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Town should fight claims made by RITBA attorney 

Credit:  The Jamestown Press, www.jamestownpress.com 26 January 2012 ~~

I write to address the article in last week’s Jamestown Press – “Turbine Sparks Veiled Threat.” In the story, a Providence attorney named Brian Lamoureux, who has been hired by the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, states that there is great danger that “shadow flicker” may distract drivers driving on the Newport Bridge or elsewhere nearby.

There is no indication that Mr. Lamoureux has an advanced degree in aeronautics or special training in “shadow flicker” or other light hazards. He tries to frighten us by speaking of the 10 million trips across the bridge, some of which may be dangerous.

The bridge can be dangerous. Driving east in the morning, one encounters the rising sun; returning in the late afternoon driving west, the same sun may wait to dazzle us. On stormy days, strong winds often blow from north or south, making cars feel a pull or tug. Workmen are often on the bridge, reducing traffic to one lane each way.

Every day brings distractions: freighters and pleasure boats, sometimes a bay full of sailboats, towering cloud formations and new weather arriving.

Some bridge users drive much faster than the posted speeds. None of this is attributable to “shadow flicker.”

There is evidently concern that a turbine may be an eyesore when located near a handsome bridge. It is worth reminding ourselves that we have a historic district dedicated to a windmill that formerly ground corn in past centuries. I am of Dutch stock and my mother’s family used to dwell near the dikes that protected against the North Sea. I don’t believe anyone ever said that the windmills made the dikes look ugly.

Rather than one turbine, let us build four or five of them near one another and make them an icon for our 21st century – a time when we utilize wind, sunshine and other natural elements to create energy, rather than relying on coal, oil or natural gas.

If we need to hire our own attorney to pursue the matter with the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, I urge that we do that.

Jim Traer

Intrepid Lane

Jamestown

Source:  The Jamestown Press, www.jamestownpress.com 26 January 2012

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

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