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Assault on the environment
Credit: Concord Monitor | October 4, 2013 | www.concordmonitor.com ~~
Translate: FROM English | TO English
Translate: FROM English | TO English
As a resident of the Newfound Region, I am disgusted by the invasion of industrial wind projects. I see Groton Wind as an assault on the environment and the well being of people left dealing with reduced property values, loss of quality of life and strife within their communities.
Nearby residents live with flashing red lights at night, roaring industrial engines, shadow flicker from the blades for hours at a time, the whooshing of blades as they spin, and low-frequency vibrations felt within the body.
The Newfound watershed is of great concern, as it provides our drinking water. Industrial wind turbine construction will alter the flow of ground water affecting the watershed in ways no human can predict.
I have lived here for almost a decade and enjoyed the numerous sightings of red-tailed hawks, bald eagles, owls, blue heron, bats, migrating Canada geese and other seasonal birds, moose, black bear, coyotes, fox and even a wolf or two. Raptors rely on thermal currents provided by the Newfound ridge lines to feed. It is not wise to place 500-foot industrial turbines with blades larger then a 747 spinning at speeds that can reach well over 100 mph directly in the path of such animals that help to control mosquitoes and rodents.
I see few economic benefits. There may be a handful of temporary local jobs created but not guaranteed. There will be only a few permanent jobs created and those are not guaranteed to be filled by local residents either. PILOT payments made to host towns only reduce the “town portion” of your tax by a minimal amount. The rest of the money can be used to increase town employees’ payroll or benefits, purchase new equipment, upgrade roads, etc. It is unlikely taxpayers will see any significant reduction in property taxes unless they receive an abatement for the reduced value of their property. Those who benefit most are the landowners leasing their land to the industrial wind company, and of course, the foreign-owned industrial wind companies.
Industrial wind is not just an eyesore issue. This is a quality of life issue, environmental issue, community well being issue, political issue and economic issue.
MICHELLE SANBORN
Alexandria
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