Herbicides Used by Industrial Wind - a warning for all
Much has been written about the blasting, the clearcutting, transmission lines, access roads and the destructive process needed to set up the massive turbines. What I would like to focus on are the herbicides used to prohibit new growth and kill off existing growth or to stunt it much like we see every day under transmission lines that crisscross our state.
I came across this article, Silent Spring has Sprung, by Randall Amster on the Common Dreams website:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/20
When you get a chance, please read it. If the herbicides being sprayed on our mountain ridges contain atrazine we may all be in for an ecological disaster, as if it weren't already. We need to find out but I have no idea who would know or if they did, would tell us the truth.
Views: 153
Comment
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Comment by Long Islander on April 19, 2010 at 3:59pm
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Is there any regulation that requires them to file notice of the spraying either on site or with some government body? If a person with a hyper-sensitivity to chemicals were to request in writing of the wind companies and state to be notified of the spraying dates and name of the chemical, and if refused to provide, could this become a liability for them in a lawsuit?
What about analysis of nearby waters for chemicals? Establish a baseline right away and then see what turns up over time. I wonder if any kits are available to find specific agents.
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Comment by Cynthia Hardy Wadsworth on April 19, 2010 at 1:47pm
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I doubt that they will use aerial spraying. As someone who has worked with lifeflights for years, I do not know of any fixed wing pilots (or choppers) who fly any where close to these metal critters. It will most likely be applied by some person who will not be given the appropriate gear to wear for self protection.
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Thank you for bringing this to our attention. But, as you stated, it will be very difficult to find out the truth. It would be good to have someone see what chemicals they are hauling to the ridge sited locations. Especially right now, this season. Someone could also check to see if wind developers in the area have ordered such chemicals from any local dealers. Our water supply will be affected and our wildlife and we humans. I was told (but can not document) that some wind developers will be using something similar to what was placed around railroad tracks in the past to knock down plant growth for ?years at a time by just one treatment.
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Comment by Mary Elen Marucci on April 2, 2010 at 5:29pm
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I too was surprised when I moved to Maine three years ago (Southern Aroostook). Your cancer rate is very high. I had no idea that forestry was not included in the original ban against Agent Orange. They continued to use it legally until similar chemicals became common. Herbicides are used to "release" trees after clear-cut or selective harvesting. Agent Orange and similar products like Roundup kill broadleaf trees and brush and “release” conifers by opening up the sky to them. They are also used to kill the potato plant in preparation for the harvest. Otherwise farmers would have to wait for the first frost to kill the tops. With larger farms and less labor it must amke financial sense to harvest with chemicals. But the soil contains about half the biomass that the land can support. When you destroy its balance and kill it, then plants need more fertilizer, and pesticides which creates an abusive cycle. Major corporations benefit from this addiction. And we as individuals suffer poor health, disease, and bad government.
Atrazine has been known for over 25 years to cause problems, and the frog pictures were available then too. It might be interesting to research what they are coming out with now to replace it. Something I am sure whose patent hasn't run out yet. We have so often been put from the frying pan into the fire by the chemical industry's money-making schemes.
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Comment by Joanne Moore on March 23, 2010 at 6:33pm
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Thanks for the link. I bookmarked it. I must say I never realized the widespread use of herbicides in our forests. I am stunned and saddened beyond belief. Seems like the Department of Environmental Protection doesn't protect the environment much if any. And it certainly doesn't worry about the effects of aerial spraying on human health and welfare. Runoff into wells has me very worried. What about people living near where this poison is being sprayed? This is outrageous! I'm going to call the DEP tomorrow and start finding out some answers. Thanks again, Lisa. Your input has been invaluable.
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Comment by Lisa Lindsay on March 23, 2010 at 5:32pm
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I have another good source who also believes the chemicals would be similar to Round-Up. However, she suggested finding out if there would be aerial spraying. It’s a ton cheaper than going out there and doing it by hand. The timber industry still uses aerial spraying quite a bit. CMP does not aerial spray presumably due to being close to residences, however, given the wind turbines are sited in pretty rural areas, it makes me wonder.
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Lisa, Thanks for this valuable information! I wonder if all the DEP rules are being followed and, yes, it would be a great question to ask during a public meeting.
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Please see attachment below from DEP. This pertains to power lines. Note that herbicide cannot be applied within 25 feet of streams. Not much space. I'm guessing they use similar chemicals (I think this is similar to Round-Up which is used all over the place in state-run properties in Maine) for the turbines. It would be a good question to ask directly during a public hearing, such as the one coming up this week in Woodstock.
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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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