Selling our Souls

When the wealthy buy and sell Democracy, Americans lose! 

Whether it's a clean environment or alternative energy, the US has allowed Dirty Energy to Buy the science and the facts, while the rest of the world leads. 

Time for change! 


From Cape Wind Now! 



IN SPAIN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE THROUGH WIND AND SOLAR POWER IS HOT NEWS - WHY NOT EVERYWHERE?

On a windy night in September, whilst most people were sleeping, wind power reached a record of 64.2% of Spain’s electricity demand. And not just for one day: during the entire month of September Spanish turbines generated so much wind power that coal use in Spain crashed, greatly reducing emissions from fossil fuels.

And what couldn't be used in Spain wasn't wasted. Some was exported via giant cables linking Spain to the rest of Europe and some was used to pump water uphill so it could be allowed to flow back down later, when demand was higher. Pumped storage and interconnectors are just two of the way Spain has found to make sure wind works.

In the U.S., there are signs of change, too: Shepherds Flat in Eastern Oregon near Arlington is one of the largest wind farms in the world. It is benefitting the local economy by about $16 million annually. The cost for the GE2.5XL turbines and ten-year service agreement was about $1.4 billion, and the DOE provided a $1.3 billion loan. Google also invested in the project, to the tune of $100 million. Power generated at Sheperds Flat will prevent about 1.5 million tons of CO2 from being added to the atmosphere each year. One estimate says that is the equivalent of CO2 from 260,000 passenger vehicles, each year. Clean Technica (http://s.tt/1pw3s)

Overall, U.S. American wind power capacity has DOUBLED since 2008, but WHERE IS ALL THE PRESS about this important and beneficial trend?

Full article: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/record-wind-power-generation-spain-20121009 http://cleantechnica.com/2012/10/08/845-mw-of-oregon-wind-power-going-to-california/

 "She/He who tells the stories rules the world." -- Hopi proverb


In today's Cape Cod Times, Sean Gonsalvez writes about Cape Wind Now and the opposition to Cape Wind. Of the Town of Barnstable's accepting $355,000 through a dedicated gift account he said, "Apparently, if you have enough money, you can buy legal services through the Barnstable Town Council to fight whatever project you happen to oppose, even if a large number of residents are in favor of it."

Gonsalves: Town council for sale?

By Sean Gonsalves

October 04, 2012

OK, you probably weren't surprised to read in Wednesday's Times that a coalition of environmental and trade groups launched a new campaign in support of Cape Wind.

What else would you expect from the Conservation Law Foundation, Greenpeace, Clean Water Action, the National Wildlife Federation, Environment Massachusetts, the Environmental League of Massachusetts, and the Boston and New England Maritime Trades Council?

As Times reporter Patrick Cassidy noted in a front page story on Wednesday, "support for Cape Wind from these groups is not new."

What is new: This is the first time they have come together in a concerted attempt to get Cape Wind "across the finish line" and expose the source of funding for the opposition.

What is the source of opposition funding? Most folks have at least heard about the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. But only those who follow this stuff closely know that the alliance's biggest donors are deep-pocketed fossil-fuel interests such as Osterville resident and billionaire mining magnate William Koch — something I wrote about in this column back in March.

So, it wouldn't surprise me if a casual reader glanced at the story, shrugged their shoulders, thinking: nothing to see here, keep it moving.

But, if you're a Barnstable taxpayer that would be a mistake, even if you could care less about the Cape Wind project.

If you read the story all the way to the end and you are part of the majority of town residents who don't pay much attention to the long-winded town council meetings aired on the local cable access channel and the town's website, you would have missed something troubling.

And that something is this: Barnstable has received $355,000 through a dedicated gift account that has been spent on outside counsel to appeal the Federal Aviation Administration's determination that the proposed Cape Wind turbines do not pose a navigational hazard for pilots. Apparently, Barnstable town officials think they know more about aviation safety than the FAA.

Here's a little background: At a town council meeting held in May 2010, Cape Wind supporters asked the town council to stop using taxpayer dollars to fight Cape Wind.

The council honored that request. Sort of.

At a June 2010 meeting, they voted to establish a special account for the sole purpose of accepting money from Cape Wind opponents that would be used to pay for anti-Cape Wind legal services.

To his credit, Councilor John Norman moved to amend the resolution in an effort to make the handling of this special account more transparent. But that motion failed after town attorney Charles McLaughlin said the amendment would be too "cumbersome." More transparency is always cumbersome to public officials who think the public shouldn't be sticking their nose in public business.

Oh, did I mention McLaughlin is the former chairman of the anti-Cape Wind group for whom the gift account was established?

Now, there's nothing illegal about towns setting up such an account. Municipalities do it all the time, usually to accept donations to build playgrounds or to fund other benign but outside-the-budget community projects.

But, it's downright insulting for a town government, which is supposed to represent the entire town, to set up a special fund to accept money from a one-sided opposition group on the most politically divisive issue the Cape has seen in the past decade.

It sets a bad precedent, to say nothing of the slap in the face to the sizable number of town residents who support Cape Wind.

It's akin to a presidential candidate saying he only really cares about half of the country and isn't going to waste time trying to represent "those people."

McLaughlin told the Times the special account for the alliance is fine and dandy because it's in line with the town's policies and concerns related to Cape Wind, which are supposedly about aviation safety and emergency procedures such as: What if there's an accident out there on Nantucket Sound and the town has to use rescue personnel to save the day?

But, if this is such an important town safety concern and not political favoritism, why not pay for the associated legal costs out of the town budget?

Will the town now allow for other one-sided gift accounts for every special interest group out there? Barnstable's wastewater plan calls for sewers in parts of the town. Will the council set up a special gift account to accept money from sewer companies to fight anti-sewer residents in court?

Apparently, if you have enough money, you can buy legal services through the Barnstable Town Council to fight whatever project you happen to oppose, even if a large number of residents are in favor of it.

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20121004%2FNEWS%2F210040323%2F-1%2FMEDIAIn