Nonsense in the Wind

Breitbart News, the arch-right website, helped set the tone some years ago when it posted a story headlined “Ten Reasons Why People Who Support Wind Farms Are Deluded, Criminal or Insane.” Brietbart is not alone; opposition to wind power is common among many on the right, who cite turbines’ wildlife-killing blades as a top concern, though at the same time they back gutting the Endangered Species Act and dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency. We noticed an op-ed this week in Newsday from a right-wing think tank decrying turbines’ blinking red lights at night and “harmful” noise levels. Would that were all we had to worry about as the planet rapidly warms.

Locally, it is difficult to figure out just which constituency here in East Hampton some Republican leaders and the party’s candidates for town board and trustee are trying to woo in their opposition to an offshore turbine project that would help meet Long Island’s growing power needs. Their statements against it may appeal to a certain pro-fossil fuel far-right audience, but at a time when the risks from anthropogenic climate change are becoming clearer, especially on the highly vulnerable East End, they risk being out of step with the times.

There is an extraordinary amount of negative nonsense out there about wind power. Opponents, many backed by the oil industry, say it is expensive or harmful or that it can change the climate itself. In fact, as far as electricity production goes, wind is competitively priced and has near-zero carbon emissions. Looking to the future, it is obvious that as fossil fuel supplies are used up, there will be more call for alternatives. Wind must be part of a shift to renewable energy if greenhouse gases are going to be controlled.

Certainly, concerns among inshore and offshore fishing interests about the placement of wind turbines and the delivery cables to land are legitimate and must be weighed. Deepwater Wind has proposed its offshore project in what is traditionally a productive fishing area; that may have to change. Also, the company may have to drop its original plan for an underwater transmission line in Gardiner’s Bay. Any flaws in its specific proposals, however, should not be allowed to subsume the general notion that reducing global warming will take an “all-of-the-above” approach, including a significant commitment to offshore wind.