Pressure on MA elected to give their opinion about Cape Wind

[Mass]

A group of activists is pressuring MA congressmen and senators to take position on Cape Wind. Their initial action will be on Markey, but Kerry is next on the line.

Now, I understand that the question is difficult, and some people have made it even more difficult by opposing it for what seems to be totally selfish reasons, but somehow, I think they will have to take a position because, by now, it becomes ridiculous.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/06/wind_activists_target_markey/

...
"Senator Kerry knows the important role that wind power must play in our fight against global climate change, and he also knows that Cape Wind is the first project of its size and scale in the United States and we need to get this right," Kerry spokeswoman Brigid O'Rourke said in a statement.
...

I read Brigid O'Rourke's statement, and I think Kerry is probably right, but he probably has concerns if he does not want to endorse the project. He should make his concerns public.

Of the Bay State's dozen US representatives and US senators, only four - Barney Frank, John Olver, Michael E. Capuano, and Niki Tsongas - count themselves as supporters of the wind farm. Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Representative William D. Delahunt are working against it.

The other six - Markey, Senator John F. Kerry, and Representatives Stephen F. Lynch, James P. McGovern, Richard E. Neal, and John F. Tierney - have not articulated positions for or against the wind farm.
...

(For the record, I oppose Cape Wind because I think it is the perfect example of the shoddy deals that will happen if clean power is not clearly supervised. From what I understand, it seems the perfect example of replacing big oil companies by big wind companies, with all the same subsidies with little return to the public. Now, it is only my opinion, and I am sure that people like Kerry have more information).

[whometense]

1. I heard a story about this yesterday morning on WBUR,

and was surprised that they only mentioned Markey. I was wondering if JK had said something that I'd completely missed.

[MBS]

2. THIS is why a full environmental assessment is essential

It's because of examples like this that I'm opposed to any attempt to streamline the process for Cape Wind. And I'm sick to death of activists trying to portray this as a simple, black-or-white, good vs evil situation. The wind -power industry should be subject to the same environmental evaluation as any other industry. Kerry, Markey and others are right to be cautious here.It's important that this be done RIGHT. Read below for horrifying example of what could go wrong without thoughtful planning:

Wind turbines may threaten whooping cranes
Whooping cranes have waged a valiant fight against extinction, but federal officials warn of a new potential threat to the endangered birds: wind farms.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23389384/from/ET/
Wind farms a threat to whooping cranes?
Migration corridor is in areas with best wind power potential
The Associated Press
updated 10:31 a.m. ET, Thurs., Feb. 28, 2008

STAFFORD, Kan. - Whooping cranes have waged a valiant fight against extinction, but federal officials warn of a new potential threat to the endangered birds: wind farms.

Down to about 15 in 1941, the gargantuan birds that migrate each fall from Canada to Texas now number 266, thanks to conservation efforts.

But because wind energy has gained such traction, whooping cranes could again be at risk, either from crashing into the towering wind turbines and transmission lines or because of habitat lost to the wind farms.

"Basically you can overlay the strongest, best areas for wind turbine development with the whooping crane migration corridor," said Tom Stehn, whooping crane coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The service estimates as many as 40,000 turbines will be erected in the U.S. section of the whooping cranes' 200-mile wide migration corridor.

"Even if they avoid killing the cranes, the wind farms would be taking hundreds of square miles of migration stopover habitat away from the cranes," Stehn said.

The American Wind Energy Association says the industry grew by 45 percent last year, providing about 1 percent of the nation's energy.

It says its 1,400 member companies don't want their turbines, power lines, transmission towers and roadways to hurt the cranes, which are protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty.

"We would hate to see any collisions with whooping cranes," said Laurie Jodziewicz, the association's manager of siting policy. "It would be very distressing for everybody."

But Jodziewicz said the wind industry will continue to grow in the crane's migration corridor and should not be subject to regulations that don't apply to other industries.

Industry reluctant to change
"It's a very windy area," she said. "We certainly want to work toward minimizing impacts, but there is a real driver behind wind energy, which is the need for clean, renewable electricity.

"There are many other things going on in that corridor that could potentially affect that species. So to say that wind development should be stopped while allowing all sorts of other activities to continue might not be the right course of action."

Nicholas Throckmorton, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the agency lacks the authority to demand that wind developers confer with it.

"There are no forced consultations," Throckmorton said, "other than pointing out that it's illegal to kill endangered species or migrating species."

Stehn and others say no whooping cranes have been killed by a wind turbine, though they remain concerned.

"In the natural world, birds and bats have gotten used to flying around a lot of things," Throckmorton said. "But nowhere in the natural world is there a big spinning rotor."

The wind industry has been criticized for its impact on other birds and wildlife, as well as its visual effect on the landscape.

. . . .

"It's actually the landing and taking off that's problematic," he said. "That's when they're most likely to encounter the turbines and transmission towers."

The most common cause of death for whooping cranes is crashing into power lines. Stehn said the industry could help by marking its power lines, which run from transmission towers.

"Each crane is precious when you only have 266," he said.
.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23389384/