Hypocrisy, thy name is money

[Bubba]

Not to pick on the Kennedy family (they're prominently mentioned at the end of the article) but the hypocrisy of wind power supporters in their NIMBY attitudes is overwhelmingly obvious.


Wealthy most opposed to Cape Wind: survey

Opposition against a 420-MW offshore wind project on Cape
Cod appears to be highest among the wealthiest residents of the
southeastern Massachusetts peninsula, according to poll results
presented at the American Wind Energy Association conference.
However, it is not income alone that describes the opposition;
the group also shows strong concern about aesthetics and
marine life, according to Jeremy Firestone, assistant professor at
the College of Marine Studies at the University of Delaware.
Firestone presented the findings of his research Tuesday at
the three-day AWEA conference that drew more than 5,000 people
to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this week.
Cape Wind, under development by Energy Management of
Boston, has been battling for five years to build a wind farm in a
24-square mile area of Nantucket Sound. Firestone said that surveys
and interviews with 504 people who live near the wind
farm site revealed that 44% support and 56% oppose it. This
contrasts with several polls of residents statewide that show
overwhelming support for the project.
The survey found that the very richest, those making more
than $200,000/year were the least likely to support Cape Wind.
The next income category, $150,000 to $200,000 showed greater
acceptance of the project.
Sixty-five percent of opponents cited marine/life environmental
factors as their chief problem with the project.
Interestingly, supporters (48%) said they back the project for
the same reasons. Supporters also ranked electricity rates
(47%) and foreign oil dependence (37%) as key reasons they
approve of the project.
Aesthetics was cited by 51% of opponents as a major concern,
as well as fishing impacts/boating safety (50%). Global
warming did not rank high for either group; only 4% of each
group marked it as significant.
The survey also found that the project would gain more support
if it was seen as part of a large-scale movement within the
US to bring cleaner energy to the nation’s power portfolio.
Respondents indicated “if this is something bigger than ourselves,
we would support it,” Firestone said. “People still see the
wind industry as a boutique industry.”
Survey participants also showed more willingness to back
projects developed by municipal utilities and other government
entities, rather than private enterprise.
James Gordon, Cape Wind president, said that he decided to
pursue the project after years of working as a natural gas-fired
developer in New England. He repeatedly heard people at public
hearings complain that they did not want coal or gas-fired generation,
but wanted clean power from wind.
He also thought he would have political leaders on his side,
given that renewable energy is pushed by two prominent senators
from the state, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, both
Democrats. Robert Kennedy Jr., an environmental attorney and
strong advocate of renewable energy, also has ties to Cape Cod.
And the region has a cultural heritage as a wind producer – it
was once dotted with hundreds of small windmills used by the
region’s salt industry during the Revolutionary War.
“What better place could you ever think of? [I thought)]they
would be breaking down our doors to support our project. I
imagined myself kayaking with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and being
embraced at the compound [the Kennedy’s estate],” he joked.
Both Kennedy’s instead proved to be strong opponents of the
project, and have worked to block it from winning siting approval.

[St. Jerry]

I find many liberals very hypocritical. Take my parents for example: they love to harp on the evils of Wall*Mart, but they sure love those low everyday prices.

[yeti]

Opponants of wind power amaze me - the irony is... they mostly seem to be uberliberal!

Go figure.

There are lots of windfarms in the mountains down this way. I think they are beautiful.

[Dr. NO]

Typical "not in my back yard". Can't build a new power plant and God forbid it be a nuclear power plant. Don't put a dam on my river because we will ruin the fishing and boating and access. Don't find more oil in the Tundra of Alaska to offset the crazyness of the Middle East. BUT we must take measures to stop global warming AND find renewable sources of energy.

Anyone know where the main power feeds are to the Cape? We should just cut them now and put them in the dark, where they want the rest of us to live.

Oh, and since when is over $200K the wealthiest? Bubba, I didn't realize you were so RICH.

edit: Oh yeah, the sank an Aircraft Carrier to create a reef to improve the ecosystem for fish and diving. You think just MAYBE the platforms just might do the same thing?

[BrockVond]

what a load of sh*t. these battles happen every day, nearly every *where*.

Story has been kited for months by Kennedy haters, and those haters are still blowing the same old stale hot air, hoping to keep this story aloft.

[ski_adk]

Please don't associate these NIMBYs with Liberals. Real liberals do want this kind of thing. The ones who oppose these sorts of efforts aren't liberals per say, they're just greedy and self-centered. These people aren't looking after the well-being of the planet or the environment -- they're afraid their seaside views are going to be ruined. Boo-farking-hoo.