife.