Windmill noise levels
I am responding to the letter “Tilting at Windmills” (BDN, Nov. 18). I love these people who say they stood at the bottom of a windmill and couldn’t hear it. Probably you couldn’t. The noise levels that are of most concern to those of us who have made it a passion to study wind turbines are called infrasound and ultrasound. This is noise that falls outside the normal range of human hearing. It causes great stress not only in human beings but also in all types of animals. This type of noise can be sensed from as far away as three miles, and you don’t hear it; your body “feels” it. It reportedly causes stress, insomnia, discontent, disorientation, serious problems in people with autism and many more problems.
If Ron Porter would take the time to go online to www.wind-watch.org or just go online and type in words such as “Calgary wind turbines,” or just “wind turbines” he would rapidly see for himself how dangerous these are to the general welfare of all living things.
I have spent hours and hours a day looking at this issue. Much of the research is done by professionals including medical doctors. I have spent a lot of time talking to people who live near wind turbines, and their stories are truly sad. I wish people would educate themselves before they comment.
Harry C. Epp
Lincoln
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Refit auto industry
The auto industry, along with the rest of us, is in deep trouble. At a time some 60 years ago, when we also were in deep trouble during World War II, General Motors turned some of its capacity and work force partly away from automobiles and into the tools we needed to win the war.
The auto industry has a huge pool of highly skilled workers. Our economy should improve if more of them stay employed. Some of the tools needed to start us on the road to energy independence are the ones that will harness the power in the sun, the wind and the tides.
Wouldn’t it be great if the auto industry would turn part of its capacity, work force and know-how away from gas guzzlers and into producing the things we need so desperately?
Is it too much to hope for?
Harlan Gardner
Marshfield
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Gardening 101
What a precarious, paradoxical economy.
One of our primary sources of tax money delicately and precariously balances between the forefinger and second finger of a smoker’s hand. Financially, we’re fairly healthy, as long as the forefinger keeps tapping the butt in between. Meanwhile, puffers choke on both smoke and tax, while the state burns thousands trying to stop them.
Drastic cuts will be made.
Close the salmon hatchery and lay off three people. The front page boasts yet another daring economic breakthrough by the state. Close the rest areas on I-95. Lay off the janitors who keep the toilets clean.
No fish. No breaks. Economics 101: Get rid of the janitors first.
Just like pruning a tree, you start at the base. After a few weeks, maybe people will have forgotten. Then you can step back and admire a tree with no branches to cover its bottom.
The anti-tax people brandished a referendum to cut property taxes. The state’s response was to threaten to slash the police, firefighters and even the trash collectors. The people bought it. Municipal governments were ecstatic. Their big salaries were safe.
It’s no different than Wall Street. The CEOs yelled “bail out” as their yachts sank. They were terrified that the millions in their back pocket might shrink.
Gardening 101: To prune a tree, start at the top. A snip here, a snip there. Or, 5,000 here, 1,000 there. Proper trimming means keeping the tree’s shape. The same for the company.
It’s elementary, but worth a try.
Ken Buckley
Bangor
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A message of hope
The Bible also identifies cheeseburgers and mixed fabric clothing as “sins,” but I am guessing that Mr. Marshall (“Liberal clergy wrong,” BDN, Nov. 11) would not advocate closing McDonalds and the Wal-Mart clothing department for their promotion of “sinful” behavior.
He has used his God-given rational mind to interpret the Bible, which is a record of human beings’ relationship with God rather than a literal rule book. In like manner, the so-called “liberal-leaning clergy of Maine” have examined the Scriptures and offered a message of hope based in their faith to this day and age. I thank them for their courage and commitment to human rights.
David Brass
Eastport
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Ghandi and the lynx
In reference to the BDN article (“Lynx death may affect trapping case,” Nov. 20), it is important to point out that unintended injuries to animals can be insidious. Although Judge Woodcock commented that only one of the released lynx appeared “gimpy,” internal injuries can persist and create a painfully slow death after release. The days spent while caught in the trap would be traumatic for the animal.
Ghandi once spoke of a wise proverb: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Let us all help usher in a moral nation.
Katherine Taylor
Orono
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Your mail service
The story, “Mail processors picket over changes” (BDN, Nov. 15), portrayed the people holding the informational picket in front of the Bangor office of the U.S. Postal Service as disgruntled employees. The picket was not about jobs or pay, it was merely a way to bring to the attention of the public what is going on with their mail service. Tom Rizzo, the U.S. Postal Service representative, spoke eloquently of out-standing service scores on service tests performed by an independent source. What Mr. Rizzo failed to mention is that the mail that is tested is treated differently than the regular mail.
It cannot be disputed that Eastern Maine Processing and Distribution Facility and in turn the postal customers are receiving their mail late from southern Maine. As the signs held by the pickets stated, we feel service should come first. The distance the mail has to travel to be proc-essed in Scarborough vs. Hamp-den makes good service to the customer impossible.
In regard to the most recent decision by the USPS to send Saturday’s mail to Scarborough, Mr. Rizzo stated that it was a more modern facility. It is in fact a newer facility, but the machinery used to process the Saturday mail is the same machinery that Hampden has. It isn’t a matter of speed or efficiency; it’s a matter of volume. The Maine District USPS needs the volume of mail to justify its new facility so service takes a back seat.
Richard B. Reed Jr.
president, Local 536
American Postal Workers Union, Bangor