Get Ebooks Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Energy, Class, Politics, And The Battle For Our Energy Future
When Jim Gordon set out to build a wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod, he knew some people might object. But there was a lot of merit in creating a privately funded, clean energy source for energy-starved New England, and he felt sure most people would recognize it eventually. Instead, all Hell broke loose. Gordon had unwittingly challenged the privileges of some of America's richest and most politically connected people, and they would fight him tooth and nail, no matter what it cost, and even when it made no sense.Cape Wind is a rollicking tale of democracy in action and plutocracy in the raw as played out among colorful and glamorous characters on one of our country's most historic and renowned pieces of coastline. As steeped in American history and local color as The Prince of Providence; as biting, revealing and fun as Philistines at the Hedgerow, it is also a cautionary tale about how money can hijack democracy while America lags behind the rest of the developed world in adopting clean energy.
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: PublicAffairs (June 24, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 158648575X
ISBN-13: 978-1586485757
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,716,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #77 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Energy Production & Extraction > Alternative & Renewable > Wind #1664 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Public Affairs & Policy > Environmental Policy #3899 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Civil & Environmental > Environmental
I love, love, loved this book. Cape Wind is a local issue for me and my eyes widened as I read the story behind the story as described by Cape Cod resident Wendy Williams. We citizens who are sympathetic to wind energy stood by in stunned silence as the opponents of the project slandered the project and its developer Jim Gordon. Even when we knew the assertions weren't true (like New England having a power glut), they raised doubts.From afar, the coverage of the proposed windfarm on Nantucket Sound might seem balanced. In Massachusetts, however, it's apparent that the coverage is hysterical and a little irrational. When the windfarm was first proposed and an opposition group was created, this didn't seem different from any other large project. However, the opposition to the Cape Wind project combines money and emotion in an unprecedented way.Cape Wind, the book, is the back-story of the opposition and the web that connects privileged property owners with one another, with elected officials, and with the flaks for the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. In the middle of the web is Senator Edward Kennedy, with a great track record on every environmental issue except Cape Wind. It also provides previously unreported insight into the motivation of the project's developer Jim Gordon. Gordon's motivation for persevering with the project is more than a businessman's greed. The book describes him as being incredibly dogged, and genuinely environmentally aware, as well as being an entrepreneur.Don't come to the book expecting a textbook on windfarm development, or much specific scientific or technical detail about the project. This is a story about one stubborn guy opposed by a stubborn group.The characters are broadly portrayed in black and white.
I say it is just what you would expect from the "limousine" liberal set. People like Al Gore and Ted Kennedy preach ad nauseum to the masses about the threat posed by global warming and the obvious need for this nation to replace fossil fuels with clean renewable energy technologies. But then you discover that these very same people live opulent lifestyles with absolutely no regard to how much energy they use themselves. This hypocrisy has never been more apparent than with the opposition that developed when energy developer Jim Gordon proposed a wind farm on Nantucket Sound in the late summer of 2001. All of a sudden the elites and super-rich who summer on Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket thought that renewable energy might not be such a great idea after all. What it all boiled down to for these folks was the NIMBY syndrome (not in my back yard). "Cape Wind" is essentially the play-by-play of the down and dirty battle to prevent this project from ever getting off the ground. It seems that the well-heeled opponents of this project were willing to stop at nothing to see to it that this proposal would never see the light of day. Indeed, it is a sad commentary on our political system.They were there from the very beginning. Co-authors Wendy Williams and Robert Whitcomb certainly were no strangers to Cape Cod. Both have deep roots on the Cape and were quite familiar with the players in this drama. Both Williams and Whitcomb were on the scene covering this fascinating story from its first days. They were present at the meetings of the concerned mansion owners and at town council meetings. They observed the extremely one-sided coverage given by the local newspaper the Cape Cod Times.
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