Yes We Can! Long Island 2012There is hope for a green Long Island future as evidenced by approval of a massive wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod after nine years of NIMBY attempts to kill the project. Long Islanders should learn from that project and rather than knee jerk opposition to an inevitable wind farm off our coast try to make it a more acceptable project. As shown by the Cape Cod project, distance from shore and color schemes can help reduce visual impact without further impacting bird and marine life, as well as contributing towards a sustainable future and a better world climate.
“BOSTON — After nine years of regulatory review, the federal government gave the green light on Wednesday to the nation’s first offshore wind farm, a fiercely contested project off the coast of Cape Cod. The long-running struggle over the project underscores how divisive even a “clean” energy project can be in the United States. But the decision is expected to give a significant boost to the nascent offshore wind industry in the United States, which has lagged far behind Europe and China in harnessing the strong and steady power of ocean breezes to electrify homes and businesses.”
Read the full article at The New York Times.
It's time we did our fair share towards a sustainable future. Long Islanders should support offshore wind farms and not expect the remainder of the country to carry our water.