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Loving the lazy (green) summer
I hope your summer has been as lazy as mine -- and from the lack of blog posts, you can tell it has been real lazy.
Still, I've felt the green shadow of environmental issues over my shoulder. Or maybe that's the green shadow of responsibility for this blog.
My week in Cape Cod was great: sun, surf and seafood. Still, it might have been a bit more satisfying if, floating on my boogie board, I could have seen a distant line of offshore wind turbines.
You see, Cape Cod is the land of the big NIMBY. A liberal, wealthy, wonderful place that continues to resist attempts to build offshore wind farms.
My next week, spent at Chateaugay Lake, was also great: swimming, kayaking and horseback riding. And it was gratifying to know that the region was doing its share in the move toward alternative power. In the Northern Adirondacks it is easy to see turbine towers on the horizen. Just a short trip down Route 374 takes you into a turbine forest.
And, in my laziness, I came across a fascinating television documentary that speaks to green issues: Wide Angle's "Burning Season." I don't think the episode is being rebroadcast locally, but you can view it the whole series online. In "Burning Season" the filmakers take what is a lofty and complex problem -- the links between climate change and deforestation -- and unravel it to the level of the individual palm-oil farmer in Indonesia.
Of course, I have to admit that I didn't spend all my TV viewing time on such informative fare. I'm rewatching "Star Trek: The Next Generaltion," hoping to assimilate the kids into the Trekie culture. They already think Data is hilarious. Is it easier sometimes to just think about leaving Earth behind?
Comments
Let's hope resistance to a green Earth is futile.
Posted by: Gerianne Wright | August 12, 2009 12:35 PM
Remember, conspiracy theorists, we have a tall, slim, intelligent president with a short haircut. Vulcans are tall, slim, intelligent and, when they have hair, it's short. Coincidence? I think not!
Posted by: Jack | August 12, 2009 1:23 PM
Jack, I look at the P-R's Web site all the time. I was the AFB public affairs officer from mid-86 through early 89. It was very cool to see the base property again last month. I was surprised to see the old alert facility still stands.
Back to wind-power farms for a second:
I am all for alternative, no-carbon energy sources. But in the already heavily developed Appalachians (where we live), constructing a wind farm means fragmenting ridge-top forests with access roads, turbine pads, utility lines and poles, etc. And this forest fragmentation spells trouble for many critters, particularly forest-interior songbirds like the wood thrush -- a species now in serious trouble.
I am a long-time volunteer participant in the USGS's Breeding Bird Survey, and a former president of the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology.
Alan C. Gregory
Lt. Col., USAF, Ret.
Posted by: Alan Gregory | August 13, 2009 9:11 AM
Alan,
Great to hear from you.
About wind power: Yes, there are compromises to be made. And you are right to point out that the turbines are only part of the issue -- the access roads are a major impact.
In the North Country, where almost all of our wind development is in farmland, that's not really an issue.
Likewise, in shallow off-shore areas like Nantucket Sound, Cape Cod, access isn't a problem.
I find it interesting that most places wind development has been blocked the real issue is aesthetics.
Jack
Posted by: Jack | August 13, 2009 9:51 AM