In today's NY Times, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., writes a passionate OpEd arguing that a wind farm should not be built off Nantucket. But there's one annoying little fact he doesn't mention for some reason...
RFK Jr. opens strong: "AS an environmentalist, I support wind power, including wind power on the high seas. I am also involved in siting wind farms in appropriate landscapes, of which there are many. But I do believe that some places should be off limits to any sort of industrial development. I wouldn't build a wind farm in Yosemite National Park. Nor would I build one on Nantucket Sound, which is exactly what the company Energy Management is trying to do with its Cape Wind project."
He then cites many reasons (and several liberal bugaboos) supporting his position. Energy companies would be privatizing common land. Offshore wind power costs much more than gas-fired and onshore wind-created electricity. Nantucket Sound is clogged with traffic, making the windmills terrible obstacles. They will also cause considerable job loss and economic costs (for reasons that aren't spelled out). They will endanger seabirds. The cables running from and between the towers will foul fishing gear, hurting fisherman. He notes the beauty of the place and, naturally, the fact that JFK authorized the creation of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Finally, if invoking JFK is not enough, he writes: "All of us need periodically to experience wilderness to renew our spirits and reconnect ourselves to the common history of our nation, humanity and to God," which means a vote for windmills is a vote against God.
But is this the whole story? No. RFK Jr. gets close to it when he notes: "Cape Wind's proposal involves construction of 130 giant turbines whose windmill arms will reach 417 feet above the water and be visible for up to 26 miles. These turbines are less than six miles from shore and would be seen from Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket... According to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the project will damage the views from 16 historic sites and lighthouses on the cape and nearby islands."
And he hints at the story behind the story with his suggested solution: "If Cape Wind were to place its project further offshore..." but he doesn't go all the way. So I will.
The real reason RFK Jr. and his fellow gilded islanders, such as David McCullough, are against the wind farm and have hired publicists and lawyers to stop it for years, is because the thing would ruin their own precious views. This is a case of NIMBY pure and simple by the people who should know better.
Of course, he also doesn't mention that the summer haze on the horizon would actually obscure the wind farm when they would be around to look in that direction. It's the very idea that it's out there that bugs them.