Humans are going to keep demanding more and more energy - that is a fact of modern life that is not going to change. How we get that energy is changing and right now one of our best options for clean, renewable energy is wind. Especially in a place like the Cape, which experiences powerful winter storms and gusts for much of the year, wind turbines like those from the proposed Cape Wind project can supply a large amount of energy with no emissions and minimal environmental impact.
I was initially concerned about the impact on wildlife that the turbines and cabling of this project would have. After reviewing the commentary by Save Our Sound and some local groups who are all supported by wealthy beach property owners (NIMBY types), I feel that the benefits to wildlife overall outweigh the harm that will come to some, even with mitigation. The opponents to the wind farm appear to be self-interested (and in some cases, hypocritical) while the proponents of Cape Wind, like the
UCS,
Greenpeace, and
Sierra Club, have serious environmental advocacy credentials and care deeply for wildlife and ecosystem preservation.
Our needs for energy are not diminishing. We have to seize on solutions that are clean and renewable. Right now and for the foreseeable future, the answer is blowin' in the wind (and the sun and the sea).
