OK, can we just build the damn things already?? LOL. Yay for Dems in state and federal government. Obama’s Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has approved Cape Wind in what I think is the final hurdle for the project. Amen and let’s get some renewable energy!
I also found some of the commentary on where other candidates have stood on Cape Wind ’til now (when you can be sure they’ll be for it).
Out of curiosity, I tried to figure out where Charlie Baker stands on Cape Wind. Couldn’t for the life of me figure it out. There’s nothing I could find on his website, so no help there. Here are a couple of nuggets I picked up via the Google.
Baker, former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, tiptoed around the topic and refused to outright state whether he supported or opposed the Cape Wind project. He said a decision will already be finalized at the federal level before he enters office, if elected governor, therefore “the state doesn’t really matter at this point.”
Ah, a real profile in courage right there. That one’s from last September. Here’s a more recent one, from March:
Baker said Massachusetts residents pay the fourth-highest rates for electricity in the country, and he blasted Cape Wind for failing to say exactly how much ratepayers would save from the proposed wind energy project.
“The whole thing looks like a no-bid contract,” Baker said.
Uh, OK – so you’re against it? But wait – MA residents pay high electricity rates. So you’re for it? I’m still confused.
And we also get an outline of Senator Brown’s um, interesting take from stomv in comments:
“With unemployment hovering near ten percent in Massachusetts, the Cape Wind project will jeopardize industries that are vital to the Cape’s economy, such as tourism and fishing, and will also impact aviation safety and the rights of the Native American tribes in the area. I am also skeptical about the cost-savings and job number predictions we have heard from proponents of the project,” Brown said in a statement.
So, to recap:
* Despite the fact that Cape Wind will create 1,000 construction jobs, Brown leads with 10 percent unemployment in MA.
* He’s worried about the impact on tourism, but not at all worried about the impact oil spills have on tourism?
* He’s completely ignored the reality that these will have zero impact on fishing. Good grief — if a fisherman can navigate his boat in a port, he can certainly steer clear of monopoles which are each 1/3 to 1/2 mile apart.
* Aviation safety? The studies are done — no negative impact on RADAR.
* Native American tribes? Really? I look forward to Senator Brown’s insistence of funding the Bureau of Indian Affairs to drive education, health, and employment numbers closer to the national average. I won’t hold my breath.
* He’s skeptical of the numbers which show the project will have a favorable impact. Of course he is. I’m skeptical that Scott Brown has any ability to be critical of those reports, because I’m skeptical the man has any idea of which he speaks when it comes to the economics or engineering of wind power.
*Smacks head* Are ANY of the Republicans/pseudo-independent candidates/recently elected more than empty suits?? Or do any of them care more about good policy rather than scoring political points with misdirection and lies, at least?
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