May 2, 2005
The Post-Star
P.O. Box 2157
Glens Falls, NY 12801
Re: Windmills on Pete Gay Mountain
Dear Editor:
Regarding your editorial of April 24, electrical power derived from wind does have many benefits as one part of an energy conservation and renewables strategy which the United States and New York must pursue. But you overreach when you state "if we say no to windmills in the Adirondacks the region's future credibility as a defender of the environment will be seriously undermined."
The Adirondack Park has served as a model for parks and protected areas across the globe. The questions should be, can we keep and strengthen it? Its economic prospect, its very future rests on whether its natural wonders and wild character can continue to be assured. Large industrial windmills on Pete Gay Mountain may make us feel good that "we are doing something" to alter our current energy pathway, but a 27 MW contribution to a state with more than 50,000 MW of wind energy potential is not very meaningful. Furthermore, the electricity Barton produces here would be heavily subsidized and only adds more energy into the regional grid for an energy-wasteful society, this from a region that is already exporting its power.
Other regions of the State offer much better wind potential than the Adirondacks. What can the Adirondacks uniquely offer without sacrificing any mountaintop asset? The Association proposes a significant and coordinated effort in the Adirondacks to raise electrical and fuel efficiencies and for the state, New York Power Authority and others to financially support energy conservation measures in homes and businesses in the region. These actions would constitute a more meaningful statement about our region's commitment to combat global climate change without compromising existing laws and policies that form the very foundation of the Park's integrity and economy. For instance, what cellular phone company previously denied an APA permit to put up 150-foot mountaintop towers won't challenge the legal hypocrisy of allowing 400-foot plus wind towers on a prominent ridgeline?
A permanent high intensity electric lamp was nearly placed at the summit of Whiteface Mountain to eternally memorialize our dead in World War I. After intense debate, the light was never installed as people realized that the mountain needed no embellishment; it had its own power to heal. Similarly, the Adirondack region does not need to sacrifice or compromise any of its mountains to lights and tall towers in order to improve its wireless technologies or to reach a more conservative energy pathway.
Sincerely,
David H. Gibson,
Executive Director