If you live in Vermont you understand that your state economy depends on a couple of things. They don’t call it the green mountain state for nothing, Vermont’s economy is almost solely based on its environment. Boating, hiking, skiing, hunting, logging, eco-tourism and the things that support them (bed and breakfast, gear sales, etc) make up the majority of its economic activity.
That is why I was pretty surprised when I heard this from Vermont Governor Jim Douglas regarding the recent approval of a wind farm in Vermont; “I don’t think industrializing our ridge lines is the right thing to do for the natural beauty of our state.” He went on to say “I don’t think the modest amount of electricity that will be generated from wind turbines is worth the impairment of our ridge lines.”
What is this guy thinking?! Global warming will destroy Vermont’s economy. Last winter was a horrible year for skiing, global warming will do similarly bad things to the rest of Vermont’s eco-dependent industry. Perhaps the governor would like them to erect a coal power plant some place in the mid-west where he wont have to look at it. Unless Vermont residents figure out a way to use less energy they will continue to need more supply.