Trees Not Turbines

At best, projects like Cape Wind might save us 10 cents on our electric bill. For that same 10 cents, I would rather plant a tree.

Trees not only remove CO2 and pollutants like dust, ash, pollen, smoke and dangerous gases from our atmosphere but they give back life giving oxygen, prevent soil erosion, beautify our communities and homes, raise our property values, save dollars on our heating and cooling bills and add precious wildlife habitat, some things Cape Wind will never do.

Fear of Global Warming, dependence on foreign oil and rising electric rates have made us feel helpless and prompted complicated, controversial, community dividing and expensive experimental solutions like the Cape Wind project.

Rather than empowering the citizens with what we can do to help, we asked to put our fate and faith in the hands of more industrial development rather than in ourselves and our ability to solve our problems.

Margaret Mead said "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."

Trees should not be overlooked. They are nature's way of clearing our planet of pollution. And in turn they provide the oxygen we breathe.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture "One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people"

Cape Wind has claimed it will reduce CO2 emissions by 800,000 tons per year. A claim, not backed up by facts however. But, be that as it may, if every citizen in the Commonwealth of MA were to plant one tree, we would not only Reduce but we would Remove more than 800,000 tons of CO2 per year from our atmosphere along with pollutants like dust, ash, pollen, smoke and dangerous gases and do something Cape Wind can never do, add oxygen back into the atmosphere.

One mature tree planted by a house can reduce air conditioning needs and can save energy used for heating, it can absorbs 10 lbs of air pollutants, including 4 lbs of ozone and 3 lbs of particulates, it can intercepts 760 gal of rainfall in its crown, thereby reducing runoff of polluted stormwater and flooding and it can clean 330 lbs of CO2 from the atmosphere through direct absorption in the tree's wood and reduced power plant emissions due to cooling energy savings. This one tree can reduce the same amount of atmospheric CO2 as released by a typical car driven 500 miles.

Those of us who oppose Cape Wind in favor of trees are often called NIMBY's but ironically, the name-callers are often NIMBY's themselves. Two years or so ago in Boston the NIMBY's, living along the Charles River, opposed the planting of trees saying they would ruin their view.

But, in a community like Chelsea, MA where Energy Management Inc, the parent company of Cape Wind, the view is secondary to the health of its citizens. EMI has proposed a fossil fuel burning power plant that will spew more sulfur, nitrogen oxide and 37 tons of particulate matter into the atmosphere and straight into the lungs of the citizens and school children already suffering the highest hospital asthma and cardio vascular disease rates in the State.

If Cape Wind and Governor Patrick were really concerned about the health of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Global Warming and our dependence on foreign oil, they would plant trees not turbines.