Huh boy. Vermont’s anti-wind zealots appear to be establishing a Holy Place for their belief system of junk science and outright dogma. (Perhaps tax-free status as a religious organization is the next step.)
And where will this Medjugorje of the Muggles be created? Glad you asked.
The Therrien family property in Sheffield… will become a dedicated research hub to study the noise, vibrations and environmental impacts of 16 418-foot-tall nearby turbines known as Vermont Wind.
Ah, the Therriens, perennial poster family for the alleged hazards of wind. The anti-wind organization Energize Vermont bought their place at a tax sale, and now plans to use it as headquarters of the Vermont Center for Turbine Impact Studies — a name that seems to presage its findings. Because the overwhelming bulk of actual scientific inquiry has found little to no impact.
(Indeed, a massive study in Australia found a high correlation between reports of turbine-related sickness and protests over the construction of wind farms. Nearly two-thirds of all wind farms in the country had never received a single report of ill effects, while a handful of facilities that had attracted opposition was also responsible for the vast majority of health complaints. The conclusion: “wind turbine syndrome” is a “disease” spread by word of mouth.)
Energize Vermont’s Mark Whitworth explains why his group is setting up a “research center” in an abandoned house out in the boonies.
“The Therrien family abandoned their home, and we want to start to figure out why,” he said. “What are the conditions that those turbines created that could cause a family to take the extreme step of abandoning their home and property?”
Good question, Mark. Here’s another for your Center to ponder: Why the hell hasn’t anyone else followed in their footsteps?
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Vermonters who live closer to wind farms than did the Therriens. Why are they the only ones to flee?
When I make my frequent drives to visit family in Michigan, I pass dozens and dozens of turbines on the plaints of northern New York and southwest Ontario, all of them very close to farms and family homes. I haven’t seen any evidence of massive out-migration.
That’s the real question that’d be explored by the V.C.T.I.S. — that is, if it were an actual scientific organization instead of a propaganda outfit.
I’m assuming the V.C.T.I.S. will be the new home base for Ben Luce’s taxpayer-funded sound monitoring gear, if and when he manages to scare up the matching funds needed to activate the state grant. And, if Whitworth and Luce have their way, it will become a new wellspring for faux-science and fearmongering.
Maybe there’ll even be a gift shop. I can see the T-shirt now: an outline of a group of people running away as a wind turbine hovers nearby, shooting invisible rays at their backs.
The Vermont Political Observer. 
Stop the Madness – the Sequel !
John S. Walters criticizes the $50,000 set aside by the legislature to study the ill-effects of wind turbines on those living in close proximity to industrial wind turbine facilities – claiming that to providing Lyndon State physics professor Ben Luce with finding to study turbine-generated noise was somehow unfair to the “big wind” promoters!
I guess I sort of agree that the study is unnecessary, however for reasons totally at odds with Johns “pro-wind” bias !
Why we are wasting the money to find out what everyone already knows ? The gigantic industrial wind turbine blades emit sound, vibration and optical strobing that, at best, is extremely annoying to those who live in close proximity to the facilities AND at worst create substantial emission that dramatically effect the humans and wildlife that share the same habitat.
Of course all of this has become irrelevant as the wind advocates and their promoters at the State House have now been forced to admit that constructing these wind industrial facilities (as well as their industrial solar counterparts) will not help to mitigate “global warming” and are being promoted as a way to bring employment to the state, a kind of 21st century WPA program!
The obvious conclusion is that, with intent and forethought, they are despoiling our ridgelines, meadows and valuable farmland to construct economically and ecologically ineffective power generation facilities that either annoy and distress OR create significant health concerns for those living in close proximity.
Talk about a deal with NO upside!
H. Brooke Paige.
postscript – It was interesting to see Sue Minter “dance” around this issue as she tried to promote “green energy” as an job creator while acting as if all the destruction left in its wake was somehow “No big deal!”
John S. Walters listens to the wind promoters Siren’s call at: https://thevpo.org/…/…/29/state-hires-fox-to-guard-henhouse/
(I found the illustration of the comparison of the blade span of the latest wind turbine blades and the wing span of a Boeing 747 to be illumination of the proportions of the problem ! – posted at: http://www.everydaycitizen.com/…/how_big_is_an_industrial_w… )
Go ahead and believe the junk science if you want. Just one example: it’s not the blades of a jetliner that generate noise — it’s the goddamn engine!
John,
As a 747 rumbles down the runway IT IS the BLADES rotating inside the four gigantic Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines that create the majority of the noise as they develop the thrust to propel the aircraft forward. If you intended to point out that the wind passing over the wings of the aircraft, creating the lift, are not a significant noise facto; I would have had to agree. The 747 was mentioned to illustrate the size of the latest wind turbines that are being proposed, not as an comparison of the sounds, vibration and barometric disturbance the wind turbine blades cause.
My point was that EVEN the promoters of industrial wind and solar have now admitted that building out all their facilities over our pristine countryside will not have any meaningful positive effect on reducing carbon dioxide emissions OR on reducing Global Warming. These projects are nothing more than political payback to those who have supported and subsidized their Renewable Energy tax scam at the expense of the Vermont taxpayers (and ratepayers) as well as our scenic vistas.
Brooke
Brooke Paige:
You state: “The gigantic industrial wind turbine blades emit sound, vibration and optical strobing that, at best, is extremely annoying to those who live in close proximity to the facilities AND at worst create substantial emission that dramatically effect the humans and wildlife that share the same habitat.”
The actual evidence suggests that SOME people, when exposed to the sounds from wind turbines suffer from a variety of complaints, which they attribute to turbine noise. It also shows that many more individuals – also living in proximity to turbines – do NOT complain.
In the scientific literature, repeated attempts to show that wind turbines are actually causing these complaints have been unsuccessful: “To date, no peer reviewed articles demonstrate a direct causal link between people living in proximity to modern wind turbines, the noise they emit and resulting physiological health effects. If anything, reported health effects are likely attributed to a number of environmental stressors that result in an annoyed/stressed state in a segment of the population. In the popular literature, self-reported health outcomes are related to distance from turbines and the claim is made that infrasound is the causative factor for the reported effects, even though sound pressure levels are not measured.” http://www.ehjournal.net/content/pdf/1476-069X-10-78.pdf
Wind turbines DO emit noise, and some people DO complain. Lots of things happen in this world. The job of scientists is to establish whether or not these two phenomena are linked. You presume to know what the science does NOT show.
I misplaced this comment, which was a reply to Brooke Paige’s earlier comment.
Brooke Paige:
‘My point was that EVEN the promoters of industrial wind and solar have now admitted that building out all their facilities over our pristine countryside will not have any meaningful positive effect on reducing carbon dioxide emissions OR on reducing Global Warming.”
Unless undue emphasis is placed on the word “meaningful,” I’ve seen no evidence for this. If there are “promoters” who have “admitted” this, then they’re wrong.
Wind turbines DO displace carbon dioxide emissions when their production is used to limit the production from natural gas and other fossil fuel plants, which is the case in New England. For precisely that reason, they do reduce the amount of greenhouse gases spewed into the atmosphere. See, e.g., http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy08osti/42616.pdf, pp. 18 & 21 of the pdf and Appendix F.
As to what’s “meaningful,” global carbon emissions are very large and Vermont’s contribution, proportionate to its size and population, is relatively small. DPS commissioner Chris Recchia did mention this, in a quote which has been taken entirely out of context. Indeed, he put it quite nicely a few sentences later: “If everybody else in the United States and around the world did what we’re doing, it would have a tremendous impact on climate change. The problem is we can only do what we can do,” he said.”
No rational person expects Vermont to solve a global problem on its own, but it is both reasonable and ethical for us to do our share. Doing nothing simply exacerbates the problem, albeit again in proportion to our very small geography and population.
Must have for sale the VCTIS gift shop:beanie copter hats
Hmm… at this point it adds up to about $25,000 per person who has actually claimed to be made sick by the Sheffield wind farm. (I looking at you, Therriens!)
To hell with the science — we don’t need it. Noise ordinance are not based on *science* but common f’king sense which is the fact that we don’t like noise! Who does?
As a chronic insomniac, continuous noise is loud to me when & if I sleep, but probably not to others. I sometimes get up & turn refrigerator fan off then back on which shuts fan off. Also have a ticking clock & take it off the wall & cover it. When I got a laptop stand w/fan it sounded kinda noisy, so I of all ppl know how annoying continuous noise is. Just don’t accept the premise that it is a condition which could lead to every nimby & brother claiming illness & filing lawsuits.
How about enforce the statutes on the books. I live in a congested neighborhood bordered by a busy highway & truck route. In my entire life always seem to be located near train tracks, however this is not continuous in duration. At certain hours — there is *no noise*. Don’t have ordinance memorized, however I believe there can be no roadwork or construction activity until 7am — unsure when they have to shut down — seems like 5pm or so. Quite sure none of the apologists or the perps here would like continuous noise either.
Why should *anyone* get a pass? And there are ppl suffering from far more noise than the Therriens. But just as in all collectivist constructs “the good of the many” rides again. IOW — suck it up b/c you don’t count folks! This is why we are a nation of laws, have statutes & ordinances — to protect the *good of all*.
Towns need to have the greater & final say, turbines should be placed far enough away so there is no noise if there is they must remove the offending turbine(s). Solar arrays should be shielded from view with a deposit cover dismantling, disposal & any damage to soil which would discourage use of prime-ag.
Developers should be bargaining & negotiating directly with towns, residents & landowners & they should be hiring consultants as they do in other states to advise them, who btw do not have a taxpayer funded rubberstamp, PSB which should be shitcanned. Look at the mess these highly educated fools have made with VT Gas,
http://vtdigger.org/2016/08/29/attorney-claims-psb-lacks-jurisdiction-vermont-gas-pipeline-expansion/
which has amounted to highway robbery w/o gun or blindfold. They knew what they were doing so I hope the lawyer takes it to SCOV & even SCOTUS. And it would end the narcissistic self-stardom & exploitation of the public from the likes of Ms. Smith who has in actuality damaged the cause.
But why do that when they can pay off entire statehouse, governor, agencies etc etc for far less and then marshal the corrupt heavy hand of VPIRG goons — now an arm of VT government — to conduct shake-downs which is why I’m done with them, entire climate-change cult, its holy-war, entourage of terrorists & jihadists who just like all religious cults must be believed, followed & obeyed w/o debate or question.
“To hell with the science — we don’t need it”
There’s The Epitaph for you.
Ahem. We don’t need science to determine if continuous noise is something most ppl wish to be inundated with, guessing that would be a “no”. No need to measure it, simply force the developers to put their junk where it will be impossible to bother us to begin with. We are foolishly allowing them to start & end the bidding based upon their vested interests. F’k the measuring devices, studies & all of it. Put them where they can *never* make noise.
Looks like the ones pushing the climate agenda have taken a page out of the Star Trek book and have become Borgs, those opposed need to fight the agenda of which climate change is in actuality but a small component.
We have become overrun with technocrats who loosely base their stances on science, but most of it is their personal expertise based on “trust us cuz we’re waaay smarter than you” — becuz we said so. It’s an authoritarian construct which involves putting our lives in the hands of a few self-proclaimed know-it-alls pushing an agenda.
And the science is junk. Not our daddy’s science — but based on predictive analysis & computer models — not actual but virtual.
As the song says “…when they own the information … they can bend it all they want”.
That would be fine if we could site ALL our energy facilities far away from people, which would be impossible. As it is, virtually everything we build impacts someone. For most of our history, the urban poor have borne the brunt. If rural Vermonters feel a teensy fraction of that impact, that’s kinda too bad.
Okay:
“To hell with the science — we don’t need it” *
Better?
Can’t believe you actually said that. Really seem to be bashing Vermonters, esp the not-so-rich-and-famous with a hearty “sucks bein’ you, folks”. Attitude very likely will be the undoing & unravelling of it all as I gotta say arrogance does seem to be shared by developers & promoters alike — breathtaking hubris.
Although also believe we cannot ban something we all need we certainly can place restrictions which is what I hope for, rather than junking it all but not holding breath as Scott has said he will have a moratorium on wind. Though not personally affected, difficult to watch my VT neighbors steamrolled by the sellouts. Grafton VT is down-home VT but caters to & full of upper middle class & second homes who have been given the right to vote on the Stiles Brook project. I’ll be surprised if it passes as Windham has already tried to put the kibosh on it.
When & if Scott makes it, possible bygone era as his saying ‘Gee I sure hope VT can meet its 2050 goals’ falls far short of pledging to do all things necessary to make it happen. Personal ownership of autos is on the chopping block & slated to be discontinued by the climate-change cultists, so Scott appears to be giving that nonsense a friendly but firm pushback with his photo-ops at dealerships etc.
Said it before but bears repeating, plans for a complete makeover of the planet a classist construct which plays both ends against the middle and us all against each other to further the future goals of corporations, wealthy 1% and to enslave us. Pretty sure if the left has its way we won’t be seeing our fearless leaders taking the bus alongside We The (little) People, or living in the hole-in-the-wall condo-style sardine-can “efficiencies” slated.
Sad to say, finally seeing why Trump has made it this far. Tho some of it has been by fraud, deceit and both sides ambitiously working the numbers in open primaries, most of it has been the faceless & voiceless making their voices heard. So many ppl around me are supporting him feel like I’m living in a zombie apocalypse & Idiocracy has become reality.
http://www.full-movie.us/videos/idiocracy-youtube
Late-great George Carlin said it best
I didn’t really bash the Therriens, I simply pointed out that they’re the only ones to have been afflicted by this alleged plague. They have been seized upon and deployed as props by the anti-wind folks, and they have willingly played a part in their advocacy. That makes them fair game in a discussion of Vermont politics.
John,
While I am an opponent of Industrial Wind for economic reasons and do not personally know any of those who suffer from living in close proximity to the machines – the Therriens are most certainly not the only ones who “have been afflicted by this alleged plague.” If you have a real interest in learning about the thousands who have been harmed the following site might be of interest”: https://www.facebook.com/groups/740453565984169/
H. Brooke Paige.
This was the offending comment:”If rural Vermonters feel a teensy fraction of that impact, that’s kinda too bad.” We weren’t there nor recommended their neighborhood for siting of energy plants.
Not the Therriens I was speaking of as I must agree. Elevated it to an illness or disorder & once started couldn’t simply back down plus egged on by enabler(s). But there are those who experience *much more* noise all the time than the Therriens.
Want to see developers & legislators living in same conditions they expect from the impacted, rather than this f’king nimby hippocrite:
http://watchdog.org/238316/green-mogul-blasts-nimby-concerns/
And they are all alike. Predict this will be an issue with crossovers favoring Scott as closing VT Yankee drew Republicans for Shummy.
http://watchdog.org/273389/minter-nomination-challenge-for-democrats/
At first, wind opposition was also elevated to a just & holy war. Spokespersons vastly overreached & were the original zero-sum gamers which is why personally opposing them b/c they were using untrue information such as claiming mountaintops were being hacked off as in coal mine country. Bats & birds die with or without turbines & more so in places with a lot of glass, ski areas have gotten a free pass since they started with ugly trails visible everywhere & environmental damage which blows up their sacred pristine-mountain argument.
Lofty quotes from the sanctimonious, making mountains off limits, mob-rule style obstructionism turned me off & very likely others while serving as a huge distraction from the real problems & issues faced by faceless voiceless VTers. After taking a fresh look, cannot blame the legislators from impacted areas. Just doing what they all do representing county & districts, more or less. Once dust settled, saw ppl who have sincere concerns about the quality of their lives diminished. They need to be seen & heard not silenced by legislators & other leaders who are paid to do their bidding.
Part of the problem here is that these industrial energy generators are not something most people would choose to be near, yet individually these same people have little choice when it comes to deciding if these industrial sites move in or not. For people who already have established homes, these generators are a disruption to their environment. If you claim that a 500 something foot tall structure weighing some 400 tons with blades moving at wing tip speeds of up to 160 mph is not going to ruffle any feathers, you have a failure to exercise logical skills. There are disruptions to the land (including blasting and excavation) for site preparation and access roads that trucks carrying the blades and towers can navigate and traverse, with post construction detrimental change to natural water runoff characteristics and soil erosion. Solar can provide similar or better benefits without the adverse environmental effects.
All the experts say we can’t meet our renewable energy target without wind as part of the equation. Sorry, just the truth.
Easy. Re-adjust the target to reflect ecological damage of industrial wind towers on Vermont’s pristine wild weather moderating water source ridge lines.
Whaaaaat?
These projects don’t qualify towards those goals.
Ah, we’re back to the old REC thing, are we?
There are alternatives to current siting practices which are far less environmentally disruptive. There are also newer technologies for harvesting wind energy that can replace these large turbines with less visual and environmental impact. Then too, there are wave harnessing generators that have been used successfully by other countries that could be used here as well. Recent improvements in solar collector efficiency have been made to reduce the need for as much dependence on wind sources. In short, there are alternatives to these alternatives.
Cufrent siting practices are minimally disruptive, except in the minds of people like you.
Here’s my comment with the links disabled:
From 2013: List of non-industry non-government published reviews regarding wind turbines and health – wndfo-dot-net slash revs
From last Friday: Noise & Health 2016;18(83):194-205 – ‘Before–after field study of effects of wind turbine noise on polysomnographic sleep parameters’:
‘Fragmented and insufficient sleep can adversely affect general health impacting daytime alertness and performance, quality of life, and health, and potentially lead to serious long-term health effects. …
‘[R]eported quality of sleep significantly declined after exposure (P = 0.008). Participants also reported higher levels of stress before bedtime (P = 0.039) and in the morning (P = 0.064), and also reported feeling more sleepy (P = 0.013) in the morning and throughout the day (P = 0.014) after exposure. …
‘Noise difference [between preoperation and operation of turbines] correlated with the difference in the number of awakenings (r = 0.605, P = 0.001), SSC [sleep stage changes to a lighter stage] difference (r = 0.600, P = 0.001), arousal difference (r = 0.551, P = 0.004), and percentage of S2 [stage 2 sleep] difference (r = −0.499, P = 0.009).’
Lovely. Numbers and fractions and multiple decimal places and everything. Just one question: If all this is true, how come the overwhelming majority of those who live near turbines report no ill effects?
Yes, lower quality of sleep and disruption have been documented for more than a decade. In fact, before commercial turbines reached such large size around 2000, the ill effects on neighbors of a large research turbine were studied and reported by NASA in 1982. See: docs-dot-wind-watch-dot-org slash NASA-bibliography-annotation-Wind-turbine-acoustics-Hubbard-Shepherd-Jan-1988.pdf
What is the basis of the claim that “the overwhelming majority of those who live near turbines report no ill effects”?
Simple. Because they are immune to wind turbine syndrome. Why you ask? Well you see, they have common sense.
Another Willem Post commentator. One’s enough.
The terrain has a lot to do with it, bouncing off ridges and hills is different in each case; suffering in silence (feeling helpless with little help from anyone), and also some individuals are much more affected than others. I can’t get on board a sailboat without getting ill, yet someone else has no problem. A sensitive child has no way to be protected from this, and will not be so likely to play outdoors (or indoors!)
XXXXXXsssss
June 9, 2015
A Short Essay on Misguided Environmentalism, Bullies and Losing One’s Home
You were able to move. Now you have to forgive and carry on. Move on with your life and find the path back to happiness you enjoyed before it all happened.
This is what my mind tells my heart. That is what some of my friends are thinking, I can feel it. A gentle sort of ‘get over it’. And some days I feel like that is what I need to do.
But the heart still feels the pain. The heart feels the injustice for an event that wasn’t an accident, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or brought on by our own actions, or a natural disaster or single tragedy that all our families suffer throughout our lives. No, this tragedy has been intense, life changing; trust destroying, personality maiming and spirit crushing because it simply did not have to happen.
Why am I still angry?
I am angry that our perfectly healthy bodies were pummeled into illness by infrasound and relentless noise. That we were no longer allowed the right to get sleep in our home. That with thumping noise on too many nights over 60 decibels at times and a house that vibrated almost every day we were unable to thrive. Headaches, heart palpitations, chest pressure, sleep deprivation, and eventually hyper- thyroidism, nosebleeds requiring treatment, anxiety in pets with some crying and vomiting at the same time we felt the worst effects. I am angry that our government leaders knew all this from our very first letter asking for help and they lied to us, let us continue on for months and months until we just couldn’t take it anymore and hired a lawyer with money we really didn’t have to spare. And I am really angry that our awful experience was not enough, piled on top of all of the others we found out about, not enough to make it stop.
Instead new projects forged ahead and more families are sick.
And what of the non- physical impacts?
My husband fretted because there was one last piece of board that needed to go on to finish the inside of the dream shop he had just built and he didn’t have the energy or desire to do it. The perfect shop to house his classic car, with the fully insulated walls, painted floor and housing his collection of car memorabilia was barely used when he had to give it up.
He stressed over our future.
We lived in uncertainty, wondering how we were going to be able to stay there yet knowing we could never sell and if we did we could never pass this on to some innocent family. I thank the stars that we had even bought the house so that the previous family who had 6 children didn’t have this set upon them. What would they have done?
While most friends and family are sympathetic others ask why we are complaining so much when obviously, according to government research, there are no ties between the turbines and what has happened to us. How do we explain these erroneous and deceitful government statements on a complicated issue in a sentence or two without sounding nuts?
I want people to be angry; I want them to write letters to our leaders asking how they can treat people so bad but would I do that if I were on the periphery? I’m not so sure. In fact, when I first heard about the earliest families in phase one having problems, I felt sure they would be resolved. After all, is that not the role of government? To put the citizens foremost, to protect our health and home and look after people in harm? That’s what I thought.
People not connected to this issue are not sure. It’s hard to explain the impacts when you don’t have anything more to show but exhausted faces that can be caused by anything. The rest is hidden. The headaches are hidden, the sleep deprivation is debilitating but you can’t see it. The heart palpitations, head and chest pressure, incredible frustration trying to sleep in a vibrating home is hidden.
What do you do when you do get up the courage to speak with your doctor about it and they stare stone faced with no comment, so unworthy are you that they don’t even bother to note the symptoms in your records. Or when they do finally speak they offer a condescending comment that leaves you in tears? Nobody sees that either.
I could go on and on about the injustice and the long term effects but until this government takes a stand to stop this industry and turns their help to those suffering instead of funding the perpetrators then I am severely overpowered. If only people knew the real story.
There are
those who are involved in perpetrating and covering up the harm;
those who know and are fighting with every breath, some loudly, some quietly;
those who know but don’t know what to do;
those who know but don’t care;
and thanks to an impressive 5 star cover-up,
those who don’t know and will never know.
Unfortunately for all, the last two hold the majority of the population.
And so it continues….
XXXXxxx
April 7, 2015
Though I gave up and moved… Loosing all equity in life, the situation still haunts me. the facts are that the turbine owner, Dan Webb , can afford to pay lawyers to beat us down indefinitely and can even take those costs as a business expense.
We had no such luxury and had to give up the fight or any chance of financial security for our future.
My husband and I built a home to grow old in…. Plenty of room to work in the basement. No stairs, nice heating system, big porch and privacy for days …
We thought we had it all set to settle in to a frugal but sweet retirement.
We have an aging blind Mother in assisted living that will run out of money …
When that happens she would have been able to live with us in the old house if need be , it wouldn’t be easy but it would have been safe enough there.
Now, thanks entirely to that damn wind turbine we live in an upstairs downstairs cheap old short sale house….we have fixed it up ok but with failing knees and the effects of hard work our whole life on our bodies its just a bitch to live here as compared to the perfect place we were forced to leave behind.
there is no way in the world a blind old lady would be safe in here unless we locked her in her room.
We drive past the turbines and the old house almost daily and our stomachs turn. We pass town hall and get angry. Everything good about our time in Falmouth seems tainted by this betrayal.
We go to work, do our jobs, walk our dogs and exist now. we are both so depressed we want it all over with and the sooner the better.
We have no idea what to do in the future…
Retirement plans on hold, living too numb to enjoy anything. NOTHING good on any horizon we can see.
My dog is not going to live much longer, he’s sick, and I won’t be able to bury him next to his Mom and Grandma…. On the edge of the turbine property, under the lily of the valley we brought from the house before that.
I used to love the earth and wind and seasons sometimes felt a little hope….I wonder if that will ever come back… But I strongly doubt it. I feel nothing but the weight of work , betrayal and depression now… I fake it to the public of course….
I transpose all my former joy over to my business clients, who are often in the happiest times of their lives…. I come away from the weddings I work on with prayers for those couples to have better lives than mine has turned out to be.
most of all I wish I could stop hating….last week I delivered flowers to the wife of the man that ruined my life… She did not recognize me… Probably a good thing. Her beautiful little daughter was playing in the snow. They were living at their old house while the waterfront property is being remodeled.
Should I have said something? is there a teeny tiny place in the hearts of those people that know what they have done…? Does it matter to them?
Oh well… The new outdoor shower will be so handy when they come back from their private beach this summer… So what the hell.
Rant over… Just had to let it out. Live sucks then … Whatever
Speaking of “holy places”, here’s Garret Keizer in the June 2007 Harper’s Magazine:
‘Apparently, this place that has never had much use to the larger world beyond that of hosting a new prison or a solid-waste dump turns out to be an ideal location for an industrial “wind farm,” ideal mostly because the people are too few and too poor to offer much in the way of resistance. So far only one of the towns affected has “volunteered” — in much the same way and for most of the same reasons as our children volunteer for service in Iraq — to be the site of what might be described as a vast environmentalist grotto of 400-foot-high spinning “crosses” before which the state’s green progressives will be able to genuflect and receive absolution before zooming back to their prodigiously wired lives.’
The Maori in New Zealand and Aboriginal peoples of Australia also know about holy places, and they must continually fight to protect them from the heedless zealotry of industrial wind development.
Yeah, that’s it. It’s the environmentalists who are determined to trash the Vermont landscape.