Update on the CTFWP leadership
Dear fellow CTFWP members,
In November 2009, the Citizen’s Task Force on Wind Power was established at a meeting in Augusta attended by 27 concerned citizens from around the state. The meeting was organized by Dr. Monique Aniel and Steve Thurston, who were appointed co-chairs. Three goals were established at the first meeting:
1. To influence the legislative and regulatory processes to protect the health and welfare of citizens from the harmful effects of recent laws favoring wind power;
2. To advocate in the judicial system for the rights of citizens impacted by wind projects;
3. To create a repository of wind power information to help citizens respond to the prospect of wind turbine projects in their towns.
During the 3 years since its inception, the CTFWP has grown to 537 members via the website www.WindTaskForce.org. As more wind projects have been approved and constructed, more citizens have become concerned about the impacts to the health of nearby residents and the loss of “Quality of Place” that has accompanied each project.
As a result of testimony by CTFWP members and other concerned citizens, in April 2011 the Maine legislature instructed the Governor’s Office of Energy Independence and Security to thoroughly investigate the problems resulting from the “Expedited Wind Law” of 2008. The final report, released in March 2012, contained many of the recommendations of the CTFWP and awaits action by the incoming legislature.
In September 2011, The Board of Environmental Protection, in response to a citizens’ petition organized by CTFWP, took the unprecedented action of creating a separate section in the state’s noise regulations dealing specifically with turbine noise, and reduced the nighttime turbine noise limit from 45 to 42 decibels. The Maine legislature subsequently approved these changes and they went into effect in June of this year. This revision to Maine’s noise regulations effectively increased the setback distance from dwellings and will help prevent future projects from creating the annoyance and sleep disturbance which have been endemic in Maine and around the world.
During the past three years many towns have adopted protective wind turbine ordinances based on current knowledge about the noise impacts of large industrial turbines. Typically these ordinances are even more restrictive than state regulations. As a result, many miles of ridgeline have been spared from the disastrous effects of deforestation, blasting of roads and turbine foundation holes, and the visual blight of increasingly larger turbines and the accompanying transmission lines .
As a consequence of these actions, the tireless resistance to projects by local groups, and due to the difficulties wind developers are having in financing their projects in the face of low electricity prices and the elimination of federal subsidies, the overall pace of new project proposals and approvals in has slowed down somewhat versus earlier years.
Although significant progress has been made in achieving the goals we set for ourselves, the wind industry remains a serious threat, and the ongoing battle continues.
As the Citizens Task Force on Wind Power begins its fourth year, we believe it is time for new leadership to carry forward the mission. Charter member and Communications Director Brad Blake has agreed to take over as interim Chairman effective immediately until the next organizational meeting.
We are confident that with his comprehensive knowledge, his passion for Maine and dedication to the cause, Brad’s leadership will enable the CTFWP to continue growing as it responds to the challenges that lie ahead.
As for ourselves, although we are stepping down as co-chairs, we are not exiting the wind fight and will continue to help in the overall effort.
We urge you to welcome Brad in his new role and offer him your support.
Your talents and willingness to be involved are crucial to our success.
Sincerely,
Monique Aniel, MD
Steve Thurston
Views: 630
Comment
-
Comment by Mike DiCenso on December 22, 2012 at 10:46pm
-
Thanks to Steve, Monique and Brad. All I have to do is look out my window at night and see the red blinking lights to get recharged. What an annoyance. It is distracting and hard to stay balanced when ice skating. I could go on, but Happy Holidays !!!
-
-
Truly, CTFWP is legendary in their battle to keep Maine from becoming a wasteland. Monique, you're the most tenacious person I've ever encountered and an inspiration when I get so frustrated. Thanks so much for giving so much of yourself.
Penny, Tehachapi Pass.
-
-
Hi Monique and all. The new mantra of the wind industry is that wind generated energy AUGMENTS coal, oil and natural gas. For all the subsidies, PTC and tax breaks, wind and solar has to be augmented by fossil fuels to boost the efficiency above18-23%. Americans should be outraged about being duped into believing through mass media and plain lies that commercia wind and solar could stand on their own.
-
Comment by Hart Daley on December 19, 2012 at 11:06am
-
Monique & Steve, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing me with knowledge and tools to fight against the sprawl of industrial wind projects. I live in Dixfield where Patriot Renewables LLC has proposed a sight along the Colonel Holman Ridgeline. My parents and grandparents grew up at the base of this ridge. My great-grandparents built the home I reside in. I raised my children and am helping to raise my grandchildren here as well. I will continue to fight for my RIGHT to enjoy my family, my quality of life and my property. Without your help I would not have known where to begin. I will continue to educate people and write letters to the legislators, papers etc in my efforts.
I only know Brad through my online conversations and brief encounter in Greenbush at the DEP public hearing but I read and I acknowledge how much effort, research and knowledge he has surrounding this major issue. I am confident he will continue the fight and lead us all in the direction to save our beautiful State of Maine. Thank you again Monique and Steve and thank you Brad for taking on this momentous responsibility.
-
Comment by Donna Amrita Davidge on December 19, 2012 at 8:33am
-
Dear Monique: Though the battle is far from over you have taken us where we are today- in our fight for Oakfield Monique was a constant counsel to me..and no matter the outcome, as we know how it is played out by the State, we much got forward in our fight..with Mr Katahdin on the front of the current Down East Magazine and Angus King quoted (in 2003) in it as saying Maine will not change much in the next ten years we must continue to see if we can bring to light the lies and deceptions that are ruining western/northern Maine..thank you Steve and Monique for all the energy you have thrown into this. Yes, as Penny write, the disaster for our birds and other wildlife, as well as our trees, is beyond believable.
-
-
https://www.facebook.com/OcotilloWindTurbineDestruction/photos_stream
This is the wind development destruction taking place in Ocotillo. This is happening in the desert in the County of Imperial in southern California. Never has the destruction been captured close up and right in all of our faces as has been documented here.
Please take the time to make a call to as many senators and house representatives as you can to tell them plainly to stop destroying our environment for electricity.
I live in the Tehachapi Pass and have included a photo of a juvenile Coopers hawk spotted on my fence. This hawk will probably not live to adulthood and will be slaughter by one of the 8000 turbines here. By the way, in 8 years, this is only the 4th raptor I've ever seen in the sky. There have been turbines here for over 30 years and most of the birds are dead as a result.
Keep fighting against open bladed turbines in the U.S. and let's work to ban them in 2013.
-
Comment by Brad Blake on December 18, 2012 at 9:18pm
-
Back in 2009, when we were fighting First Wind with Friends of Lincoln Lakes, I stumbled across a website: Concerned Citizens to Save Roxbury. This group was organized to battle Angus King's Record Hill wind project. I knew Roxbury Pond from when I lived in Oxford County back in the mid 70's. So I posted a comment. Someone I never knew named Steve Thurston replied. We both had been in touch with folks from Mars Hill, trying to learn more about these wind projects. That nexus is arguably the beginning of CTFWP. Through this connection I soon met Dr. Monique Aniel. We have engaged together in this passionate fight against this scourge of industrial wind power in Maine. Along the way, we have become dear friends. I have been honored to work with Steve and Monique. I know they are stepping down from being co-chairs, but their depth of knowledge, their contacts, their wise counsel, are still available.
The best way to thank Steve and Monique for all they have done is to step forward and help with the on-going agenda, such as defeating the Production Tax Credit, educating our Legislators so we can change the "Wind Law", keeping letters to the editor and public discussions going to educate people who don't understand this issue, doubling our efforts to influence DEP and local officials to scrutinize wind site applications fairly, helping more communities adopt protective wind ordinances, building coalitions with environmental groups that should be on our side, and working to repeal renewable mandates.
As I mentioned, Steve and Monique and I are friends. On September 13, I spent a lovely afternoon and evening with them at the historic Thurston camp on Roxbury Pond. Steve took me out on his pontoon boat and he trolled for fish while I did photography of this wonderful lake in its splendid mountain setting--and the Record Hill Wind project hideously looming above the lake, sprawling across Flathead Mt. and Partridge Peak. The photos from that day are here: https://picasaweb.google.com/101554457531034815464/RoxburyPond# Steve and I had a very soulful talk that afternoon while out on the pontoon boat. Before we headed in, Steve took me over to his favorite spot on the pond. He mentioned that this large rock with Record Hill in the background is his photo avatar when he posts, seen here. He asked me to take a photo of it now, with the wind turbines. Angus King never did put turbines on Record Hill itself, as originally planned, but just to the south starts the line of 22 turbines. In honor of Steve and Monique and to remind us how much industrial wind blight is destroying the "quality of place" of Maine, I share the photo of Steve's favorite spot.
-
-
Thank you, Monique and Steve, for everything you've done. The amount of time and energy you have both devoted to this fight has been heroic. You have made a big difference by exposing the "green" myths and the serious health concerns associated with industrial wind power in this beautiful state. Thank you!
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/
Not yet a member?
Sign up today and lend your voice and presence to the steadily rising tide that will soon sweep the scourge of useless and wretched turbines from our beloved Maine countryside. For many of us, our little pieces of paradise have been hard won. Did the carpetbaggers think they could simply steal them from us?
We have the facts on our side. We have the truth on our side. All we need now is YOU.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
-- Mahatma Gandhi
"It's not whether you get knocked down: it's whether you get up."
Vince Lombardi
Task Force membership is free. Please sign up today!
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/
© 2024 Created by Webmaster.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine to add comments!
Join Citizens' Task Force on Wind Power - Maine