It is really hard to vote yes when you have no idea what you are voting on? A No vote will give us the time to REALLY see what the elected local officials and GMP have planned. Once the ridge line has thousands of tons of steel and concrete it will be destroyed forever. There is no state legislation in place to protect the citizens' rights. Wildlife studies paid for by GMP.

Some say that Ka Le is haunted -- and it is. But it's haunted not by Hawaii's legendary night marchers. The mysterious sounds are "Na leo o Kamaoa"-- the disembodied voices of 37 skeletal wind turbines abandoned to rust on the hundred-acre site of the former Kamaoa Wind Farm. The voices of Kamaoa cry out their warning as a new batch of colonists.

We seem to be engaging the issue of energy from within its specifics, lacking a broader view. It might be helpful to look at some "big picture" figures involving energy. Regarding Vermont's energy future, this is a time for thoughtful and careful consideration. P.T Barnum said there's a sucker born every minute. Let's, instead, be smart and not act in a way that could unnecessarily impact Vermont negatively leaving permanent scars.

The intersection of health and renewable energy is a brand new area of medical inquiry that must be studied. To say that no further study of the issues is necessary as the AWEA-CANWEA authors did is shameful. The precautionary principle must be applied to projects that have the potential of worsening our lives. I and others will continue to work unceasingly on issues we believe in.

Today, we are confronted by the crisis of climate change. Descriptions are so fearful, confusing, and occasionally contradictory that it's hard to know what to think. We each try to do what we can to reduce our personal impact on the earth, and ponder how to preserve the planet from a catastrophic fate that could be imminent and irreversible. For many people, renewable energy has become the panacea: producing power from wind, trees, grasses, and the sun.

If industrial wind turbines installed in close proximity to human habitation result in sleep disturbance and stress, then it follows as surely as day follows night that wind turbines will, over the long term, result in these serious health effects and reduced quality of life. The question is, then, do they?

I spotted one potential straw in the wind in the hearing officer's decison: She rejected GMP's assertion that the temporary towers would have no "adverse" aesthetic impact. "Given the facts of this case, it would be difficult to find that the three proposed towers do not have an adverse effect on the aesthetics of the area," she wrote. The mountains and ridgelines in the Lowell area are classic Vermont forested mountaintops with little or no sign of man's hand.

We drove right up to the turbines on a very wide access road. Those turbines were loud! I've heard industry experts claim that a turbine is no noisier than a refrigerator. It makes me want to shout, "You lie!" as is in vogue these days. I can tell you from first-hand experience, industrial wind turbines are loud, and when you line up a bunch of them in a row, they are very loud.

Here in Northumberland, we live in one of the most beautiful counties east of Toronto. But, I am not sure our local governments really appreciate the effect of what is not in place for safety and environmental issues, and future protection from visual and noise pollution. Why the focus on large wind farms? They are not environmentally friendly and pose a real danger for wildlife and its future in the area. ...In addition, there is the visual pollution of the hills we use to attract tourists.

Friends and neighbors, I write as a Clarendon resident, and not in my role as Select Board chairman. The people of Clarendon and the towns surrounding it are trying to understand what the Vermont Community Wind Farm project is all about. What will it mean for us? What impacts will it have on us? Why here and now? What has brought trouble to our town's doorstep is "easy" money.

There has been much discussion lately about industrial wind power on Vermont's mountains. The Lempster, N.H., turbine site is often used as an example of a typical wind tower site, especially after Green Mountain Power's Dec. 5 bus trip for Lowell residents. I am a Vermont resident, but I have an insider's perspective of the Lempster site. I own two pieces of land on Lempster Mountain, one of which has been in my family for over 70 years.

But skeptics insist that the ski industry is using its "green movement" as more of a marketing campaign than anything else, and that the real motivation for increasing efficiency is the healthier profit margin that comes along with it. Those passholders at Bolton may derive some satisfaction from their connection to the resort's wind initiative, but are they really just being sold a bill of goods with a lot of ecological window dressing?

My husband and I spent the holiday weekend in the NEK. We love the unique beauty and serenity present only in the NEK. This is the year we planned to purchase our dream home in Albany to spend our retirement years living in this unspoiled part of the world. Sadly, our dreams were shattered. Shortly after finding our dream home, our realtor informed us about the proposed Lowell wind development on the Lowell ridge lines.

Sen. Jane Kitchel led an initiative to insert a special $200,000 appropriation in the most recent state budget. The money will be spent to hire special appraisers to update the value of the TransCanada dams on the Connecticut and Deerfield Rivers. ...It's another example of an interesting double standard in the Vermont legislature.

To the people who say we need to do something green because that is the right thing to do, fine, build this on state land away from existing habitation. That would satisfy both sides of this case. This project will not satisfy the benefit-to-cost-ratio argument in reducing carbon fuels used in gas, coal and wood generation plants now on line.

Green Mountain Power's plan to construct a wind farm along a ridge line in the town of Lowell will have little impact on Vermont's energy needs. Neither will it improve Vermont's climate or environment. Instead the wind farm will be a monument to crowd pleasing notions of energy independence and freeing Vermont from the slavery of fossil fuel dependence. With some of the cleanest air in the country and a nearly non-existent carbon footprint from Vermont Yankee, it's hard to understand just what role the wind farm will play.

In his letter to the editor on Nov. 6, Jeff Wennberg painted a ridiculously benign picture of the impact on the mountains of Ira if construction of about 40 wind turbines takes place there. For instance, Jeff states, "Anyone who has seen a completed wind farm on forested land knows that these projects follow the contours of the terrain." He cites the Lempster wind turbine site as an example. ...The blasting and construction of wide service roads and tower base areas there have changed the contours of the land so drastically that, when I now stand in the area of this project, I have a hard time imagining what the terrain looked like before.

Thank you to Art Kruegger for raising the question about whether big wind turbines built on Vermont's mountaintops will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That is a question Vermonters for a Clean Environment has been attempting to answer for seven months, and we are still looking for answers.

There was a very interesting forum held at the West Rutland town hall on Oct. 22. Three speakers presented information that should cause anyone to think very hard about whether an industrial wind "farm" in their community is a good thing. Or whether it's even useful to meet Vermont's renewable energy goals.

There are 18 families who live under a mile and downwind of the Mars Hill wind project who have been negatively impacted by these massive turbines. We all want for people to understand what is at stake when turbines move into your community. The 28, GE 1.5 megawatt turbines here in Mars Hill have destroyed a way of life that many have cherished for generations. It is an industrial facility that covers over 3 miles. It has destroyed wildlife habitat, breathtaking views, and property values. It has forever scarred the mountain. It has disturbed streams, ponds and wetlands. Safety issues with ice throw, risks of fire and tower collapse are all things that neighbors have to consider.