I've taken a very hard look at this thing and here is my careful and
studied assessment of the pros. I think you'll all come to the same
conclusion I did.
PAIN IN THE BUTT
Wind turbines will take care of the bears, deer, birds and other
nuisance creatures on our ridgelines. I had a birdfeeder that a bear got
into this spring. It bent the metal post and it was very annoying. Ate
all the seed. Some might think that having these "top of the food chain"
animals back in The Valley is a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Nah, it's
just a pain in the butt. Wind will take care of their habitat and them.
Good riddance, I say. Let's not even talk about the bird poop.
I got behind a bus the other day. Leafpeepers. All they wanted to do was
take pictures and spend money in The Valley. Took me an extra six
minutes to get to Kenyon's. If we get rid of those picturesque
ridgelines, we can stop worrying about the tourists. No more slow downs
on Route 100. Traffic will ease. Also, I'm sure we can count on fewer
weddings in The Valley with those annoying brides and yellow Ferraris.
TRADITION
I read this great book called <MI>Hands on the Land<D>. It
said that up until 50 or 60 years ago there were no trees on the top of
our ridges because it had all been cleared for fuel and grazing land.
Now, just because a lot of environmentalist do-gooders think
reforestation is a good idea doesn't make it so. I am all about
tradition. What's wrong with nude ridgelines? It was good enough for our
forefathers; it should be good enough for us. Let's stick with
tradition here, I say.
We never spend enough time thinking about erosion. Inexorably, the
forces of nature are eroding our ridges. Why, in 10,000 or 20,000 years,
Vermont could end up being as flat as a pancake. Something to think
about. I, for one, don't really want to live in a state that looks like
Iowa. But, wind will make us pour a lot of concrete up in those hills!
Concrete doesn't erode! The water will just bounce off. We secure the
future of our hills for generations to come.
I've been thinking a lot about this feeding energy back to the grid
concept. Here in the north (sorry, NEK folks. So, we're not that far
north), we are pretty economical with our energy use. But they consume a
ton down south. I think it is highly altruistic and kind that we'd be
willing to put turbines on our ridges to subsidize the energy use of
those down south. Talk about state team spirit! Darn, we could take it
up to 1 million turbines and take care of Massachusetts as well.
EXCITING CHALLENGE
There's something about a technological challenge that is exciting. Why
would we put wind turbines on, say, flat plains where there is an
abundance of wind and installation is easy when we can put them on a
ridgeline? Now there's a challenge worthy of the great engineers of our
day! Think of the helicopters, tons of concrete, precarious perches and
all that will be necessary to install our turbines. Just to nudge out
the little bit of wind our hills produce. Why worry about Iowa and the
Great Plains when the challenge is clearly here!
It will be great to see some new companies in The Valley. I think it is
really important that we get some new corporate blood in The Valley. Not
fly-by-night organizations that are trying to make a quick buck from
tax breaks and incentives. Pillars of the local community like Citizens
Energy will surely be boosting local employment, renting offices locally
and transferring their senior staff to our valley. They will be here to
stay and will be committed to our community!
ATTRACTIVE
Let's not forget the intrinsic attractiveness of wind turbines. The
methodic rotation of the blades and the steady noise accompanying them
are almost Zen-like. You can meditate to the rhythm. At night, you have
the blinking lights to keep you company. You can never feel lonely with
the "womp womp" of the blades and the friendly flashing lights. Also,
just imagine those magnificent turbines coated with a sheen of high
mountain ice in the winter. Statuesque, immobile, frozen and dignified.
Back to producing electricity when spring comes. Ah, civilization.
In summary, I think it is pretty obvious that wind energy is our future.
From the standpoint of tradition, easing congestion, technological
challenge and pure altruism, it is clearly the right thing for us to do.
So, Mad River Valley, let's get behind this thing and let's get to
work!
Walton Dodds lives in Waitsfield.
