It's up. Number 19, the first in a series of 86 turbines on Wolfe Island was erected today. It is 16 days behind schedule, thanks to the winds we've had in the past two weeks--the winds that I pray for each night just to screw up the project.
The towering monolith is between 5th and 4th Line Road, and although it isn't as close to the road as it could be, it still towers above all. And for those with an interest in all things mechanical, it is rather fascinating, but for those with concerns about health and the environment, it represents much, much more. I am curious to investigate the health issues of islanders before, during and after the construction. Certainly the construction process has taken its toll on the health of those closest to the current sites. I wonder if people whose eyes have been burning lately realize it is probably because of aggregate dust. Or those who have a persistent cough or lung congestion; have they linked it to the air they breathe or do they mistakenly believe it is a lingering fall cold?
In our small community, many people are afraid to admit they have concerns about the turbines, afraid it will cause social problems with their friends and neighbors. They are afraid of creating "Toxic Neighbors". So they keep quiet, they put up, and they don't attend or speak out at meetings where they might be in the minority. They let others take the brunt of being troublemakers and radicals, or people who just want to cause trouble. It's frustrating, and I've been to such a meeting tonight.
It has made me realize that so many people are uneducated, ignorant, close-minded, and just plain mean. They fail to see, or are unable to see the big picture, thinking only of themselves and the $7,500 per year they will receive for prostituting their land. I have lost a lot of respect for some of my fellow islanders tonight, and I bloody well despise some of the other ones. Do they feel the same way about me? Maybe, but I don't care, because that's how toxic neighborhoods work.
There is a Toyota commercial that sums up the way I feel about the environment, and frankly I don't understand why others are unable to see it this way too:
"The best way to have an impact on the environment is to have no impact at all".
Just found your website this morning. I too live near a windsite. It is Stetson Mountain wind farm in Maine.I have had a strange new cough since last summer, when they were blasting within 3 miles of my home. It has not gone away and now I can't help but wonder if it has something to do with the blasting! Thanks for bringing that information out.
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