Windmills are a part of Buzzards Bay's past and will very likely be part of its future. In 1892, a tourism article in the New England Magazine commented, "Indeed we may say, as of the boulders, that no landscape around Buzzards Bay is complete without windmills; and while, as a rule, they are of modern construction, still as in Holland, the eye never tires of them." Our region's signature winds haven't gone anywhere and they're even more valuable today.

The Coalition for Buzzards Bay strongly supports the responsible development of clean wind energy in the region to reduce the threats associated with the transport of 2 billion gallons of oil annually through the Bay, as well as address the growing threat of global climate change. Even the greatest threat to the bay's health — nitrogen pollution — is impacted by fossil fuel burning as today some 20 percent of the nitrogen degrading the bay comes from rain that carries the byproducts of fossil fuel emissions from throughout the Northeast.

These are serious issues that demand our collective attention. If Buzzard Bay is to be protected, we must invest rapidly in the development of renewable energy sources. And, if the New England coast is the "Saudi Arabia of wind power," as it had been called by some proponents, then we have a unique and important obligation to contribute to these solutions here at home. The Coalition for Buzzards Bay is, therefore, enthusiastic about the promise of wind energy development along the Massachusetts coast and, yes, even in our own backyard.

This is why following a careful review of the draft Environmental Impact Report for the Cape Wind proposal in Nantucket Sound, we offered our qualified endorsement for that project in January 2005. Our need for clean energy, however, will not stop with one wind farm in Nantucket Sound, there will be new proposals for Buzzards Bay and elsewhere that will deserve our careful consideration.

But let us be clear, you can be, like us, both pro wind energy development and have serious concerns and doubts over this week's announcement by Jay Cashman of his hopes to construct a 90-120 turbine wind farm spanning the western end of Buzzards Bay. This issue is not as simple as being "for" or "against" — the appropriate siting of wind farms will make all of the difference.

Based on the limited information available, the Cashman proposal creates large conflicts with busy navigation routes (sitting at the intersection of the main channel and the New Bedford channel), the safe transport of oil and other hazardous cargo through the bay, nearshore fishing and recreational uses, and endangered species nesting areas. Considering the magnitude of these potential conflicts, we question how any developer could propose such a project with so little background study. (A similarly rash wind proposal was made in 2002 by Winergy LLC to be sited off the coast of Falmouth and has since been abandoned.) If we are going to have a thoughtful debate about where and how wind turbines might be constructed in Buzzards Bay, focusing the region's attention on such a poorly thought out proposal is not productive.

We encourage everyone — area residents and our elected officials — to take another look at the dramatic differences that exist between the Nantucket Sound proposal and Cashman's new proposal due in large part to Buzzards Bay's narrow geography, environmental sensitivity and the density of existing commercial and recreational uses. In many ways, the Cashman proposal immediately calls to light many of the reasons that the Cape Wind project appears to have hit a home run when they selected Horseshoe Shoals in Nantucket Sound for the region's first wind farm.

Considering all of these issues, we are frankly amazed at the reactions of some politicians this week, and in particular that of Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. Edward Kennedy. Gov. Romney purports to be "intrigued" and Sen. Kennedy "hope(s) this proposal will start a thoughtful discussion" related to the Cashman deal. Both have aggressively stated their opposition to the Cape Wind proposal in Nantucket Sound from the beginning. Yet they are open to a Buzzards Bay proposal which, while of a similar scale, produces less power and which greatly magnifies the use, navigation and environmental conflicts debated (and now largely dismissed) in Nantucket Sound. We at the Coalition are eager to hear how the governor and senator justify the rationale behind these seemingly contradictory positions.

Let's have a serious discussion about wind energy in Buzzards Bay. One that looks closely at the science and protects the environmental sensitivity of the bay, avoids significant conflicts with navigation and other bay uses, and values the role of all bay communities and residents in crafting a vision for the future of Buzzards Bay.

The Coalition for Buzzards Bay intends to closely monitor the Cashman proposal in order to defend the bay from harmful development. To get involved with our advocacy on wind energy, go to www.savebuzzardsbay.org or call us at 508-999-6363. Windmills may be a part of our bay's future, but early indications suggest that the current Cashman proposal shouldn't be how it gets done.

Mark Rasmussen and John K. Bullard Mr. Rasmussen is executive director/ Baykeeper for the Coalition for Buzzards Bay. Mr. Bullard is president of the coalition and a former mayor of New Bedford. He is also president of the Sea Education Association in Woods Hole.