Thoughts and questions about the race for governor & Legislature

Though I'm not an avid follower of the race for governor, it seems to me that the mountaintop turbine issue is the 2,000-pound elephant in the closet that candidates— and reporters asking questions— avoid more often than not. Am I right? Or is there a candidate who, if elected, would reconsider this whole sad Baldacci initiative?

During an MPBN call-in when Libby Mitchell was on stage, I called and quickly summed up leading reasons for opposing mountaintop wind, then asked her position on this. She made it clear that she favors building the turbines because the project is providing jobs (short term ones, actually) and we may get an industry to produce turbine blades for Maine projects. So scratch Libby. Is Paul LePage any better on this? Eliot Cutler responded to a letter I wrote to him a few months ago in an email response. It was a thoughtful email. The last paragraph reads:

"My staff and I will continue to examine the turbine issue and consider the costs involved. Investing in Maine’s energy resources while protecting our state’s unique natural environment is at the top of my priority list. Please continue to share your concerns and ideas with me..."

Well, is Eliot the one to elect?

As to the upcoming election, do we have anyone running for the Legislature, incumbent or otherwise, who sees industrial wind as the environmentally destructive, noisy, economically wasteful project it is? I'd like very much to have an answer to this question too.

It occurs to me that the public, or at least a majority of Maine residents, is as much at fault on this issue as the politicians and the few people who are getting rich with this scheme. It occurs to me that, despite the many people who climb mountains and realize the magnificence of sub-alpine summits, we're a tiny minority. It's hard to imagine that anyone who's spent any time in the mountains would support or be indifferent to blasting and crushing mountaintops so they are forever degraded. — Lloyd Ferriss

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Comment by Jonathan Albrecht on October 18, 2010 at 9:01am
If you are thinking of LePage, read the 2010 Republican Platform which is now hidden under the "about" menu item on the Republican website. This election is not just about wind power. Its about the economy, health care, the environment, maintaining Maine's brand and character, and families and kids. The GOP platform was written by the LePage campaign. Its his views (unlike normal platforms which are usually the views of unelected party activists). You can decide then whether adopting radical, failed economic policies (Austrian economic cultists views), endangering children, advocating unconstitutional positions on congress, state sovereignty, and treaties might just be more important then whether a wind farm ruins the natural beauty of Maine.
I've already voted. No to a ordinance in Dixfield and Yes to a permanent moritorium on wind power development in Dixfield. And while I would prefer a governor who is not blinded by the prospects of oil independence or free energy by building two nuclear power plants in Maine there are just other things more important.
Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on October 17, 2010 at 7:09pm
From Libby Mitchell's website on 9/27/10

Clean Energy
The cost of energy is the biggest threat to Maine, its economy, and its standard of living today. 80 percent of our homes are heated primarily with oil; in fact 88% of all energy consumed in Maine is produced by fossil fuels. This represents the biggest cost to our businesses and our families. Every dollar that the price of gasoline and home heating oil goes up represents $1.2 billion gone from our economy. This cost is essentially what would happen if Maine doubled its sales and income tax; but in this case, we get nothing in return.
Money spent on fossil fuels is money that families could use to save for college or retirement, do home repairs, go out to dinner or a movie, or simply put food on their tables. It is money our businesses could use to reinvest, to expand, or just to remain competitive in this global market place. We must take steps now to change it.
As the next Governor of Maine, I will make reducing our dependence on foreign oil the centerpiece of my economic strategy.
But we must be more than a staging area. We must, to quote several experts, "vertically integrate the value chain". This means we have to be self-sufficient. To benefit fully from producing energy in Maine, we must also build the infrastructure to do so here in Maine.
How Will We Do It?
By focusing our economic development efforts on expansion of renewable power
and energy efficiency. Our energy needs are both our biggest threat and our biggest opportunity. Wind power is an important part of the equation, but there are other essential elements as well: energy efficiency, biofuels, solar and tidal/hydro. Maine has opportunity to be an important national player in this regard.
This is not only possible; it is happening right now. We have taken big steps in the past several years. The legislature created pre-permitted sites for wind power that have dramatically decreased the permitting time. At Kibby Mountain, beautiful and graceful windmills are already working in what was already an industrial forest to produce enough electricity to supply all the homes in Franklin, Oxford, and Somerset counties combined!The Ocean Energy Task Force is completing the same process for offshore sites, where Maine has the greatest possibility of producing energy that is equivalent to 40 nuclear power plants – only without the waste.
Simply hosting renewable power is not sufficient, however. We must make the components here in Maine. Windmill blades can and are being made here in Maine by our composite companies, traditional boat building companies. Maine companies, some of which are already building offshore oil rigs, can make the stations and offshore platforms. The University of Maine received a grant from the US Department of Energy to create the only marine wind power research facility in the state. This grant builds upon investments Maine has already made in the world-class composite testing laboratory.

http://libbymitchellforgovernor.com/the-issues/clean-energy/
Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on October 17, 2010 at 7:02pm
From Libby Mitchell's website on 10/17/10: http://libbymitchellforgovernor.com/the-issues/clean-energy/
"Libby’s strategy will stress conservation and the development of renewable energy including on-shore and off-shore wind..."
Comment by Denise Hall on October 17, 2010 at 6:01pm
LePage is the only one who understands the low capacity and high price issues associated with wind power. He has openly said the technology is not there yet. Elliot Cutler came to where I work and I talked to him about the Spruce Mountain project. He is not on our side and said the D.E.P. is handling things just fine. He thinks we need to get past our "NIMBY" attitude. Until recently, Libby's website talked about how wonderful the Kibby Project was and said the mountain was an industrial site anyway. It appear she was smart enough to take that down.

Here is the audio for the governor candidate's energy debate held a few weeks ago at USM. Its worth listening too.
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/mpbc/local-mpbc...
Comment by Albert Johnson on October 17, 2010 at 12:07pm
You had better hope LePage is the next Governor. If Mitchell is elected, we will be looking at four more years of destruction!
Comment by Steven Pease on October 17, 2010 at 11:19am
Dang it! Somehow my husband keeps popping up here, instead of me. Hehehehe...the man's never said 'dissembled' in his life. Snort!!! This is Karen Bessey Pease from Lexington, signing out...
Comment by Steven Pease on October 17, 2010 at 11:17am
Hi Lloyd, it's Kaz. It's nice to see you writing here-- that brings a smile. I hope you and the missus are well?

I've decided to support LePage. One of the reasons is that he said in a September 23 reception at Sugarloaf which I attended, that he thinks a moratorium on mountaintop wind is in order, until the FACTS about it-- environmental as well as economical-- are truly studied and dissembled. (Okay, those weren't his exact words.... but he talked about wind for quite a while, and I'm paraphrasing, Kaz-style).

I'd never attempt to tell anyone else how to vote, but I am comfortable in making my choice clear.


Hope to see you around!
xoxo
Kaz
Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on October 17, 2010 at 10:49am
Cutler was interviewed by MPBN recently with regard to his thoughts on wind power. He thinks the expedited wind law is "generally correct".
MPBN: Okay, let’s talk about wind for a moment. Do you approve of the state’s current wind power policy?

CUTLER: Yeah, I think it’s generally correct. I don’t have any significant policy differences. ..

 

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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