inherit the wind

I am not completely sold on the idea of putting a massive wind farm in Nantucket Sound. A hundred and thirty wind turbines are in the works to be constructed in Nantucket Sound, and would span 25 square miles. I am not sure how the new turbines will affect the fishing industry and general safety of boaters, commercial and personal. Then of course how does it affect the marine wildlife?  Is this going to affect the whales, or does something like this have no affect on their breeding and migration? And lastly, how does this affect local tribes? Is the wind farm impeding on a past or present agreement with tribes?

Of course the economical circumstances are always going to upset someone.  Are energy bills going to go up, or are they going to go down?  What will a hurricane do to the turbines?  What about tourism? 

Some of the local outcry seems to be over ruined views and a deterrent on tourism.  If you go to Cape Wind’s website (the company who is supporting the wind farm) they have made photo-shopped photos of what the turbines may look like from various points along the Cape and Islands.  If these photos are anywhere close to being accurate then the turbines that are about 5 miles out will in fact not ruin any Cape Cod sunsets.  As for tourism – I think the turbines would only create a buzz instead of becoming a deterrent.  Of course for others, imagining the idea of having to look at 130 wind turbines is too much.

Beyond tourism and economics though lies a real issue: where the future of energy is headed.  The same week that the wind farm was approved, one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history happened.  It has even caused some to rethink offshore drilling.  And just weeks before, the coal industry had another massive safety issue which resulted in 29 deaths.

We are never going to be able to depend fully on wind power.  But, if we are to ever progress in energy freedom, wind power needs to be one of the foundations so that there can be less oil spills and fewer deaths, and substantially decreased dependence on fossil fuels.