A Good Example for the Cape and Islands

Block Island residents are willing to do their parts.

"If we did have wind turbines, they would be smokin'," said Dave Houseman, general manager of the 19th-century Spring House Hotel, looking out at the breakers below. "Chances are you wouldn't even see them. But I think if you did, it's something you could get used to."

His remark reflects a widely held sentiment here since a developer recently proposed erecting a $1.5 billion wind farm in the waters off this isolated island.

The company has proposed building more than 100 turbines, each one up to 240 feet tall.

Of course, the reality is that the overwhelming majority of people on Cape Cod and the Islands support Cape Wind - and it's just the wealthy vacationers who own mansions on the beach that oppose it - but this opposition has got to end. Cape Wind needs to be streamlined. It will be absolutely pathetic if Rhode Island beats us to a big wind project, given the years Cape Wind has been in the works. Time is quickly running out to stop Global Warming from reaching the brink, in which the beast feeds itself and there's nothing we can do to stop it, so there's really no more time to waste on projects like Cape Wind.

Cool - Wind Power Expansion in RI

What would you rather?


or

?

It appears Rhode Island will be building their own Cape Wind, likely off the coast of Block Island - which is a tourist destination as jam packed as any in Massachusetts. If Rhode Island wants to plow full steam ahead there, surely that's reason enough to tell the wealthy who vacation on the Cape and Islands to shove it stop their maneuvering on Cape Wind, which will be more than a mile out to see and barely viewable to the naked eye (from the few parts of the Cape where people will actually be able to see it).

Obviously, residents on Block Island, along with Rhode Island in general, get it.

The governor has said he wants proposals to include providing power to Block Island so that the 1,000 residents there can see some relief in electricity rates. They are currently paying about 40 cents per kilowatt-hour, more than four times the rate paid by mainland residents.

Cape Cod would also directly benefit from Cape Wind, since the energy produced there would mainly go to the Cape - enough to power 2/3rds of the entire region.

Just the one wind turbine project in Rhode Island will meet the state's goals alone -

The sites could each contain 56 wind turbines and could generate a total of 220 megawatts of electricity –– enough to power 220,000 homes, the study said. That’s about 1½ times the power needed to reach the 15-percent goal.

Unfortunately, while Cape Wind will produce as much energy, it won't meet the 15% goal for Massachusetts. However, there's a second, slightly smaller Wind Turbine project in the planning stages off the South Coast. Furthermore, towns across Massachusetts are adding wind turbines to their repertoire, getting this state closer to its goal every day. There's lots more work to be done, but Massachusetts will get there.

When Cape Cod Sinks...

You'd think the powers that be would be a little more interested in saving their beloved land, but they keep on trucking on that NIMBY front. Or, in Cape Wind's case, the NIMDLOS (distant line of sight) front. Let the Cape Cod Commission let us know in 30-50 years how that worked out for them, alright?

Woot!! Casino Madness Extreme!

Roulette - or Russian Roulette?

"Sweet goodness, all things great! Pull that lever down, let's win big!" "Let's," of course, is short for "let us" and refers to the Wampanoags - and, more likely, their developers and financiers. Why? Because no one ever really "wins big" at casinos - except, of course, for the few people at the top that get everyone to spend all their hard work. They win, but at a steep cost.

But let's not dwell on the tough facts; anyone have any other ideas for good slogans? Few like slogans as much as casinos; cheap slogans and casinos go hand in hand. "The wonder of it all!" Oh, wait, no, that's taken. We should really start the advertising now, so the developers make maximum profit. What kind of country would America be today if we let a CEO go without a corporate bonus?

The good news is they're on the right path, planning would could become the world's largest casino ever. Largest ever. Because that's what the Wampanoags are promising to build. Endless levers as far as the eye can see. Dinks and donks beeping and chirping along, with brilliant Time-Square-esque flashes and flutters all about. Sounds beautiful, eh?

The 4,000 slot machines in the plan are only half as many already in operation or planned at Connecticut's two casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, but it shows plenty of room available for future expansion. At a planned 400,000 square feet for the gambling floor, the Middleborough facility would be about one-third larger than the gambling space at Foxwoods and Mohegan, which are among the world's largest casinos.

There's nothing like leaving a little space for growth. Just look at Foxwoods. It went from a Bingo Hall in 1986 to one of the world's largest casinos ever about twenty years later. Middleborough could start as one of the largest and reach - what? - massively epic fucking proportions? I'm sure typical visitors in Cape Cod will just love it. Who wants the beach, when they can get an open bar and see all the whizzing numbers as they insert dollar after dollar into the dollar-eating machines. More chips please. Oh, that'll help the local business in their few summer months, alright.

The good news about having endless amounts of slot machines today is the fact that people don't have to actually pull down the levers any more. Now, you can just push buttons. It's faster, so people spend more money don't have to tire their arms so. Oh, and the beeping noises are so much fun! Sweet, I just won something! Again! Again! And Again! Maybe it'll cover the tip for the tab I collected?