Clearing My Throat

Welcome to VOW-- Voices On the Wind.

I first became interested in the subject of mountaintop industrial wind in October of 2009, when Independence Wind, owned by former Maine governor Angus King and Rob Gardiner, former president of Maine Public Broadcasting, came to neighboring Highland Plantation with a proposal to build a large-scale industrial wind facility atop these pristine ridges.

I've learned alot between then and now, as is evidenced in some of the early letters, columns and blog postings I wrote about this development--and about Maine's wind energy plan, in general. A year and a half ago, I never dreamed that 'wind' had anything to do with corruption, or power, or lies. I once believed the sales pitch: that wind was 'green' and good, that it would 'get us off foreign oil', reduce carbon emissions, counter the effects of global warming, bring American soldiers home, and enhance national security. Yes, those are all claims which the wind industry has made-- although they don't do so much of that anymore. And that's because people who have taken the time to research this topic have discovered that those claims simply don't hold water.

We said 'Prove it!'

They can't.

So, now (at least, here in Maine) it's all about 'jobs'. The wind lobby uses our poor economy as their rallying cry.

'Look!' they say. 'We're the only game in town, right now! We've employed workers who wouldn't have had jobs, otherwise!'

Ah, but is it intelligent or fiscally responsible to subsidize temporary jobs with tax-payer money to build projects with very little value?

Nope.

On VOW, I will begin by posting some of the many letters and articles I've written over the last eighteen months. With permission from other 'wind warriors', I'll post some of theirs, too. If you are late in coming into this, I encourage you to study the issue of mountaintop industrial wind. Don't believe me. Don't believe what the wind developers and their supporters say. Believe in YOURSELF, and your ability to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The truth will blow you away.

For my first entry, I'll share a letter I wrote to Angus King in March of last year. He never responded, although I know he received it, because he told me so when I spoke with him at a LURC meeting in Bangor the following month. Writing this letter took me completely outside my 'comfort zone', as so many things have in the last year and a half. It's not always easy to stand up for what you believe in, but if everyday citizens like myself aren't willing to do that, then everyday citizens like myself can't complain when we see our rights taken away or our freedoms stomped on. I don't enjoy being involved in controversy. In fact, I hate it. Ironically, I've always been considered a 'peacemaker'.

But I am convinced this wind energy plan is a disaster-in-the-making, so a 'comfort zone' is a luxury I can't afford.

As Mainers join with other Americans--and citizens around the world--to shed some light on this high-impact, low-benefit energy plan, please feel free to be one of the Voices On the Wind. And I welcome dissenting opinions, too. This is America, and this is my blog. Both promote free speech. All I ask is that you be respectful, and try to back your words up with truth. Lies, distortions and rhetoric are partly responsible for the mess we're in. Let's work together to do things a bit differently, this time.

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March 5, 2010
Angus King
PO Box 457
Brunswick, ME 04011

Dear Mr. King,

I had the pleasure of meeting you at the LURC Commissioners’ Meeting in Bangor on Wednesday, March 3rd. If you’ll remember, I came over to you as you were sitting with Jody and introduced myself to you as your opponent in the Highland Wind LLC project. I’d like to take this opportunity to speak with you candidly, as I did on Wednesday. This letter is a personal one, and does not reflect any views of the Friends of the Highland Mountains. It is simply one woman speaking to one man.

Please allow me to give you a bit of background information about myself, so that you will see me clearly. I am a Maine native, and have never lived anywhere else. I was born in Aroostook County, the daughter of a Maine State Game Warden (retired) and a stay-at-home mother. In 1967, Dad was transferred to the Kingfield district, and I grew up in the shadow of Mt. Abram. As a child, I roamed the woods of Maine; hiking mountains such as Abraham, Sugarloaf and Borestone. I swam in Chesuncook, Caucomgomac, Seboomook, Tufts, Onawa and Greenwood. My family members were baptized in the Carrabassett River and in Wilson Stream. I hunted the western woods with Dad, and fished the rivers and glacial ponds of the north woods with Mum. I cared for orphaned creatures such as white-tail fawns, raccoons, owls and hawks. I was raised to love and care for this land and its inhabitants. As a mother for the past twenty-seven years, I’ve tried to instill that same caring and stewardship in my three children.

As I stated, I am opposed to the development of the five mountain ridges in Highland Plantation. Not only that, but I am against the industrialization of any and all of Maine’s mountain peaks. The reasons are many and multi-faceted. After months of research, after speaking with experts on wildlife, and with environmental engineers, soils scientists, sound engineers and actual Mainers living in the vicinity of industrial turbine developments, I have determined that Big Wind on the ridgelines of Maine’s peaks is a disaster in the making.

I am not opposed to harnessing the power of the wind. I am convinced that our carbon emissions are doing great harm to our environment. I believe that human beings have to take bold steps alleviate or even eradicate the crisis that is ‘global warming’. To many, the fact that I attest to those statements and yet, protest the Highland Wind LLC development makes me a NIMBY. Someone whose words are hollow when confronted with something that will inconvenience me, or affect the quality of my life. Because of sentiments such as those, the decision to openly oppose your project was a daunting one. However, I was raised to fight fairly and with integrity—but to FIGHT–when I strongly believe in something. I strongly believe these mountaintop wind turbine developments are a very poor idea for the state of Maine.

Mr. King, I could fill page upon page with the concerns that I have about these projects. They range from economic to environmental and from quality of life to quality of place. They have to do with wildlife habitat and soil erosion and water quality and quantity. Birds and bats, herbicides, wide swaths cut through pristine forests, the altering of ancient ridgelines which were shaped by Mother Nature–these are but a few of the concerns which I have. I am disturbed by the maladies associated with turbine noise and shadow flicker. I am irritated that these complexes are touted as ‘green’ when there is much to that equation that is contradictory to conventional thinking. And I am angered that my tax dollars and those of my fellow Americans–which we could well use here at home–will go to support the economies of foreign countries such as Denmark and China, where these turbines are manufactured. However, I know you’ve been reading the newspapers and online forums, so you already know what those arguments are.

In all honesty, there are many pointed questions to which you have not given forthright answers. You seem to mock or invalidate honest citizens’ very real complaints of health issues associated with wind turbines. You’ve told Highlanders that they will not hear the turbines, and yet, Rob Gardiner stated in a recorded meeting that the 500 KWHs of free electricity given to those townsfolk would be in mitigation for any sound those residents might hear. You’ve twisted phrases in order to skirt the statement made in your own application whereby 1.6 million cubic yards of earth and ledge will be dynamited or excavated, saying it will not be ‘removed’ from the mountains. In all honesty, money and/or ‘tangible’ benefits have changed hands or been promised to individuals and entities if they do not oppose these developments. Some see this practice as simply ‘doing business’. I’m not so sure that would pass the litmus test in my home or my establishment. My standard line when a child or an employee asks me if they ‘should’ do something is this: If you have to ask, the answer is ‘no’. Have you ever, just once, honestly asked yourself if these mountaintop turbine developments are the best plan for Maine?

I believe you do have a desire to contribute to a healthy environment. Your personal and political history supports my belief. But I contend that the driving force behind your efforts to erect these massive turbines in our unspoiled regions is money, pure and simple. There are billions of dollars in stimulus funds waiting to subsidize these projects, and that is an incentive that is hard to resist. But Mr. King, I ask you, please. Please reconsider your plans. We only get one shot to do this right. Forty-story turbines on the pristine peaks of Maine cannot be what is right for a state which is known world-wide for its unspoiled wilderness regions.

I am enclosing a copy of my novel, Grumble Bluff. It is a gift to you, and I hope you will find and take the opportunity to read it. It won’t take much of your valuable time, I promise; perhaps three hours, cover to cover. In Grumble Bluff, you will discover the Maine of my childhood and of my children’s childhoods. I hope my grandchildren can find that same peace and serenity which has always been an integral part of the Maine experience. Grumble Bluff is a tale in which Maine’s ‘quality of place’ is, in fact, a very tangible benefit.

Thank you for allowing me to say my piece.

For the Mountains,

Karen Bessey Pease