The Canadian Press
Posted: Feb 21, 2012 11:05 PM AT
Nova Scotia's songbird is choosing fight over flight in her lengthy battle against a wind farm near her summer home.
Anne Murray has written a letter to Premier Darrell Dexter, saying the proposed development is "deeply disturbing" and has no place in Pugwash, N.S., or near its scenic golf course.
Murray, who purchased a home in the area 30 years ago, said the wind farm would lead to plummeting property values and fewer tourists, adding that it would have a "catastrophic" impact on the economy.
"Wind turbines are imposing structures and definitely not the kind of thing one wants to see from a golf course," she wrote."Turbines are a curiosity, but only once."
North Cumberland Wind Farm, an affiliate of Atlantic Wind Power Corp., is proposing to install 12 wind turbines generating 33 megawatts of power on land about two kilometres from the village.
The Halifax-based company had initially wanted to build a 27-turbine wind farm in 2006.
If the project goes ahead, Murray said the turbines wouldn't be visible from her home.
Company president Charles Demond said the corporation doesn't believe the project would have a negative impact on the area's economy or tourism.
"The vast majority of cottage owners are going to be a kilometre or more away," he said in an interview. "It's a project that's supported by a number of folks in the community and area."
Lori Errington, a spokeswoman for the provincial Environment Department, declined to comment on the contents of Murray's letter.
"I can confirm that the Premier's Office did receive a letter from Ms. Murray regarding the Pugwash wind farm," she said. "I don't want to get into the specifics of her letter because this process is currently under review."
She said the correspondence will be included in public comments that are being collected as part of the province's review process.
The deadline for public submissions is March 7.
A decision from the province on the proposal could come next month.
Last week, a citizen's group opposed to the wind farm issued a news release urging the province to suspend its public consultation.
The Gulf Shore Preservation Association said environmental assessment documents filed earlier this month by the developer were incomplete.
Murray has campaigned for years against wind farm development in the area alongside the association, but said in an interview that it's the first time she's written the premier as part of her efforts.
"I just think the process is unfair and should be looked at by the powers that be," she said from Jupiter, Fla.
The Grammy and Juno award winner said she applauds Nova Scotia's renewable energy efforts, but ultimately believes wind turbines should be built in communities that truly embrace them.
"People are going to a place like Pugwash and that whole area to escape from industry, to have the serenity of the surroundings and the beauty," she said. "I think this would be a blight."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/02/21/ns-anne-murray-windfarm.html
6 comments:
Ms. Murray sees only golf, golf, golf here. I see coal, coal, coal. Anrew Weaver has just published a papers finding that coal burning will raise temperatures more than any other fuel. Here the coal requires oil to extract and transport from Venesuela. Oilke is also shown to heat the atmosphere.
I don't believe that causing Ms. Murray to avert her eyes during her brief vacation here is worth destroying a chance to limit NS coal burning.
Perhaps someone should show show Ms. Murray the visualization of the view from the golf course . Oh my a partial turbine above the trees. Pretty scary.
I take my hat off to Anne Murray. She is a superstar, and dares to stand up for her beliefs, knowing very well she will get negative comments from uneducated people just because they want to be heard.Currently we have over 1200 names on a petition who agree with Anne.
Anne is not against wind power, she is, and rightfully so, against the location of this development
A wind turbine development does not belong in the small rural community of Pugwash and Golf Shore. This community is a small populated area relying on retirees that want to move to a beautiful location, summer visitors, cottagers, and tourists, an area that is known for its views scapes, beaches, and nature at its best.
Currently the village and surrounding area is sustainable, however it is a very fragile community, so fragile in fact, that most of the businesses barely stay in the black.
This means that any disturbance in the balance will be devastating to each of our small businesses and the entire area.
It is a well-known fact that people will not buy property near a wind turbine development, nor can they sell their homes. Even a small disturbance, let alone a huge disturbance like a wind turbine development upsets the delicate balance. Homes can’t sell unless they are priced rock bottom, no investment comes to the area, people leave and no one comes in. This is the beginning of a village going bankrupt. First the grocery store goes, then the hardware store, next it will be the drug store, then the gas pumps, the hospital and doctors next, and eventually we have no village.
Living in a small rural community takes the full support of all its residents, it is hard enough to survive without the government –with a stroke of the pen—instantly destroying a community and lowering property values by 40%.
Can you imagine the uproar if they put a wind turbine on Citadel Hill, several at Peggy’s Cove, or 12 on McNabe Island, simply because it has wind?
These turbines are over 500 feet high!—can you imagine the impact!
Surely there are areas in Nova Scotia they can put wind turbines that will not have the negative impact that a small rural community will suffer. The only reason they want to put them in our community is because we are close to the grid—less cost to them- rather than have to build roads to a more distant location.
We have wind everywhere in Nova Scotia-not just in rural communities.
This development needs a lot more study, and consideration.
Bonnie Crowell
Golf Shore
Dear Bonnie,
Your comments are another example of just how misinformed you have all become. I would like to speak to one specific point that you make and this is where you state that people will not buy property near a wind farm. You are so bold in this statement. Perhaps you should suscribe to Viewpoint.ca and go to every wind farm around Canada and see if property has sold in these areas since a wind farm has been built. You will be surprised that they do. But that won't matter, because that is a real fact, which is something that you can't seem to suscribe to. You and Anne are more interested in destroying the coast line with your rows of cottages with wells and septic as opposed to keeping it truly natural.
Hypocrites!
RL
And one more thing Bonnie - Citadel hill is within 500 meters of houses and it is a National Park. Don't be a fool to suggest that one. Peggy's Cove, well there is another genius retort and as for McNabb's well there once was a bunch of folks living there and if the submarine cable costs weren't so high it would probably make sense. Haligonians, other than the Heritage Trust, are generally a bit more "forward looking" than your group.
RL
Ann Murray is an intelligent,educated world traveller.
She has the experience of exposure to the visual impact these turbines present
Their 20 plus storey height and the revolving blades are an annoyance as well as a mentally/psychologically disturbing environmental impact to those trying to enjoy the immediate area surrounding these.
The low frequency red blinking,pulsating night lights will drive some of the locals to madness (the eyes are most sensitive to red in the dark that's why it is used in darkroom photography development,etc.) especially in foggy conditions so sitting in your yard trying to enjoy a summer evening will be an effort at times.
The infrasonic sound they generate will impact the health of the locals sometimes at greater distance from these in a manner that will be difficult to pin point directly.Blood circulation,breathing difficulties,mental disturbances,etc.
The electromagnetic energy these generate will radiate to great distance and create undefinable problems for many in the form of sleep problems,mental difficulties and aberations, physiological interactions such as heart palpitations,nerve events,etc.
Those who do not live near these are very quick to dump on those who will have their lives impacted typically out of jealously or pettiness.
If the population would come to the realization that the answer to our man-made created climate change and pollution problems can very easily be addressed and reduced by adapting our excessive life-styles and turning a few switches off then
we wouldn't be forced into introducing another environmental
monster into our environment by the forces of greed that want to put this one there!
Surely we can relearn to manually open store doors again????
It is good to see this ranting anonymous is back. However you have one problem, you tend to lose folks after the 10th or 12th syllable..and it is not because we are not intelligent, jealous or petty. It is because your argument simply rambles on into the mundane. It makes me think you are trying to pass off as someone with the supposed vibro-acoustic disorder or wind turbine syndrome and that this illness makes you ramble sentences on and on.
And as smart as Anne may be you have mislead her. I have been around a wind farm at night and on many occasions. Have even camped out around them and had a really peaceful sleep on all occasions. The lights you talk of are at the top of the turbines, so that airplanes can see them not so that you know they are there. Cell phone towers, electric wires, radio antennaes have many more lights and heck there are even some around Pugwash. I guess we better take those down as well. Anne only cares about finishing her round at Northumberland and not thinking she might someday miss the putt on the back nine because a blade distracted her. Stop taking her down with you on your lost cause, she may need to sell more albums again.
RL
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