Earth First! vows to fight against industrial wind power
Earth First! vows to fight against industrial wind power
FARMINGTON — Earth First! activists vowed Tuesday to continue its opposition to locating wind turbines in Maine, according to a press release.
The statement follows the conviction of two of its associated members this week for failure to disperse during a demonstration in Franklin County last summer.
“We feel strongly that industrial wind is a false solution to climate change, and remain committed to defending Maine’s mountain forests as a carbon-sink and as habitat for rare and endangered species” said Jessie Dowling of Maine Earth First!
A Franklin County Superior Court justice sentenced Erik Gillard, 27, of Plainfield, Vt., and Willow Cordes-Eklund, 27, of Minneapolis, Minn., to each serve 10 days in jail and each pay a $500 fine.
The sentence was a significant departure from typical sentencing in civil disobedience cases, the press release said. Individuals convicted of civil disobedience are most often sentenced to community service, it stated.
The two were involved in a protest against an industrial wind development project in Kibby Township and Chain of Ponds Township on July 6, 2010.
TransCanada has installed 44 turbines on Kibby mountain and range, and has received a permit to install 11 turbines on adjacent Sisk Mountain.
The latter permit issued by Maine Land Use Regulation Committee is under appeal to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to overturn it due to the process followed, the release states. After sentencing Tuesday, Cordes-Eklund said that while the sentence was unexpectedly severe, she is prepared to serve it, the release states.
“Though I find the sentence to be harsh, I came to court knowing the possible consequences,” she said. “Going to trial was my attempt to continue the fight against industrial wind power.”
Other activists present to watch the conclusion of the trial questioned the wisdom of spending taxpayer money to jail nonviolent activists.
Jim Freeman of Verona Island said, “Is it really worth spending money jailing these people who pose no danger to society? There are better uses for public funds in these tight budget times,” according to the release.
dperry@sunjournal.com
http://www.sunjournal.com/franklin/story/1050035
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Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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