How many miles of once scenic ridgelines will be dominated by towering industrial wind turbines replacing nuclear power? How will they be connected to the power transmission grid? What will be the visible, audible and environmental impacts of spinning blades and mountainside access roads and powerlines? Where will we get electricity when the wind doesn't blow, or blows so hard that turbines have to be stopped? ...Proponents of "clean energy" alternatives are pitching them against nuclear power instead of detailing their feasibilities, risks and impacts. Vermonters deserve much better information as we debate, plan and implement our energy future.

When the Vermont Public Interest Research Group announces "over 12,000 postcards signed by Vermonters interested in seeing the state's aging nuclear plant retired in 2012 in favor of clean energy alternatives," we may wonder whether offering a choice between a nuclear reality and a clean energy vision is enough research in the public interest. At least this many Vermonters oppose or support anything.

How many miles of once scenic ridgelines will be dominated by towering industrial wind turbines replacing nuclear power? How will they be connected to the power transmission grid? What will be the visible, audible and environmental impacts of spinning blades and mountainside access roads and powerlines? Where will we get electricity when the wind doesn't blow, or blows so hard that turbines have to be stopped?

How many acres of once scenic countryside will be covered by sprawling industrial solar panels replacing nuclear power? How will they be connected to the grid? How will snow and ice be cleared from them? What will be the visible and environmental impacts of clear-cutting that many trees? Where will we get electricity when the sun doesn't shine?

If Connecticut and Deerfield River hydro dams and reservoirs were proposed now instead of 50-100 years ago, would they be allowed to destroy free-flowing, natural rivers? In the early 1990s, activists from Quebec toured
Vermont condemning Hydro-Quebec's "clean" hydro developments for their social and environmental impacts, including leaching natural mercury from soils into rivers. Where will new hydro plants flood and pollute replacing nuclear power?

Canadian natural gas comes to Franklin and Chittenden Counties via Vermont Gas, owned by Gaz Métro of Montréal, new owner of Green Mountain Power. The gas is pipelined by TransCanada of Calgary, Alberta, latest owner of most hydro dams and reservoirs on the Connecticut and Deerfield Rivers. When natural-gas power plants were proposed for Bennington and Rutland, newly founded Vermonters for A Clean Environment scuttled them before permit applications and public hearings began.

Proponents of "clean energy" alternatives are pitching them against nuclear power instead of detailing their feasibilities, risks and impacts. Vermonters deserve much better information as we debate, plan and implement our energy future.

Web link: Howard Fairman"