Let's Be a Moral Leader on Energy

The Audubon Society has given its blessing to the Cape Wind project. Apparently, it's not going to have a big impact on the seagull population anyway (part of me wishes it would! I hate those flying sea-rats). Massachusetts has a shining opportunity to create a renewable energy resource that would produce significant amounts of energy. Creating renewable energy is good for the environment and provides Massachusetts an opportunity to become a leader in an industry that is bound to grow across the country.

Personally, I think people's fear of this project is unfounded. It won't effect the beauty of the islands or the Cape. It should be far enough out to sea that people may as well bring binoculars with them if they want to get a good view.

If this proposal gets shot down, my big fear is where do they build the next big one? Companies will become too afraid of the legal and PR costs to design an ambitious project like Cape Wind. Furthermore, the whole strength of this resistance smacks of elitism. I have a real hard time believing that this project would be as bitterly resisted if it were built off the coast of Gloucester, instead of Ted Kennedy's backyard. But if it's shot down in Nantucket Sound and someone decides they want to build one off the coast of Lynn, Fall River or New Bedford, what are we going to do then? By rejecting it in Nantucket Sound, which by all accounts seems like a reasonable location (feel free to disagree in comments), a dangerous precedent is started.

Obviously, we need to make sure it's going to be built right. We need to make sure that there are long term plans so we don't have a rusty, out of use wind farm there fifty years from now. However, Massachusetts has the opportunity to send the entire country a message: renewable energy if feasible and can provide a serious amount of this country's electricity.

When we're talking about Cape Wind, we're not talking about Martha's Vineyard. We're not talking about Nantucket Sound. We're not talking about Cape Cod. This project is bigger than all of that. We're talking about the future. We're talking about Global Warming. We're talking about the environment our children will have to live in and potentially suffer with fifty and a hundred years down the road.

We're talking about, potentially, the willingness of investors to try to build something essential for America: a renewable resource. Cape Wind makes sense, but not if it faces tens of millions of dollars worth of hurdles. Why build an energy source that's less efficient than coal if it's also going to cost way more? Cape Wind is a project unique across America and should be emulated at every feasible location. When it comes to taking steps to end our dependence on foreign oil and leaving coal unearthed and buried, it can only be construed as a good thing. It's something Massachusetts should be proud of - and it won't even hurt the little birdies.