Zinke Endangered Americans-RE: Offshore Wind Farms-Not Trustworthy to Run for Congressional Seat
The summary of the costs associated with this effort are:
The following Op-Ed was submitted to Montana Daily Gazette by a Montana resident who believes Zinke is dangerous for Montana and not fit for the Congressional seat in Washington.
‘A Cold Wind Blows‘
Offshore Wind Farms: What They Mean to Montana’s Congressional Race
(Hint: Ryan Zinke was fired, he didn’t quit)
In the future, as ocean breezes move across the waters of the North Atlantic, they could also move over the blades of offshore wind generating systems supplying electricity to the northeast United States. A project of this scope and size always comes with a price, and this project is no different. But what does offshore wind energy development in the Atlantic have to do with Montana? Beyond the broader discussion of America’s need for energy independence, the push for offshore wind energy going back years exposes one critical person’s desire to bypass public input and continue the effort regardless of the cost. That person is Montana’s own Ryan Zinke.
The fishing industry in that region knows the area better than anybody, and they are formidable foes to those who would ignore them. They are courageous fighters whose respect, once earned, is something a person will and should value for the rest of their lives. Not only do they and their families work in the fishing industry, but they spend hours of what should be their free time fighting for their own livelihoods against government agents and foreign corporations much larger than them. Even if they lose to big government and corporate interests, they are like the Spartan 300 in that the only way they really lose is to quit. Ignoring all input and advice, Zinke continued to advance the dangerous and expensive agenda of offshore wind farm development at any cost. After discussing the issue of offshore energy development with experts on the topic, it became clear that there is much to lose and little to gain.
The summary of the costs associated with this effort are:
1. The companies holding leases are mostly foreign corporations, with some majority-owned by foreign governments. Thus, they need heavy US taxpayer subsidies but create mostly foreign jobs.
2. Commercial fishing vessels cannot operate inside wind farm areas due to safety concerns. Most of the 3.6 million acres impacted cover significant historical fishing grounds.
3. Wind turbines cause marine radar interference causing significant safety issues. The analysis leading to this conclusion is based on turbines in Europe from 8-10 years ago, and the risk is even greater now as turbines are much larger today.
4. Leases continue to move forward despite the radar interference creating hazardous conditions for fishing vessels. Not only that, but their presence also creates national security issues. These include flight safety, homeland security, homeland defense, and weather observation. The reasons for these concerns are numerous, but the important fact is those risks go away when the wind farms go away. However, the task force working to identify mitigation measures seeks to address those issues by 2025, a year when most leases are likely already operational.
5. Wind farms affect acoustically sensitive areas. Our own ships and submarines may be placed at risk, and foreign submarines can operate with less risk of detection.
6. The construction methods used to build wind farms are destructive to long-established commercial fishing grounds and risk not only the livelihoods of generations of fishing families but also the nation’s food security.
Given that all these concerns were known, and shared with the Department of the Interior when Ryan Zinke was Secretary, why should Montanans trust him to listen to us and our concerns as he seeks to represent us in the US Congress? The commercial fishing industry, an icon of America for 400 years, finds itself at an impasse. Their only hope now is to win a lawsuit that should never have been required in the first place.
A review of Ryan Zinke’s work with those most impacted by an unchecked push for offshore wind farms demonstrates that Montanans should not trust him to represent us in the US Congress. We recommend that voters who want a true representative in Washington D.C. support Al “Doc” Olszewski instead.
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