Domestic war victim
The new year is unfortunately starting off with a bang. A young park ranger, Margaret Anderson, was shot and killed in Mount Ranier National Park in Washington by an Iraq war veteran who was suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
She was 34, a mother of two young girls. Her husband is also a ranger. I tried to imagine their lives up until now: both with a love of the outdoors, both having decided to spend their lives helping others enjoy the outdoors. I imagined their joy at being able to do so together, a wonderful dream come true until it was shattered.
So is anyone responsible for her death? The Iraq veteran? Only partly, in that he became the instrument of death at home in Washington state as he was in Iraq. Is no one responsible then? Do we just chalk up this tragedy to humankind’s persistent tendency toward violence?
No. I think the lines of responsibility are crystal clear. Those responsible are those who so willingly exchanged peace for war. Their names should not be forgotten: Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Scooter Libby, George Bush and others.
Margaret Anderson, wife, young mother and park ranger, may you rest in peace, perhaps the first Iraq war casualty of 2012, yet another victim of these pitiful, misguided, so-called leaders.
David P. Frasz
Dover-Foxcroft
All about power and money
Dr. Sidney R. Block’s Dec. 26 OpEd piece was beautifully written. The subject of the wealthy paying more taxes is vital.
To quote Dr. Block, “those whose sole interest is self-interest will not fare well if their society collapses around them.” I agree with him and I am sure many of our citizens also do. How much wealth does one need to survive comfortably?
Now with the election of a new president approaching, our country appears as Rome did before it collapsed. Many of our politicians should be sent to the moon, especially Newt Gingrich, and left there permanently. They are devious, destructive and only interested in power and money.
If I may quote Mohanda K. Gandhi’s list of seven deadly sins: “Wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, business without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principle.”
Helen Heilman
Prospect Harbor
Let the locals be heard
A wonderful part of Maine is about to be ruined by a sprawling industrial wind power development by First Wind. 459-foot-tall noisy wind turbines will surround Pleasant Pond, which is one of the most beautiful lakes in Maine, and Mattawamkeag Lake, which is wild and undeveloped, so important to wildlife that the state has conserved much of it, including the historic Bible Point, cherished by President Teddy Roosevelt. Desecrating these places for something that works so poorly, that they wouldn’t go up without taxpayer subsidies and mandates. I don’t want to have my power bill go up just because some “green” zealots force us to use expensive wind power!
It started with the smaller project the state Department of Environmental Protection rubber-stamped in Oakfield, rubber-stamped because of the horrendous law passed in 2008 that has rammed these projects down our throats that we common everyday people can do nothing about. The Oakfield project was to be 34 turbines, 389 feet tall, 1.5 megawatts each. First Wind wants to expand that to 50 turbines, 459 feet tall, 3 megawatts each.
The Maine DEP is allowing them to amend the permit they approved and not allowing anyone to have a say. If this is an entirely new project, DEP should cancel the permit they issued and tell First Wind to start a new permit process and allow the citizens the right to have their say.
It begs the question, which came up again and again in the contentious permit process for First Wind’s Lincoln area project, does the wind developer have more rights than the local people?
Phyllis Goodine
Island Falls
Flag torn and desecrated
Two days following Christmas, a peace flag hanging from our home was torn and desecrated. What motivates and fuels such fear and animosity?
Our opposition to war is nonpartisan. Simply put, we condemn state-sponsored killing and torture, no matter the reason or national banner. War is not synonymous with patriotism, freedom, or love of country.
Informed critical analysis and debate, tolerance and compassion are the cornerstones of a flourishing democracy. Violence, ignorance, hatred and greed are its antitheses.
James McDonald
Bangor
Two new heroes
At my age, I have had many heroes that have come and gone. Today, I have two new ones, Don and Dora Winslow! (BDN 1/3/12)
My late husband was a cancer victim, we went through the treatments for a year together, his outcome was not a success. I remember that year as a “blur” too. Driving 200 miles round trip from our home, living during the week at the Riverside Inn, his weakness, loss of appetite and his pain from the radiation. I can only imagine helping him if I was sick myself, a nightmare.
Godspeed Mr. and Mrs. Winslow, my wish is that you enjoy France and all the experiences coming in the many years ahead.
Sharon E. Weber
Calais
Pipeline and humanity
Our nation clearly needs a coherent energy strategy. Permitting the Keystone XL pipeline will not further this urgent goal.
Tar sands mining is devastating Alberta. The pipeline itself presents unacceptable safety concerns. Most compelling: the assertion by senior NASA climate scientist James Hansen that utilizing dirty tar sands’ crude oil would add enough atmospheric carbon to make it impossible to mitigate the effects of global warming — “game over” for the climate.
Keystone is an export pipeline. The refiners at the end of its route are focused on expanding imports to Europe and Latin America, not to the U.S.
Yes, TransCanada threatens to send the oil to China, where it would emit the same amount of carbon. Still, if you follow Canadian news carefully, you will find people there are resisting tar sands extraction for the same reasons many informed Americans are.
Even if this project created all the jobs TransCanada claim it would, it would be clearly immoral due to the immediate danger to lives involved and to the future of our planet’s atmosphere and its capacity for sustaining life worth living.
There are other solutions.
And, if the word “humane” means anything to our race, we must discover and implement them without delay.
Susan Lehnen
Baring
David P. Frasz–Our nation building leaders, the ones you named and many more, would be very happy if PTSD did not exist. Most of these leaders have never experienced war and their prime concern seems to be profit for the producers of the materials of war, not national security. It is absolutely mind boggling to consider the possibilities if we invested our wealth into productive means and ends instead of destructive ones. Instead of a spent treasury, enemies the world around, crumbling infrastructure, and a populace becoming less educated and poorer by the day–we could be a thriving and vital leader in the world as we once were. Greed makes men do terrible things.
Peace.
Thanks for a very intelligent and thoughtful comment.
Isn’t your reply an egregious bit of fundament smooching? With a GED, you might be able to form original thoughts that would make it unnecessary to jones for jonez.
Good heavens, Milo. Don’t be so cranky. The post was a well written and astute observation on war, values and the current state of our nation. What’s wrong with complementing the writer. When you write something worth complementing I will do so. Will you then claim it’s kissing up?
Old cowardly men who lust for power start wars. Young, brave men finish them.
DAVID,
That dog won’t fly with me. Veteran or not the man killed and should be punished accordingly. I’m not interested in someones mental state when they take an innocent life.
HELEN,
Does this mean you want another four years of the liberal savior?
PHYLISS,
These greenies and their green energy has been a shame from the get go!
SUSAN,
Just more green nonsense in a different form!
Oh, there are other saviors we can look to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/walmart-blacklist-abp-pension-fund_n_1186384.html?1325789879&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
You probably don’t even realize it, but Obama is much closer to a Reagan Republican than the liberal you guys like to call him.
must be the bath salts talkin most absurd comment I have ever had the dis honor to read
it’s only absurd to stupid dishonorable people
wow wrong again dont quit now you are batting 1000%
Overtaxed(I’m assuming that your ID is referring to your intellect): have you read the Nixon plan, the Heritage Foundation plan, the Massachusetts plan? It’s always a good idea to make sure of the fact before you start casting aspersions on someone else’s knowledge.
you mean as you are doing to myself at this time. I would be glad to have a history,or political debate with any of you . Obviously you dont see where this country is being led by our socialist president
You raise a good point about President Obama’s moderation. Certainly Obama’s Affordible Health Care (ObamaCares) plan is much more conservative than Richard Nixon’s Republican plan in the late ’60s.
Progressives were very disappointed that ObamaCares didn’t have any public option. It sends everyone to private insurance companies. You can’t get any more capitalist than that, which I guess is why the Republicans call it socialism.
The “individual mandate” that the Republicans hate so much was the idea of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Republican think tank. Bob Dole, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and many other Republicans endorsed the individual mandate as the key to making the plan work (and avoid a “socialist” national health plan like Canada’s or Great Britain’s). Now that a Democratic president has embraced this Republican idea, the Republicans disavow it.
Well, whether you like it or not, we have something called the rule of law in this country, and if a person is shown to be mentally unsound to the extent that he or she can not fully appreciate what he or she is doing, then there is an insanity defense. It is a high threshold, but it is there. Your neanderthal distaste for green energy innovation is not surprising. The GOP once actually valued science and innovation. Today they value a crazy brand of mythology and unbridled corporate greed as they race to the bottom of every human endeavor while doing everything possible to enrich their corporate masters at the expense of the other 99% of the population and at the expense of the environment. How entirely selfish and self-serving. How short-sighted and ignorant. And Jesus Christ, who loved the poor and loved the enviroment, would be utterly disgusted with the corporate right wing TeaRadical GOP.
I agree with amconservative on this one. Thousands of men and women come back from Iraq and Afghanistan and do not continue being the “killing machine. He knew the difference between right and wrong and killed anyway.
The one person to blame for Ms. Anderson’s death is Benjamin Colton Barnes. No other person.
Flying dogs??
David Frasz – You forgot the one that continued the wars, President Obama. On a more serious note; you can’t possibly be serious. Some people will use anything to blame the last administration. Pathetic.
Helen Heilman – So, you don’t like Newt. And then the quote in your last paragraph describes many of the Progressives to a “T”, especially the one in the White House.
Phyllis Goodine – When are the good people of Maine going to unite against these monstrosities? They’re ruining one of the most beautiful states in the nation.
James McDonald – Just because your priorities are messed up, there’s no excuse for anyone that disagrees with you messing with your flag.
Have to agree that there is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to the mess we are in. We would all do well to hold each other accountable when it comes to say and do.
How about all the fools, I mean people, who voted for the guy who started two ill- advised wars and tanked the economy, step up and take responsibility and apologize to the rest of us for helping create this mess?
A fact conveniently ignored by many a conservative.
Yet they have got the gall to blame it on Obama when they themselves helped create this mess by electing TWICE the worst President in US history, George W. Bush.
The worst president in US history has only been voted in once. Hopefully, it will stay that way.
And which strange, stranger or strangest Republican candidate is going to beat him? I hope your team has something compelling and exciting up their sleeves to gin up enthusiasm sometime before November, because it’s not looking so good right now.
EJ, let’s go through the checklist: second worst war-making decision after Viet Nam – Bush; worst response ever to a natural disaster – Bush; worst terrorist attack ever on US soil – Bush; second worst economic collapse ever – Bush; most rapid transition ever from budget surplus to budget deficits – Bush. Bush clearly replaces Buchanan as the worst president ever. President Obama will be re-elected and your Obamaphobia will have to take a back seat to rational analysis. I sense an ahistorical mind at work. I would list the worst five presidents ever in the following order: Bush, Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Hoover, and Pierce. Your choices would be?
I am not sure it’s fair to lump in the 9/11 attacks. They happened barely 9 months into his presidency. If anything, the policies of the previous presidents had more to do with the attacks than Bush did. (Not that I liked him at ALL, but fair is fair).
Clinton told Bush, during the transition, that his number one foreign policy concern should be Al Qaeda. Bush rejected that advice and, as early as January 2001, per his Commerce Secretary, Don Evans, was talking about an Iraq invasion during a cabinet meeting. Richard Clark, counter-terrorism head under both Bush and Clinton, could not get a face-to-face meeting with Bush and told the 9-11 Commission that Clinton was more focused on Al Qaeda. In early August, 2001, while Bush was on yet another vacation, he received a Presidential Daily Briefing entitled: “Bin Laden determined to Attack the United States.” He told the briefer, “Okay, now you’ve covered your butt.” Bush did nothing thereafter, asked for no review of possible Arab hijacking plots (although they were mentioned in that briefing paper) and never sought a meeting with any counter-terrorism experts to decide what to do. I gently suggest that Gore would have responded to such a dire warning rather than go out and cut some brush on the ranch.
I recently found a NYTimes front section in my attic dated early 2001 that had a picture of Bin Laden with a story detailing the threat he posed to the west, so maybe you have a point.
Could he have prevented the attacks on 9/11, though, in those short 9 months…?
The point is he blew off the threat of terrorism and was focusing on Iraq. After he came out of hiding at Barksdale Air Force Base in September of 2001, Bush asked Clark to help him prove that Saddam Hussein was responsible.
The look on Bush’s face when he’s told about the bombing tells all. That look is not one of surprise and horror that something awful and unexpected happened. That’s an, “Oh s*it, we were wrong, now what?” look.
We were attacked multiple times under Clinton. Only once under Bush. Or, did you forget that fact?
The total American deaths in the 2-26-93 World Trade Center bombing were 6; total American deaths in the embassy bombings in August of 98 – 12; total American deaths in the bombing of the USS Cole on October 12, 2000 – 17. The total for all three, 35, is a little over 1% of the total American deaths on 9-11–01. We lost almost as many Americans to the Israeli torpedo boat/jet fighter attack on the USS Liberty on 6-8-67 (34 American dead). No Israeli has ever been brought to justice for that war crime. The 93 World Trade Center bombers and their mastermind were successfully prosecuted in our civil courts under Clinton. The initial Clinton response to the 98 embassy bombings (almost killing Bin Laden in his compound with an air attack) was criticized by the Republicans as an attempt to divert public attention from their impeachment jihad against Clinton. Clinton was pursuing the masterminds of the Cole bombing which occurred when he had three months left to his presidency and this was why he stressed to Bush that terrorism should be his number one concern.
Bush ignored him, as he was surrounded by Project for a New American Century idealogues whose idee fixee was invading Iraq.
Do you seriously question that 9-11 was the worst terrorist attack in American history and that it occurred on Bush’s watch? Does Bush get a pass from you because it was less than eight months into his term?
Note that the first World Trade Center bombing occurred 37 days after Clinton assumed the presidency. Do I detect a double standard or simply intellectual dishonesty?
There is little I forget. Have you named your worst five presidents yet?
Thanks ej for your votes in 2000 and 2004 that helped put our economy in the toilet. It’s about time fools like you apologized to the rest of us for those foolish votes for George W. Bush, Incomp prez supreme.
Wanting peace is messed up? Claiming to be a Christian and then supporting war and killing is messed up.
Claiming to be Christian then posting GOP lies and misrepresentations daily is messed up.
Hey Bangor Daily it’s 2012 not 2011
Ha, ha…..good catch……
Susan Lehnen
Keep talking like that, and we will have nuclear power before you know it.
Mr. Frasz, each of the Iraq War instigators you mentioned share the chickenhawk’s love of picking a fight that someone else must die for.
That’s a conservative thing: let YOUR children die for THEIR profit. Just ask Cheney.
You’re both right, you know.
We should have never gone into Iraq, but, Obama as Commander in Chief could very well have withdrawn troops earlier.
Republicans talk of cutting spending, but don’t. Democrats talk of ending wars, but don’t. It’s two sides of the same coin. It’s the same political party. They’re in it for the retirement benefits, and feeling powerful, except maybe a handful who want to change the system but can’t.
Are you a veteran? Or just another chicken hawk….. or merely chicken?
Viet Nam. And yourself?
Thank you Helen for those beautiful words. I have copied them and will post everywhere I can. And this adds a nice little bump for your argument: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/walmart-blacklist-abp-pension-fund_n_1186384.html?1325789879&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009 .
Helen you are so right. When the rich stopped spreading the wealth and instead started paying unreasonable and unjustified high salaries to the people at the top, wages stagnated and the greatest market of spenders in the world has steadily been drying up. So shortsighted, but greed is a terrible thing.
When most of the wealth is accumulated by the few, democracy and capitalism both die.
James McDonald: First let me say I am against war and against desecration of any flags. However, we liberals started the flag desecration nonsense with the burning of theUS flag during the Vietnam war so one should not be surprised when one finds that conservatives retaliate. It’s childish and disrespectful but You should not be surprised.
In your haste to slam conservatives, you neglected that Mr. McDonald didn’t mention who messed with his flag. Why do you assume it was a conservative?
Think it through EJ, carefully and slowly.
David Frasz you seemed to have forgotten the name of the individual who is taking credit for Iraq and afghanistan Barrack Hussein Obama, how could you have forgotten his name on yopur list of those to blame
You have overtaxed the truth with this post. Mr. Frasz’s letter is absolutely silent about the Afghanistan War, which candidate Obama said needed to be properly fought with an emphasis on Bin Laden and his allies.
As to Iraq, candidate Obama said we needed to exit that country as carefully as Bush had recklessly invaded it. Blaming President Obama for getting our troops safely out of Iraq and equating him to Bush is akin to blaming the fireman for carefully rescuing the fire’s victims and equating him to the arsonist.
Since the Republicans are having trouble finding an acceptable nominee, why don’t you start a group called “Arsonists for Cheney.” We’d love to see him run.
Troop withdrawal date set by Bush while still in office dont understand why you libs dont understand that simple fact
Bush was forced to accept the Iraqis’ insistence on a complete pull-out in 2008 in the middle of a presidential election in which Obama said “get out gradually” and McCain said “stay for forty years or more.” The Iraqis could read the election prospects as well as anyone else and saw no reason to cut a deal with Bush different from the deal they would get from Obama. Bush “set” the withdrawal deadline in the same sense as you “set” the interest rate the banks charge you on a credit card. The Iraqis held all the cards and Bush folded. I remember history; you seem condemned to repeat it.
but the rabid right wing will once again, or at the same time depending on their fancy, will blame Obama when the inevitable civil war breaks out.
all nonsense, I suppose you will tell us that the Iraquis miss sadam and dislike the freedom we granted them also
Closing your eyes and ears and posting “nonsense” is not a substitute for debate or inquiry. Google the news stories in 2008 about the Status of Forces Agreement. The Iraqis welcomed our invasion for about 30 days. A majority, thereafter, wanted us gone. We stayed and the sad story that followed cost the Iraqis hundreds of thousands of lives.
So if that were true,why did they insist on us supplying arms and training to their troops until they were at a level of being able to control the situation themselves. You will find your so called majority were not the people looking forward to the freedoms they have now. If you would open your ears and eyes and watch something besides liberal media you would have a better understanding of what surrounds you . I would suggest fox news but that seems to set off alarms with most liberals, they dont have any interest in seeing the other side of the coin
I’ll try to be gentle. The readers of our respective posts can decide for themselves who is better informed between us. You speak of the Iraqis as “they.” There is no monolithic Iraqi consensus. Iraqi Sunnis, particularly after de-Baathification and the disbanding of the Iraqi army, wanted the American troops gone. Iraqi Kurds were indifferent, as their sel-defense forces were well-established and there were relatively few American troops in the Kurdish north. The Shia were divided, with the Sadrists willing to fight us. The first national elections featured every party campaigning for the exit of American forces. I read mostly international news. Every poll of Iraqis I have ever seen demanded American withdrawal. Do not confuse Iraqi leadership with the Iraqi people as a whole.
Poor sod, should have stopped digging long ago.
LOL, suppose overtaxed will understand that? LMAO
It might overtax his mind.
That would be impossible.
Overtaxed will be ecstatic that someone thinks he has a mind of infinite capacity.
(I’m envisioning “overtaxed” in the throes of ecstasy. Overecstasized?) No, what I meant was more along the lines of “you can’t overtax what you ain’t got,” as in Muddy Waters’ “You Can’t Lose What You Ain’t Got.”
Obama only takes credit for getting us out of the ill-conceived Iraq war that Bush and the Republicans caused.
date for troop withdrawal was set by bush while he was still in office review facts let your brain catch up with your typing
Ummm that information doesn’t appear to support any of your claims. Logic isn’t your strong suit is it?
my claims are simple. I am tired of you people claiming that Obama has done it all to get troops out when it was already planned and delt with before he took office. The troop withdrawal was one of the things he so called “inherited” from Bush I guess he forgot about that one
Was he bound to follow the withdrawal plan as laid out by Mr. Bush?
He could have disobeyed the wisdom and foresight of Bush and refused to end the war.
Of so now it’s the Republicans fault we left Iraq. Next week when the inevitable civil war breaks out, you’ll be back blaming Obama…So goes the crazy world of right wing loonies.
Helen, lets send Obama to Hawii instead of the moon thats where he likes to spend 4 million tax payer dollars a day for his stay there
It was actually reported as 4 million for the entire vacation. But we all know it costs more when it comes to additional security, business disruptions, traffic disruptions, and shifting of personnel and materials to cover their visit. But, many of these tax-payer funded costs are unreported.
I’ve been stationed in Hawaii, and my daughter is stationed there now. The inconveniences are ridiculous, especially when it comes to the First Family’s recreation plans and how they disrupt everything. But, that’s part of the game, don’t you know.
Oh come off the juvenile complaining about President Obama’s vacation. It’s silly and it’s getting kinda old. Say, where were you when President Bush was “cutting brush” on his frequent vacations. They cost the same amount.
Complaining? Me? I was just stating facts. And those facts go for all presidential vacations, not just Obama’s.
“The inconveniences are ridiculous, ……….. they disrupt everything.” Sounds like complaining!
Nope. Just facts. I lived with them through many presidents while in uniform. It’s all part of the game.
So why are you singling out one specific president’s vacation to present “facts” about if this has happened with the many presidents you have been privy to know in your military career.
common sense would let most know that figure is not correct, what would you guess it costs to fly his wife one day, himself several days later ,fly decoy jets and security. I would guess that alone breaks the 4 million mark
Again the right wing distortion of facts. The total cost was estimated at $4 million, not $4 million per day. And no one complained when the last three republicans spent more time on vacation than any of the last 3 democrats, Obama included.
The others were not at the podium preaching that during these hard times we all as americans need to learn to do without certain things and cut back but I guess that was his teleprompters fault not his!!
In response to Phyllis Goodine’s letter – Let the locals be heard:
Yes, Phyllis, the wind developer does have more rights than the locals. Maine’s 2008 expedited permitting law saw to that. We have the NRCM and wind development industry to thank for that.
The DEP has rubber-stamped every wind project that has come across their desk and now there is a real likelihood that they will be taking over LURC’s wind permitting workload, as well. So, look for the free and easy ride for First Wind and other wind developers to become freer and easier if that comes to pass.
Very early (1 to 2 years before application)
Every residence with-in 2 miles of turbine center should be notified by certified mail.
Mountain people do not get news delivered and many do not own a computer. Out of state land owners need time to redress.
DEP has 2000 feet as the contact line of abutting properties. In reality, sound modeling has 35 dbc at 2 mile range.Receptors are located in Flicker and Sound modeling maps. Yet not a one was notified of their property being on a “Receptor” list.
cmon 35 decibels, that’s less than the sound of a tree falling.
Having stood in the middle of a very large wind farm in northern Indiana with operating generators about 800 feet on the N,E,S and W and not hearing anything at all except the rustle of corn in the fields, I’m wondering if the generators in Indiana are different from those being installed in Maine? There were homes all through this extensive wind farm.
Thinking I may have missed the controversy and the antagonism phase of building the wind farm I checked the local papers for articles or letters to the editor opposing the farm. The single article on the wind farm dealt with how to best write up a contract with the wind corporation for lease payments.
How is it possible for two wind farms to be so different?
Obviously, Sally, either the turbines were not spinning or you are deaf as a doorknob as my grandfather used to say! These things make horrendous noise! We measure them with decibel meters. We carefully record. We experience it. I personally have had headaches and tightness in the chest from the brief exposures I have had from doing photographic documentation. On one trip, my daughter experienced the same. These were GE 1.5 xel turbines. They are not good neighbors for humans or wildlife.
Try living at the homes on Mt. Rd or East Ridge Rd. in Mars Hill, live with the Bennetts and their neighbors in Freedom, live with the Fox Island Wind Neighbors on Vinalhaven, or live on North Rd in Lee or Lee Rd, Half Township Rd or Rocky Dundee Rd in Lincoln. How about having a cottage on Madagascal Pond in Burlington, located in a bowl on the noisy side of 8 turbines. The noise comes down off the ridges and echoes off the other ridges. You can’t even hear the loons over the noise.
I’m with Sally on this one. I believe your symptoms are imaginary or psychosomatic -and apparently hereditary. Many studies have determined that unless the turbine blades glance off one’s head or torso, headaches and chest tightness are very unlikely to occur. My family and I live directly beneath a massive industrial turbine and find the experience both invigorating and helpful to our digestion.
LOL Congratulation on just the right amount of sarcasm. Or is this compliment too much kissing up for you?
There were two other people with me. We were in the area of over two hours. None of us even noticed we were in the middle of a huge wind farm until we started to look around and count the wind mills. The wind was blowing as it always does in northern Indiana and all the mills were going around . We counted 25 that we could see. When we stood on the platform right under one of the windmills we could hear the generator humming softly. The blades of the generators made a tiny “whhha” noise if you listened.
I don’t know what the difference is but the people of that region, and they live right in this very large wind farm have never complained in any of the regional papers; not when the generators were being built nor now that they are in operation. It appears to be a non issue with the residents. Some homes are within 600 feet of a generator.
I do not understand the difference in response unless a different kind of generator is being installed all over Maine.
You obviously miss the point. People who live in rural areas do so for the peace and quiet and to escape the noise of commercial and industrial modern life. They value being close to wildlife and the natural rhythms of life and in many saces the beauty of vistas. Its called quality of place. Night time ambiant background noise in such places can be around 15 dBA. But the woefully inadequate noise standards applied to industrial wind sites allows typically for 45 dBA. Here’s the point. A tree falls and a noise is made for 10 seconds–max. Depending on conditions, the wind turbine noise goes on relentlessly for hours. It becomes an instrument of torture for many people where turbines have been built too close and that can stretch out quite far depending on topography.
How about a bit of science, too. If ambiant background noise is 15 dBA and the wind turbine cranks out 45 dBA, that is a far greater increase in the actual audible noise level than just the difference between the two numbers. It is at least a doubling of the noise level three times. Whether one uses the Loudness Multiplier Theory (Stevens) that says an increase of 10 dBA is a doubling of noise, or the more recently developed Amplitude Multiplier Theory (Warren) that says an increase of 6 dBA is a doubling of noise, the fact is, 30 dBA is a large increase in allowable noise.
704 people signed a petition..many of them wrote comments based on their owning property on Mattawamkeag and Pleasant or being tourists there..or owning businesses..DEP basically ignored this and if a copy of the draft permit were published one could see that their decisions are NOT at all fact based but rather a form response from what i have been told- to say that red blinking lights on two historic pristine lakes which are some of the best start gazing and wildlife spots for eagles, bats, birds and heron will have minimal impact is a
blatant lie..and Jim Palmer says people asked said it would have an adverse effect but he decided not overly so..they found excuses why State site Bible Point did not count and never answered the question asked about scientific proof of their claimed efficiency ( which is not true based on other similar projects operating in the State). this is a scheme by Baldacci and Angus King who have vested interest in making $ through companies they own and law firms they are associated with..and why Baldacci put in the expedited wind law. Anyone in the industry knows there are problems with it and it is at best an untesetd experiment at this stage.. according to one engineer I know who works in transmission hilly wooded areas are NEVER thought of as places to put wind factories…open space where oxygen habitat giving trees do not have to be destroyed and winds are not consistent is called “turbulent wind power”..farmlands, the Dakotas and Texas, are known to produce a lot of wind which still has problems with storage..Someone in the legislature needs to see the trend and what has been proven by the Wind Task Force and get rid of the expedited wind law, which opposes everything Maine stands for- if it would save the planet , sure..but it is a scam at best…money making for the rich and powerful..what kind of power is that? In a democracy our cries should be listened to..704 people vs 80 people brainwashed in Oakfield by new fire engines and a few dollars in a poor economy- clever.
DEP said they gave us fair notice and opportunity to ask for a public hearing by AUG 3..No one informed me as an abutter who owns on Mattawamkeag and is the great grand-daughter of nature guide to TR William Sewall, who has been recognized for year as majorly influential in TR’s love of nature and conservation movement- what happened to conserving Maine?? I found out about it by a concerned property owner in late September..it was kept very under raps and should be held off until more actual study can be done.
Susan Lehnen,
Carbon Dioxide is harmless. It doesn’t not cause “climate change”. The environment will do fine, with or without us. The sun and earth’s magnetic fields have more to do with climate change than anything. I wouldn’t trust these scientists that go around fear mongering for more grant money to fund their research. It’s good politics, but not good science. Scientists are people too, and susceptible to greed just as you and I are.
I’d be more worried about the Apothesis asteroid coming dangerously close to earth in 2029, and if it misses then it could come around and hit us again in 2036 on the return path. NASA has said it’ll be a near miss in 2029, and they’re not sure about 2036 (yet). Apothesis worries me more than CO2.
Good letters all.
Phyllis Goodine has put her finger on a real problem: The DEP is way too cozy with wind developers. First Wind might as well be on the staff that reviews these applications. That First Wind can be allowed to change the project to such a huge extent and not have to start over with a new application is preposterous! As she correctly points out, there is no fairness when it comes to the favoritism provided to wind developers. If this was some small time owner of a sporting lodge who said he wanted to take another 500 square feet of forest to add another little camp to rent out, DEP would pitch a fit and make them start all over. But this is the wind industry, that plays by separate rules than any other business in this state. Why do we allow this travesty?
We are ruining our beautiful state and devastating our natural resources for the folly of wind. As Ms. Goodine points out, two of the finest lakes in Maine will have a heavy impact from the monstrous turbines ringing these lakes. Not only that, but this project will stick out like a sore thumb from up on Mt. Katahdin. Already, the smaller turbines at Mars Hill, Stetson Mt. and Lincoln sully the view from our iconic mountain. First Wind must be stopped before they take over the entire northeastern uplands and they will, as they have “met towers” scattered all over the place, from the ridges surrounding the magnificent Downeast Grand Lakes to within the very shadow of Mt. Katahdin.
The wind industry would not exist without heavy subsidization, tax breaks, and mandates. It is the least effective and most costly way of generating electricity and there isn’t a wind project in Maine that produces even 25% of its capacity. It is an unpredictable, unreliable fickle trickle of electricity that the grid operator, ISO New England, considers to just be surplus power as they plan to meet the day to day demands. Worst is the terrble environmental footprint of industrial wind sites sprawling over miles of blasted away, leveled and permanently clearcut ridges.
Letting the wind companies ruin our state has got to stop! Bravo for Phyllis Goodine for speaking out! Wow! DEP is going to “Rubber Stamp” this? Nobody in Island Falls will have a say in the demise of this beautiful area? Its happening all over the state. Come on, people, wake up! These wind turbines are just going up for reaping subsidies, they produce no usable electricity. They are ugly and the sites are horrendous scars on the land. I never thought I would see something worse than an HC Haynes woods operation until I saw what First Wind did to Rollins Mt. and Rocky Dundee in Lincoln.
Baldacci hoodwinked the Legislature back in 2008 and they gave the wind industry unprecedented favoritism, leading to an onslaught of wind turbines. We have been sold out. Every town needs to enact a local wind ordinance to protect themselves, but then who will protect the plantations and unorganized townships? First Wind loves to ravage and plunder those areas. For more information on what a raw deal wind is for Maine, go to http://www.windtaskforce.org
Helen- Nice job identifying the problems. Any solutions to offer? Like a third major party that represents the middle class and small businesses. Or a one and done term limit policy for every elected office. Turning “free” trade back into fair trade while we still have one American left with a decent job.