Community Corner
OPINION: Support Article 9
Citizens beware when green ideology clouds science, and regulatory compliance distracts public health judgment.
In a letter dated Sept. 8, Alicia McDevitt, state Department of Environmental Protection deputy commissioner, wrote to town Selectmen that MA DEP would fund and staff would collect data on noise created by Wind 1, Falmouth’s municipal Industrial Wind Turbine (IWT). This is good news for residents around Blacksmith Shop Road. However, Selectmen shouldn’t be so quick to put their eggs all in one basket.
An incriminating memorandum on wind turbine noise, prepared by the Ontario provincial government, shows that government officials were well aware that noise from IWT’s operating, even in compliance with Ontario's wind turbine regulations, were causing adverse effects on communities.
Falmouth’s fall Town Meeting will soon be in the throes of debate on Town Meeting Article 9 (to suspend town wind turbine operations). The concerning health effects imposed on neighbors, recognized by the Ontario provincial government amongst others, is why Article 9 is on the warrant after all.
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The question not yet addressed by State “experts,” not to mention town Selectmen or Board of Health, is why the many characteristics of wind turbine noise, not identified in the MADEP regulations, are not factored into the equation assessing tolerable turbine noise levels. Without addressing this question, all best intentions, all state funds and studies, all compliance conclusions may still offer no relief for neighbors.
Citizens beware when green ideology clouds science, and regulatory compliance distracts public health judgment. It will be telling indeed, if Town officials, at Town Meeting, punctuate the associated cost of temporarily shutting off the machines. Will “they” inconceivably suggest the preference of wind profit over the personal health of citizens?
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Town Meeting is our tradition of trying to make Falmouth a better community. A better community isn’t measured by pounds of CO2 eliminated or dollars in the town till. Trying to make Falmouth a better community starts by asking accurate questions, all the while resisting harmful ideologic and political influence, demanding honest medical proof, and working together to make wise decisions and policies. Please support your neighbors, support Article 9, and urge officials to stop avoiding the "real" question.
