"Block Island embracing offshore wind farm plan; Electricity costs help sway support" by Bina Venkataraman, Globe Correspondent | October 19, 2008
BLOCK ISLAND, R.I. -
Similar offshore wind farms along the East Coast have provoked fierce local opposition, including in Massachusetts, where the Cape Wind project for Nantucket Sound has been stalled for seven years by powerful groups concerned about their ocean views and the potential impact on property values, tourism, and marine life.
Why can't they say WEALTHY ELITES, readers??
This summer, electricity prices on the island reached a record of 65 cents per kilowatt hour - at one point, the highest rate in the continental United States and more than four times the rate paid on the mainland 12 miles away. Unlike Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket to the north, Block Island does not have a cable connecting it to the mainland.
The island relies on diesel, carted by fuel tankers on ferry boats and burned by generators at the local power plant. As gas prices have risen at pumps across the country, Block Islanders have been hit at home.
"My electric bill was like a mortgage payment," said Mary Anderson, a landscaper. The Island Free Library's circulation clerk, Judy Mitchell, said she paid $700 per month for electricity for her home over the summer. Hotels that serve the thousands of tourists who come here each year for the beaches, birds, and nature trails are among the island's biggest power users.
At the Spring House Hotel, the electric bill this August soared over $40,000, nearly $10,000 more than the August 2007 bill. Houseman said that the hotel has closed three days each week of October to save money. And next year, for the first time, the hotel will open its season on Memorial Day instead of in early April.
That will sure help the sagging economy!
The wind farm plans are preliminary. No one knows where or when the first offshore turbines will spin near Rhode Island; state officials estimate it will be five to 10 years from now. --more--"
WTF are they WAITING FOR? Sure are DAWDLING for such a "serious" crisis like "global warming!"
See: AmeriKan MSM Admits Global Warming/Cooling Occuring Naturally
