I have written before that I think the benefits of wind farming -- producing nearly pollution-free domestic energy such as electricity from windmills -- is in general a laudable effort.
The people who get in the way, often, would sacrifice these attractive benefits to protect the view out their back window or front door -- be it a view of Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod (see this article and also this article, as well as this missive in past postings on NIMBY Monitor) or a view of the wilds and lakes of upstate New York. And they are wealthy enough or powerful enough to make noise and get heard. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, but meanwhile a clean way to produce energy to turn the axle gets shorted.
Now it's time for the view protectionists on Cape Cod to meet their counterparts in upstate New York.
The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chronicle editorialized on Sunday, June 5, 2005, that the prospect of producing cheap domestic electricity from relatively harmless windmills is being blocked by well-heeled upstaters at the expense of producing cheap power for all -- and a not inconsiderable number of new jobs.
Perhaps one idea is to define a "viewshed," and describe viewsheds that are worth protecting.
Writes the Democrat & Chronicle:
You might know it as NIMBY, or Not in My Back Yard.
Individual wind machines are enormous, and wind farms — an array of these huge turbines — eat up a lot of land. As this type of energy becomes more prevalent in New York, communities with clout and wealth may push these farms into poorer areas, where the political connections are weaker.
Now is the time for a broader discussion upstate on the wind-turbine siting issue before it becomes a matter of the picturesque haves dictating to the have-nots.
The location matter arose recently when Paychex Inc. founder Tom Golisano, who has a home on Canandaigua Lake, spoke out against the big wind farms, which he says could alter the beauty of upstate.
-- snip --
Golisano has raised the right questions.
Instead of taking a NIMBY-like stance, he should help lead the public discussion into how, or if, wind energy can work upstate without sullying the landscape.
Let's define what needs to be protected. It shouldn't be just the viewsheds of the wealthy and well-connected. It has to have some other rational basis.
