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December 16. 2012 6:00PM
Your Turn, NH: No wonder the Old Man of the Mountain jumped
An energy solution, no matter how "green," is no longer beneficial to the state if it does more harm than good. The Newfound Lake area is a perfect example of green energy gone amuck.
All it takes is a foreign, for-profit company and opportunistic landowners. All other New Hampshire citizens, from business owners to homeowners, in a 100-mile radius suffer the consequences. This is a horrifying example of a state with too few regulations and no comprehensive energy plan.
It is important to understand that Alexandria and Bridgewater already have all the green energy they need. They both operate a biomass plant. With the addition of the Groton wind farms this summer, we are apt to literally "turn green" from too much clean energy.
The proposed Wild Meadows Wind Farm in Alexandra is unnecessary. The thought of adding 35 turbines (that are 454 feet tall - the equivalent of a Boeing 747 airplane on a giant stick) to Forbes Mountain directly overlooking New Hampshire's pristine Newfound Lake and Cardigan Mountain State Forest is inconceivable. Even worse, more turbines have been proposed for the northwest corner of the lake near Sculptured Rocks. Whatever happened to moderation?
Add in other wind-farm sprawl - Danbury, Grafton, Lempster, Antrim, Temple - and throw in the Northern Pass, and you no longer have a state that will attract tourists, snowmobilers, vacationers, hunters and hikers. I can understand now why the Old Man of the Mountain jumped! What's next?
New Hampshire has to ask itself how much of our precious assets, our lakes and mountains, are we willing to sacrifice in the name of man-made "green?"
There are many other less-invasive options in clean energy. I propose we focus on solar and biomass and technology that will not require sacrificing our natural tourist attractions.
I urge you to learn more about wind turbines at "nhwindwatch.org" and to contact your local politicians to place a moratorium on Wild Meadows Wind Farm and other similar projects until a comprehensive state energy plan can be put into place.
Stephanie Bednaz lives in Bridgewater.
All it takes is a foreign, for-profit company and opportunistic landowners. All other New Hampshire citizens, from business owners to homeowners, in a 100-mile radius suffer the consequences. This is a horrifying example of a state with too few regulations and no comprehensive energy plan.
It is important to understand that Alexandria and Bridgewater already have all the green energy they need. They both operate a biomass plant. With the addition of the Groton wind farms this summer, we are apt to literally "turn green" from too much clean energy.
The proposed Wild Meadows Wind Farm in Alexandra is unnecessary. The thought of adding 35 turbines (that are 454 feet tall - the equivalent of a Boeing 747 airplane on a giant stick) to Forbes Mountain directly overlooking New Hampshire's pristine Newfound Lake and Cardigan Mountain State Forest is inconceivable. Even worse, more turbines have been proposed for the northwest corner of the lake near Sculptured Rocks. Whatever happened to moderation?
Add in other wind-farm sprawl - Danbury, Grafton, Lempster, Antrim, Temple - and throw in the Northern Pass, and you no longer have a state that will attract tourists, snowmobilers, vacationers, hunters and hikers. I can understand now why the Old Man of the Mountain jumped! What's next?
New Hampshire has to ask itself how much of our precious assets, our lakes and mountains, are we willing to sacrifice in the name of man-made "green?"
There are many other less-invasive options in clean energy. I propose we focus on solar and biomass and technology that will not require sacrificing our natural tourist attractions.
I urge you to learn more about wind turbines at "nhwindwatch.org" and to contact your local politicians to place a moratorium on Wild Meadows Wind Farm and other similar projects until a comprehensive state energy plan can be put into place.
Stephanie Bednaz lives in Bridgewater.
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