September 3, 2015
Maryland, Opinions

Keep Kent scenic: this county we love

August 25, 2015 - William Graham - kentguardian.com

With apology to Washington College, I am borrowing on the subject of their Summer Magazine, This Town We Love, to expand beyond the borders of Chestertown to comment on the unique environment we enjoy in Kent County.

In the New York Times after the Perseid Meteor Shower several weeks ago, it was noted that from the observation deck of the Empire State Building, you’d see less than one percent of the celestial objects that someone in Galileo’s time would have observed without a telescope.

It’s a little known fact that between Kennedyville and Chesterville lays one of the darkest locations in the mid Atlantic region. And if you enjoyed the recent Perseid meteor shower from your yard, the lack of light pollution in our county would be why this event would have presented you with a dazzling cosmic show.

kentfromspace

The large cluster of 500-foot wind turbines the wind developer Apex wishes to install throughout this very area will spoil our view of the night skies for the next 30 years from high intensity flashing navigation lights mandated by the FAA.

Other unequaled highlights of Kent County contributing to our uniqueness:

One of the oldest intact working landscapes in North America.

The largest farming area left on the Atlantic coast with a very high proportion of prime farmland.

One of the last and largest intact Colonial and early American landscapes found anywhere.

One of the nation’s most permanently protected landscapes for water quality, to sustain fish and wildlife, to maintain working farms and forests, to preserve our history, and to provide outdoor recreation.

Thanks to Elizabeth Watson, Heritage Strategies, and to Rachel Roman, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, for calling my attention to these realities of our rich land heritage.

William Graham
Keep Kent Scenic

URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/09/03/keep-kent-scenic-this-county-we-love/

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