Wind farm crowd no fans of RFK
Boston Herald |Jay Fitzgerald, Economics Reporter|December 17, 2005
Kennedy, an outspoken environmentalist on most earthy issues, wrote in an op-ed piece in the New York Times that the proposal by Cape Wind Associates to build 130 offshore wind turbines was nothing more than a government-subsidized industrial boondoggle.
Kennedy, an outspoken environmentalist on most earthy issues, wrote in an op-ed piece in the New York Times that the proposal by Cape Wind Associates to build 130 offshore wind turbines was nothing more than a government-subsidized industrial boondoggle.
R. F. Kennedy Jr. stirred up a storm of controversy yesterday by escalating his attacks on a proposed wind farm off of Cape Cod - without mentioning how his family’s famous vacation compound might be impacted by the facility.
Kennedy, an outspoken environmentalist on most earthy issues, wrote in an op-ed piece in the New York Times that the proposal by Cape Wind Associates to build 130 offshore wind turbines was nothing more than a government-subsidized industrial boondoggle.
“As an environmentalist, I support wind power,” wrote Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. “But I do believe that some places should be off limits to any sort of industrial development. I wouldn’t build a wind farm in Yosemite National Park. Nor would …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]R. F. Kennedy Jr. stirred up a storm of controversy yesterday by escalating his attacks on a proposed wind farm off of Cape Cod - without mentioning how his family’s famous vacation compound might be impacted by the facility.
Kennedy, an outspoken environmentalist on most earthy issues, wrote in an op-ed piece in the New York Times that the proposal by Cape Wind Associates to build 130 offshore wind turbines was nothing more than a government-subsidized industrial boondoggle.
“As an environmentalist, I support wind power,” wrote Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. “But I do believe that some places should be off limits to any sort of industrial development. I wouldn’t build a wind farm in Yosemite National Park. Nor would I build one on Nantucket Sound.”
Kennedy, who was confronted by Greenpeace last summer when he toured the Sound in a boat with a group opposing the project, said the windmills will cause too much noise, harm marine life and threaten fishermen’s livelihoods. Greenpeace supports the project.
Deep-water wind-turbine technology is improving - and Cape Wind should be pushed farther off shore, he added.
What he didn’t mention was how his family has long vacationed on the Cape, at the famous Kennedy Compound in Hyannis - only six miles from where the offshore wind farm would be located.
Environmental groups, who are now portraying Kennedy as a virtual traitor in the fight against global warming, took note of that omission.
“This is an unfortunate case of NIMBYism,” said Matt Palmer, executive director of Hyannis-based Clean Power Now, referring to the antidevelopment acronym for Not In My Back Yard.
“We are disheartened and dismayed that RFK Jr. is continuing his misguided opposition to Cape Wind,” said Sue Reid, an attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation.
In an interview with the Herald, Kennedy said he doesn’t own property on the Cape - only his relatives do. But he added he thinks “people should fight to protect their back yards,” noting he has opposed developments near his own New York home in the past.
He accused some environmentalists of “shilling for developers” of the Cape Wind project.