Wind power is an obvious choice

The Maine way of life is truly unique and invaluable; however, this way of life for my generation and those to follow is in great jeopardy. As alluded to in the BDN’s Nov. 27 editorial on energy security, energy is the primary requirement of all productive activity, and we in Maine have joined the rest of the modern world in supplying our primary energy needs with fossil fuels.

The perils of this reliance are readily apparent – indeed, these problems have been discussed and solutions have been available to us for much of the last half-century. Fossil fuels are generally not found in Maine. This means we have become dependent on others to satisfy our energy requirements. Furthermore, fossil fuels are a nonrenewable resource: they are finite, they will run out, and before they run out they will reach a point where the costs of extraction and transport far exceed the benefits they provide. What’s more, fossil fuel production destroys ecosystems, and fossil fuel burning generates pollution and has been unequivocally shown to be a driving force in global climate change. So in adhering to the status quo, we not only degrade our irreplaceable natural capital, but we also actively destroy our nurturing environment.

Clearly, a change is due – for the world, for America, for the state of Maine. And there are technologies available to us to make this change. The situation is not at all hopeless – we can derive alternative energy, we can develop our economy without drawing down natural capital and polluting the environment.

Technologies exist that are simple, elegant and very close to nature. They do not consume, they do not pollute, they merely harness natural energy for the enterprise of mankind. Solar power is one example. Wind power is another – and in Maine it is wind that holds the greatest promise as a source of clean, indigenous power for my generation and my children’s.

Who could object to energy that does not consume, pollute or endanger the environment on which we depend? To those who still would oppose wind power on some aesthetic or other intangible grounds, let me propose a very real, very tangible choice: We can continue to pursue our current energy policy – we can even build “clean” power plants that burn gas or “clean” coal, or we can again build nuclear plants.

We can do this, we can continue to rely on foreign power sources, we can mine tons of coal and gas and oil from the ground, and we can destroy whole ecosystems and societies by extracting these fuels that once burned, can never be replaced. We can burn these fuels, and pump tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, aggravating the global climate crisis. Or we can create tons of radioactive waste that must be isolated from all life forms for hundreds and thousands of years. And when the burning is done and the fission reactions finished, we can leave behind a legacy of extraction, pollution and degradation.

Or we can build wind farms. We extract no resources to produce our energy; we create no pollution. And if, for some unforeseen reason, we should decide in 10 or 20 years we have made a mistake, the turbines come down, the materials are recycled and the land reverts to nature – no capital burned, no pollution left behind, no violence, no destruction.

Is the choice so hard to make? To me it seems so clear: Build wind farms! Build them now, build them wherever we can. If we decide one day we are wrong, we have lost nothing we cannot replace. But if we are right, as I’m sure we are, we will guarantee for ourselves a Maine that is beautiful, healthy and independent for our own and all future generations.

Gregory Massey Thaler of Yarmouth is a 2007 graduate of Yale University. He is in Ecuador studying environmental and economic development issues on a Fulbright fellowship.