On the very day Ted Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery near his two brothers, a Boston Globe editorial argued to undo part of his legacy.
The pertinent portion of Mr. Kennedy's legacy has to do with his strident opposition, despite a career of enthusiastically imposing environmental initiatives and costs on others, to the building of a wind farm on Cape Cod (the graphic at top right is from a 2006 post at a Greenpeace web site).
The ever-opportunistic Globe wrote a 450-word editorial virtually demanding that President Barack Obama get work started on Nantucket Sound right now, this very instant (HT to an e-mailer):
.... Neither Obama nor his administration has yet weighed in on Cape Wind, the controversial 130-turbine wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound that could supply the electricity needs of more than 300,000 homes on the Cape and Islands. If Obama’s pledges for a greener economy are to be kept, his administration should not delay any longer the arduous process that began in 2001 to develop this clean energy source.
The proposed offshore wind project has sustained more than seven years of heated debate; political maneuvering, including some by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, a project opponent; and environmental review. It now awaits a decision from the Department of the Interior — the last major regulatory hurdle its developers must clear for the project to move forward. As the country’s first proposed commercial offshore wind farm, and the only project of its kind this far along in the approval process, Cape Wind could open the door for developers to harness the vast wind energy resource along the nation’s eastern seaboard. The approval could make Massachusetts the trailblazer of a power source that is an essential part of the country’s strategy to address global warming and to achieve energy security.
In January, Interior’s Minerals Management Service, the federal agency charged with assessing Cape Wind’s potential impacts on the environment, published a detailed report that found the wind farm would pose little harm to fisheries, birds, and other wildlife. The agency also concluded that developers could readily address any navigational concerns for ships and planes posed by the 440-foot turbines.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is now responsible for issuing a decision on the project. ....
Certain commenters at the Globe are not amused. In the process, they smash the Globe's contention that Cape Wind is a truly "commercial" project, berate the paper for its tasteless timing, and remind it that there is another Massachusetts Senator whose name begins with a "K" who is apparently also not a fan of Cape Wind:
"The wind farm is a boondoggle with more public money going into it than private and at sea to save the money it would have to pay on land. Wind-wise, it doesn't even make sense in the location they want for it. It won't benefit any of the homeowners on the Cape and Island. It will be a constant environmental risk for the Nantucket Sound."
"Once again the Boston Globe leaves out the facts. Hopefully, the Obama's now know the ugly truth about this project that the Globe is afraid to print. First, according to the MMS, it will double electric rates. This is after over $70,000,000 a year in federal and state subsidies."
"It's a disservice to the country when articles like this don't mention that wind farms only produce at a 25% 'capacity factor' and that they are usually backed up by fossil fuel generation."
"The Globe would never said this to the face of Ted Kennedy. He has not has his funeral, and they put this in the paper today. Cape Wind is another big dig."
"It is utterly repugnant, disgraceful and disrespectful to the memory of Senator Kennedy that the editors have chosen this day to pitch Cape Wind."
"Now there is only one Senator from our state blocking the building of wind turbines..."
The most recent evidence I could find about John Kerry's position on Cape Wind is that he opposed it six years ago.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
—Tom Blumer is president of a training and development company in Mason, Ohio, and is a contributing editor to NewsBusters
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
→ The T Kennedy Wind Farm
August 30, 2009 - 20:06 ET by Cool ArrowWhat better way to honor the Cape Cod Windbag than windmills erected in his honor.
And we can't forget Walter Cronkite either.
We will Barry you! - Russian prophecy
Ha CA
August 30, 2009 - 20:41 ET by acumenFunneeeee Cool.....and oh so fitting a memorial to both.
The only true 'green' in
August 30, 2009 - 20:07 ET by MidAmericaThe only true 'green' in green energy is printed by the federal government.
...on false
August 30, 2009 - 20:15 ET by bigtimer...on false paper.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
"You'll build a wind farm
August 30, 2009 - 20:09 ET by ex buff e-dub"You'll build a wind farm in Nanatucket Sound over my dead body!"
O will be a real democrat
August 30, 2009 - 20:12 ET by bigtimerO will be a real democrat brother and stab Kennedy's wishes in the back.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Ted was an oil man
August 30, 2009 - 20:21 ET by acumenThe proposed offshore wind project has sustained more than seven years of heated debate; political maneuvering, including some by the late Senator Edward Kennedy....
Well, Teddy wasn't especially remembered for his proper management of the environment - Kennedy Dumped Diesel Fuel in Nantucket Sound
By now every Cape Codder has heard our senior US senator Ted Kennedy proclaiming his resistence to the Cape Wind project on Nantucket Sound because, as he said, "that's where I sail."
He has called Nantucket Sound "a national treasure", but his love and respect does not extend to his own habits, as these photos [avilable at above link] appear to show his crew dumping diesel fuel from the bilge of his yacht Mya into the same waters he tries to prevent others from using for renewable energy projects.
"Do as I SAY...NOT as I
August 30, 2009 - 20:33 ET by bigtimer"Do as I SAY...NOT as I DO!"
What is funny is if people ever heard him on numerous times on the Senate floor this guy would work himself up into yelling at the top of his lungs...while mumbling all the while...in a matter of minutes.
Yeah...he was the Lyin' of the Senate alright.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Seeing a pattern here BT
August 30, 2009 - 20:38 ET by acumenSeems like I remembering Tedddy polluting the Sound with an Oldsmobile too.
acumen... He just wanted
August 30, 2009 - 20:42 ET by bigtimeracumen...
He just wanted to get a head start on 'Cash for Clunkers.'
All Seeing~All Knowing guy that he was.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
This was hypocritical Teddy
August 30, 2009 - 20:43 ET by Scuba DudeThis was hypocritical Teddy at his best. Would Alec Baldwin mind if we named it the Teddy Kennedy Windbag Farm?
The Obama Administration: THE most fiscally irresponsible Administration EVER
political maneuvering,
August 30, 2009 - 21:06 ET by ThisnThatpolitical maneuvering, including some by the late Senator Edward Kennedy
Some? Yeah, like there was some rain and wind associated with Hurricane Katrina. And Custer had some problems with the Indians. And some Floridians have trouble filling out ballets.
Kennedy put on a full-court press to keep the windmills out of Nantucket Sound, purely for selfish reasons. He also called in a lot of chips to keep news outlets from talking about his obvious double-standard, by making up dubious "reasons" the windmills didn't belong there. The more you know about Kennedy, the less you're going to like it.
___________________________________
"Tax the rich" is a basically unstable way of governing - The NYT
Well, blow me down!
August 30, 2009 - 21:17 ET by needleI never though the Globe would print this. As a resident of the MA, I have been looking for this project to go though for years.
Of course, it is interesting to ponder the Globe’s cynicism of suppressing their endorsement of this project up until the last moment of warmth in the body of their favorite notorious liberal.
Just as there is no honor among thieves, there are no principles among ideologues.
- Relying upon the State Run Media for your information is like relying upon an embezzler for your portfolio management.
Not that I'm against wind
August 30, 2009 - 22:20 ET by RR GOPNot that I'm against wind power, but I can't see how these are cost effective, safe, nor environmentally "friendly". They'd have to go out to sea for miles to make much of a dent in the local power supply.
I think that they'd be better off having the buildings near the shore each with their own turbine wind generators on their roofs.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
Windmills are NEVER cost
August 30, 2009 - 22:43 ET by MidAmericaWindmills are NEVER cost effective. They are just symbolism over substance. Since the wind doesn't always blow at the optimim speed windmills are often idle. Conventional power plants with 100% of the customer base's electrical needs must still be in service. That means windmills are actually useless. In order for windmills to have any value they will have to be able to replace a conventional fired power plant. In order to do this a whole network of wind farms must be tied together across vast areas of the country in order that a sufficient number of windmills are producing at any given moment. Windmills are expensive and take up lots of land. When you start multiplying at the rate of many thousands of windmills plus the new power grid that will have to be built you're talking about a financial hole that this country cannot fill.
And windmills also take a
August 30, 2009 - 22:51 ET by RR GOPAnd windmills also take a lot of energy to build, transport and set up, not to mention the initial energy of getting the materials needed to build them (and the cables, and the relays, and the computers) in the first place...and then there's the maintenance.
I would say that they could augment the power grid and reduce fossil fuel consumption and (in a true capitalist system if such even exist anymore) lower the prices at least a little bit.
But I do agree that the emphasis on "green energy" and any notion that it could ever adequately supply our energy needs is BS.
On the other hand if you look at Socialism itself it never has promised to maintain the standard of living we're accustomed to so "green energy" and Marxism do seem to go hand in hand...unless you're talking about Soviet Russia, Red China...they never had any qualms about ruining the environment and massive fossil fuel-based industrialization. The green energy/eco movement seems to be a peculiar sickness of Western Marxists.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
MA... Precisely. You
August 30, 2009 - 22:51 ET by bigtimerMA...
Precisely.
You try to tell that to the left side of the aisle....it goes right over their heads...it's Windmills in their Minds spinning round.
Of course with the powers to be behind the scenes those windmills generate lots and lots of $$$ from us the tax-payers as they are strangling us out here from real freedom regarding oil. ..but they are picking and grinning...we will all pay for this horrendous intentional mistake someday...
The left will never be blamed...not the way the msm are now, let alone the majority of the silent spineless wonderkins on the right side of the aisle that do not have a back-bone.
Be sure I said majority...there are plenty of others who have done different and see the light, you just never get to hear much from them in the msm...as planned.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Right... and of course
August 30, 2009 - 23:00 ET by MidAmericaRight... and of course there is a way to make green energy work. One of obama's tsars will decide how much energy we each will be allotted.
obama quote
August 30, 2009 - 23:23 ET by MidAmericaWe can’t — drive our SUVs and you know, eat as much as we want and keep our homes on you know, 72 degrees at all times, and whether we’re living in the desert or we’re living in the tundra, and then just expect that every other country’s going say OK.
You guys go ahead and keep on using 25 percent of the world’s energy. Even though you only account for 3 percent of the population, and we’ll be fine. Don’t worry about us. That’s not — that’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen.
MidAmerica is spot on.
August 30, 2009 - 23:26 ET by big.league.sliderThere is no "green" energy source that is even close to coal in cost or reliability. Coal provides electricity at about 1/3 the cost of wind or solar. And unlike wind or solar, coal fired power plants provide a steady supply of power 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Wind and solar still require a fossil fuel plant constantly ready to back them up if the wind dies or the sun goes down.
Sadly, wind power is actually the only renewable that is even close to being cost competitive with coal. Even if one takes into account all of the taxpayer subsidies provided to wind power generators.
Solar is even worse. The dirty little secret about photovoltaics (solar cells) is that the most efficient types (polycrystalline silicon) require almost as much energy to manufacture as they will produce over the first 8 or 10 years of operation. Since they typically only have about a 15 year useful lifespan (on average) they don't make much sense financially. Thin film solar cells are cheaper, but they are much less efficient and less durable.
As MidAmerica recommends, do the math. A typical coal-fired plant easily produces over 1,000 MW. The typical utility class wind turbine produces about 2 MW at peak output and costs about $3.5M. Fully replacing the 1GW coal plant capacity with wind would require something like 1000 wind turbines (operating at an average 50% output) and would cost around $3.5B.
"The problem with political jokes is they get elected." -Henry Cate VII (?)
Nuclear
August 31, 2009 - 08:57 ET by UnsaneSure there is. But, we cannot at any cost discuss it.
Nuclear.
Expensive as hell to build, but cheap to run.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
And if there's too much
August 31, 2009 - 06:10 ET by danboAnd if there's too much wind?
Florida and the gulf coast would likely be replacing their windmills ever few years.
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
All of this fooferaw for
August 31, 2009 - 07:57 ET by ConservativeRexAll of this fooferaw for what? Windmills? OK, they use the agrument that windmills provide 'green jobs' which is really beginning to sound like every other horseshit lib description of anything. At any rate, so these wind mills provide a few jobs in making and erecting them, stringing the wires etc. Once that is done, they may need maintainence once every twenty years or so. Hell, that eliminates jobs, it doesn't create any. Just another bill of goods sold to the gullible American public by libs.
Here's a newsflash, this country and by extension the world, will be run by oil for the entire lifetime of any of us reading and writing this. Oil, runs the world. That's it, end of argument.
Now that the Teddy K
August 31, 2009 - 08:26 ET by BDNow that the Teddy K festivities are over, surely his last will and testement will be read and contain the following:
1.) A notice to sell the Hyanisport Kennedy compound and use the procedes to pay for all the social programs Teddy K championed.
2.) An order to licquidate all Kennedy Clan investments and use the proceeds to voluntarily contribute to the federal coffers. No money left over for his kids who will now need to pay for their lifestyles based on income rather than Joseph Kennedy Seniors investments.
3.) An order to sell his boat and all other property and use the proceeds to voluntarily contribute to the Massachussetts State funds.
This will obviously happen, right?
Charity???
August 31, 2009 - 08:59 ET by UnsaneAre you suggesting that a Leftist will engage in personal charity?
Yeah. We will see those provisions in his will right around the time the Sun sets in the east...
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
August 31, 2009 - 09:34 ET by jessieHAnd while they are at it, start drilling for oil off the California coast.