Did You Vote For Or Against Wind Farms?

To the editor: While driving along listening to the radio today I happened to hear that Governor Healey signed into law a new Climate Bill that, among other things, promises to make the complex process of obtaining the multiple required State Wind Farm permits a streamlined single application process. Immediately following that was a statement from our recently reelected Senator Julian Cyr applauding this great improvement that will help guarantee that future wind projects face an easier road to obtain approval.

This brought to mind a recent letter in Nantucket Current by Tom Harty regarding the lack of action by our Select Board in speaking out against the various wind projects. If I may borrow two excellent statements from Tom's letter when referencing the Select Board:

“Your constituents stood up last night and made their voices known. The answer is clear that no amount of money can buy our approval. We need you to be a leader and the most vocal, outspoken critic of these projects”... “It's time for you to stand up and do something.”

It seems that demanding the Select Board to stand up and do something against a Governor and Representative who wholly support wind farms is a little like me walking into the Tax Collector's office and explaining that I do not want to pay my taxes any more and please make a change so that I do not have to.

Rather than expecting the Select Board to carry on the entire fight against very stiff opposition, maybe everyone lending their voice to wind farm opposition should ask themselves if they gave any consideration to the published positions of both Governor Healey and Senator Cyr before voting.

From Governor Healey's web site:

“Our administration continues to build a robust, sustainable offshore wind industry, and we are excited to issue this historic RFP, the largest yet in our region...”

And from Senator Cyr's web site:

“Senator Cyr was among a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Beacon Hill who advocated for the development of the Vineyard Wind Project, a deep-water wind farm 14 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.“

And for the record, Nantucketers voted to elect Governor Healey and reelect Senator Cyr, each by a two-to-one margin. Maybe it is time to share the blame and also start lighting a fire under those actually responsible for the current situation and in a position to do something about it.

Dave Bossi