In another thread this subject was side tracking the thread so I thought I'd bring it up here.



For those of you who don't know Nantucket Sounds it lies off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass. Its general considered off the Woods Hole/Buzzards Bay area up through Chatam/Monamy Point area (the elbow of the Cape). Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket sit right in the middle of it. Here at the elbow the Atlantic Gulf Stream heads out to sea which is why the change in water temp is so great. This area (Nantucket Sound) is home to many birds & water fowl, it's also in the mist of the route taken by many migratory birds. Many of these species are protected. The sound itself is also the home to many fish & reptile species & again in part of the migratory route for many protected species. So far there been the proposal of a test tower & 175 wind towers. Construction of the test tower alone causes many to worry quite seriously about that effect of just the construction & its impact on the environment. We have minke, humpback & right whales that inhabit the area. As well as several species of dolphin & turtles, including loggerheads. So when someone gets around to doing a study on the environmental impact, when the government gets it's self together enough & figures out whose jurisdiction the study, control & oversight will belong to, when the folks trying to push this project through will discuss alternates, when someone gets the time to figure which environmental laws are to be broken maybe then the people of the Cape will allow them to go forward but not until someone comes up with enough information so that an informed discussion can be had & an informed decision can be made & not before, we'll have to wait & see once that time comes.

I grew up on these waters in the summer time & my mother's lived there for the past 35 years. As it is the loss of marine life has been tragic. Cape Cod, you're lucky to catch a 5-10 pound cod, the clamming is disappearing as well as the scalloping. The lobster is getting smaller & fewer by the season. 40 years ago I could walk the sandbars at low tide & bring home breakfast, lunch & supper. Today there's nothing on the sand or under it. I haven' seen a seal, a turtle or a giant grouper in decades. There still there but you won't see what's left & if they build the windmills they may be gone. The stripper & bass, the marlin, the swordfish & sailfish aren't around anymore & the tuna too. Part of this is due to over fishing & part caused by development & pollution. So if the Cape folks are a bit leery about building on & in the sound don't go calling them Kennedy's or liberals call them justifiably cautious. Yes, it will look unpleasant (actually you probably won't see it from land, any land but they will be a hazard to navigation) but if it proves to not have adverse effects on the wildlife & the environment then I think that the people of the Cape would go for it. They'd like the break in energy cost, IF THERE ARE ANY & the positives of not using any more fossil fuel than need be but come up with the data 1st, & prove that it's gonna be at least a half safe bet.

Here's some reading


Barry