GRP member initiates ballot question on offshore wind

John Leonard, a Green-Rainbow Party member in Hingham, initiated an advisory ballot question in a number of South Shore towns supporting the Cape Wind and other future offshore wind projects. The effort has gotten some support from Sustainable Braintree, Sustainable Scituate, Sustainable Hanover, Cohasset Alternative Energy Committee and the Hingham REACH Wind Committee.

Created by eli_beckerman. Last modified on 2008-11-03 20:55:14

Dear South Shore Friends,

Greetings! The local non-binding ballot measure in support of Cape Wind, the proposed offshore Hull turbines, the Cohasset Heights turbines and other local wind power projects has been approved by state and is on the ballot in many south shore towns after a Spring/early Summer signature campaign. The measure reads as follows:

"Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would support the development of Cape Wind in Nantucket Sound and other possible future onshore and offshore wind power developments in Massachusetts."

Please let’s show Congressman Delahunt and Senator Kennedy that they are way out of touch with the vast majority of people that they represent in their opposition to the Cape Wind farm in Nantucket Sound. The Boston Globe equates the visibility on the horizon from the nearest Cape Cod shore of this as to looking at one’s thumbnail when at arm’s distance. Is this really an intrusion on Cape Cod beach life? Let’s also support local wind projects at the same time with a strong vote before any local opposition blocks their implementation.

The "YES ON 4" signs for the Wind Power/Cape Wind local ballot just got delivered as I was writing this. They look great! It is a stylized photo of a wind farm, done in a flag blue on a white background. They are 18” x 24” and are complete with metal stakes. They are being shipped in from Ohio, where I got a great price of only $2.75 a piece, including stakes and shipping. If people want to give me that each for them, fine. If you are low on money, have them for free. I just want to get these out and visible along well traveled roads. Please, please forward this message out to friends that live were these signs would be visible.

This is a community effort. Let’s get these well spread out among the 10 towns* that this measure is on the ballot:

Hingham

Hull

Cohasset

Braintree

Hanover

Norwell

Rockland

Holbrook(Precinct 1)

Randolph(Pct. 3)

Scituate(Pct. 3) John Leonard toomuchfun33@hotmail.com

781-749-2852

Question 4 to Gauge Voters' Attitudes on Wind Policy

Hingham's November ballot will include a Public Policy Question (or "PPQ") on alternative energy wind policy. PPQs are set up under state law to register public opinion with legislators. Although they are non-binding, they potentially deliver a powerful message to those in office. Question 4 reads as follows: "Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation that would support the development of Cape Wind in Nantucket Sound and other possible future onshore and offshore wind power developments in Massachusetts?" This question will also appear on ballots in Hull, Cohasset, Scituate, Marshfield, Hanover, Norwell, Rockland, Braintree and parts of Holbrook and Randolph.

The effort was initiated by Hingham and other local South Shore residents. REACH Hingham Wind Committee, which worked with the Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant to erect a meteorological tower at the land fill last February, supports Question 4. This "met" tower is measuring wind velocity to assess how much electricity a wind turbine on that site could generate.

Even though Congressman William Delahunt features one of Hull's wind turbines on his website, he has opposed Cape Wind, as has Senator Ted Kennedy. Nevertheless, a March 2008 poll of over 1200 Massachusetts residents conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) for the Civil Society Institute - a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank cultivating informed debate on science policy, regenerative medicine, and climate change - revealed that 86% of people statewide supported Cape Wind. Even on the Islands and on Cape Cod, where the Cape Cod Times has actively resisted the project, 74% of those surveyed supported Cape Wind, up from 61% in October 2007. This growing support may reflect confidence that Cape Wind poses no major environmental risks. That was the conclusion of the U.S. Interior Department's Minerals Management Service report issued in January 2008. It may also reflect voters' recognition of the political risks entailed by US dependence upon foreign oil.

In view of increasing support for Cape Wind and of potential opposition to local wind projects - including Hull's initiative to build four offshore wind turbines and Cohasset's proposed onshore wind turbines - local activists strongly felt that South Shore communities should have a vote recorded as to whether they support local wind power development, both on- and offshore.

The March 2008 survey by ORC also found that 94% of state residents - including 82% of Cape and Islands residents - think that Massachusetts should be "a national leader in using cleaner and renewable energy on a large scale by moving ahead with offshore wind power, and other alternative-energy initiatives." Since all politics is local, however, Question 4 gives South Shore towns an opportunity to advise their legislators.