Bush is right and Kennedy's wrong: liberal heads explode over Cape Wind project

[Kimstu]

@Sam Stone

If I lived in Martha’s Vineyard, I’d be proud to have them off the coast. I’d feel good about the fact that while I’m living large and wealthy, I could honestly say that most of my power needs were being generated by clean energy. And I’m not even a liberal. I would have thought that the people who lived there would be ecstatic, given that it’s a highly liberal area.

Oh, there are definitely lots of New England liberal environmentalists, including some who live on the Cape and the Islands, who are solidly behind this idea. I’ve worked with some of them on a local “green power” campaign when I was living in Rhode Island. IMO, most of the opposition to the windfarm is being generated by a comparatively small number of people with disproportionate access to the wealth, publicity, and political clout required to sway public opinion.

I think a lot of the local resistance is, as I mentioned before, sheer distrust of the unknown, and a lot of the rest has been carefully fostered by anti-Cape Wind PR campaigns. And a recent study seems to bear me out:

A new study by University of Delaware marine policy scientists Jeremy Firestone and Willett Kempton uncovers factors that govern public opinion regarding large offshore wind farms. The study, based on a detailed survey of approximately 500 residents, has been peer reviewed and will appear in an upcoming issue of Energy Policy. The survey confirms that a majority of nearby residents opposed the project, but the reasons are more complex than the assumed “not in my backyard” syndrome.

“The majority of local residents believe that the project will have negative impacts on marine life, the local fishing industry, and the aesthetics of ocean view,” Firestone, who is an assistant professor of marine policy in the College of Marine Studies, said. “However, the draft environmental impact statement issued by the Army Corps of Engineers indicates that these impacts are likely to be minimal.”

Firestone said that support for the project could most likely be enhanced if the public not only had a more complete understanding of both the positive and negative effects of offshore wind power on the environment, but also knew that the project had more oversight–either through federal rules or development by local government.

“Residents also were more accepting when the survey posited a larger vision for offshore wind–that their project would lead to 300 similar projects, totaling 300 times more impact, both negative and positive,” Kempton, an associate professor of marine policy in the College of Marine Studies, said. “Understanding this larger vision increased support more than any other suggested possible changes to the project itself.”

The scientists believe that this increased support is due to the added significance that the project would have–that it could lead to important benefits to the country. They add that this is an important finding given the advantages that wind power has over fossil fuels in avoiding harm to the environment, human health, and climate change. […]

Kempton said that the statements quoted in the news from some members of Congress seem to be derived from some of the same misconceptions, and from lack of a larger vision, that was seen in the study’s survey respondents.

Where did so many residents, and even members of Congress, get the idea that the wind turbines will be bad for fishing, bad for wildlife, and an ugly blot on the landscape, even though environmental impact assessments have all indicated that these won’t be serious problems? IMO, from the PR materials put out by the various anti-Cape-Wind front groups for a few powerful individuals. (To be fair, those groups do also include individuals and organizations genuinely concerned about the potential drawbacks, but AFAICT most of their clout comes from local NIMBY bigwigs.)

[foolsguinea]

@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor

I’ve often thought that the mountain passes in East Tennessee should be heavily wind farmed.

Aren’t they being “coal farmed” now? Down to a nice ( :rolleyes: ) flat shape? Or is that just Kentucky & W. Va.?

[Kimstu]

@foolsguinea

Or is that just Kentucky & W. Va.?

Nope, mountaintop removal mining is making a [url=“http://www.resistinc.org/newsletter/issues/2004/09/hartung.html”]big push** in East Tennessee.

[tdn]

@Sam Stone

I wonder how big the engines are in Teddy Kennedy’s yacht?

Just a rough guess, but I’m thinking about 200 square feet.