This New England

--Photo by Charles Pinning

Spring fever orgy in Lincoln Woods State Park, in Rhode Island.

XXX

Seventy-eight Massachusetts lawmakers have urged Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in a letter to approve Cape Wind, the 130-wind-turbine plan for Nantucket Sound, "as soon as possible."

That's almost half of the state legislature, many of whose members have been leery in the past of supporting something that Sen. Edward Kennedy opposes for emotional, summer-place reasons.

"Cape Wind represents an example of the type of action that needs to be taken across the country and the world to responsibly confront the challenge of climate change," the letter says.

"We believe the potential for offshore clean energy production is vast and that more projects will follow in the future off the coast of Massachusetts and other coastal states."

Happy news for most of us, though bad news for the Saudis and the coal companies.

The timing is terrific. The Interior Department's Minerals Management Service will soon make its final decision on Cape Wind, following a long series of favorable regulatory rulings from federal and state agencies. The dwindling band of very rich and often ruthless foes, many financed by oil and coal interests, is finding it tougher and tougher to get traction as America's energy and economic woes worsen.

Finally, it seems, the forces of economic and environmental rationality are overpowering the forces of entitlement.

The letter also suggests that the power of the Kennedy Family and other Hyannis-Osterville rich people, which have fought the project because they see it as impinging on their summer playground, is fading in these economically desperate times.

 Tags  78 legislators Cape Wind Ken Salazar Minerals Management Service

Comments

Charles Pinning said:

The opposition to Cape Wind will go down as one of the more egregious violations of the rich against humanity/the earth/all other creatures at the beginning of the 21st century; a time when enough know better, but have to wage an insane battle for what is obviously the right thing to do.

For another glimpse into more potential disaster the rich are delivering to the rest of us, read Pulitzer Prize Winner Chris Hedges' interesting article about the bailout: http://www.alternet.org/workplace/135414/who_should_resist,_and_who_will_become_serfs/

fin

Link | April 7, 2009 5:14 PM
Report Abuse

---

zman07 said:

Common sense is starting to prevail.

The left is very fond of the term "rich fatcat" in labeling the right. It seems to me that they have their own self-serving rich fatcats in the form of Kennedys, et al with their own self-serving interests.

Link | April 10, 2009 10:41 AM
Report Abuse

---

Leave a comment

Name:

Email:

URL:  

Remember personal info?

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.