Predictably, an attempt to build a wind energy farm in Massachussetts is getting grief from some environmentalists and others who are all for renewable energy, but would just as soon not have to look at a windmill.

The windmill outfit has a website here.

The opposition has a website here.

While it would be nice to locate powerplants off in the wastelands somewhere far away from people, the physics and economics of transmitting electricity across long distances means that at least some proximity to the customer is usually needed.

Granted, it's complicated, and there are valid issues on both sides, but sometimes you wonder what you gotta do to make some people happy.

The irony of this situation has not been lost on more pragmatic environmental groups. The Toxics Action Center has handed out its "Dirty Dozen" awards to corporations and organizations that contribute to pollution. The anti-wind farm folks were surprised, to say the least, to find themselves a recipient of such an award. A considerable number of other environmental groups have gone on record as supporting the project. Those environmentalists opposed seem to be the ones largely concerned with wildlife issues, except for Earth Island Institute, which has never seen anything manmade that it liked.

If I lived there, I would be tickled pink to have such a system installed. Down at Mojave where I have worked, the hills are covered with such turbines, and it didn't bother me a bit. There are other wind farms in California, up near the passes through the hills. A private company attempting to make renewable energy profitable should be encouraged.

Map showing proposed location: