Willard took a jog down a Cape beach in top coat and dress shoes last week to weigh in once again for the rich. The Governor spoke against the clean energy Cape Wind proposal. His Excellency was mocked by supporters of the project who carried small pinwheels. Cape Code Times reports that Willard’s office, while opposing wind power on the wealthy Cape has approved permits for wind developers in the Berkshires. Meanwhile, the newspaper reported, "while Mitt was muddying the wind and the water here, Canada’s wind-power capacity, already the fastest-growing form of electricity generation in Canada, took another significant step forward with the funding for two new wind-power projects in Quebec. Together, the 60 turbines at the Mount Miller and Mount Copper wind farms provide 108 megawatts of wind-energy capacity, lifting Canada’s total wind-power generation capacity from 444 to more than 550 megawatts, an increase of nearly 25%."
I’ve been thinking a lot about this wind proposal – particularly with regard to the aesthetic worries. No doubt there were people that thought that the Golden Gate Bridge proposal was a terrible idea that would ruin the natural beauty of the Bay Area. Now it’s considered a wonder of the world. I remember, back in the 60’s, the controversy over the construction of the Newport Bridge (in Rhode Island) connecting Newport with Jamestown. Again, no one is complaining now. We have to get over it! I can envision a time when the wealthy residents of Nantucket will look out at the ocean and see the wind mills not as an obstruction of their view, but an essential part of it. What do you all think?