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The first wind farm I saw was in northern California, somewhere between the I5 and San Francisco, and it was breathtaking. There were hundreds of tall turbines, occupying miles of green hilly ground. I found them stunningly beautiful, enormous, slowly turning, white and gleaming in the sun.
Last summer John and I toured Nova Scotia, hitting the off-sites and backroads. We were interested in the Acadians and had read about a reconstructed Acadian village near one of the five towns called Pubnico - Lower East Pubnico, Pubnico, West Pubnico, Middle West Pubnico, Lower West Pubnico - and drove down the narrow Pubnico Penninsula to visit it. We spent some hours there, chatting with the folks about their history and the revival of their culture. They told us to be sure to visit the new wind farm down the way, at the tip of the penninsula, the end of the road - "You couldn't miss it!" However, by the time we headed out, we only wanted to get to Annapolis Royal, where we planned to spend the night. We decided to forego the wind farm.
Acadian Village
Two weeks later, I flew from Halifax to Boston to meet Lisa. It was perfect flying weather, and since it was a short hop, we flew low. From my window seat, I could retrace the trip we'd taken. We followed the south shore: there was Lunenberg, and Shelburne, most likely (we were just that much too high to see buildings or roads) and there, certainly, was Sable Island, emerged for a moment from the fog, and then, that would be mostly likely the Pubnico penninsula, there the Village Museum. Then, confirmation: the windmills! Even from the plane, they were huge, and I could see them turning gracefully.
Pubnico Wind Farm
The plane then flew over the Bay of Fundy and on to Boston. As we approached the city, I could see Cape Cod, where Lisa lives. The following day, we stood by the water there, looking south across Nantucket Sound, where an offshore wind farm is slated to be built. I remembered reading about the resistance to the project, how it would mar the view from the windows of the wealthy.
Cape Wind Project
My friend Stefan DeBracey got me thinking about wind farms and Nova Scotia. Remembering has brought up more stories: the Canadian Idol of Pubnico (I think he ended up in in fourth place,) and the history of the region, the settlement of which was so stable that virtually all the people who live there now can trace their roots to one of four families. There are more D'Eons there than you can shake a stick at. But those stories are for another time.
Visit Stef's Blog
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1 comment:
Lisa told me about the off shore wind farm debate at Cape Cod. Here also we have plans for off shore turbines. I didn't know about Acadia- It is wonderful to be able to read about each other's places , and even more so without the constraints of condensing into a single image or metaphor. Sometimes you just have to tell. Or I do anyway.
I suppose if one day I woke up and found that the turbines had taken over the world- and they look sort of sentient, don't they, I would be a bit alarmed, but in the meantime they are well down my list of things that must be eradicated from my view.
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