YOUR PARTICIPATION IS CRITICAL!

Re: Advisory Council on Historic Properties (ACHP) hearing scheduled for March 22 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Tilden Arts Auditorium at Cape Cod Community College. In April, ACHP will be making a recommendation to Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, evaluating the adverse effects of Cape Wind on Nantucket Sound with regard to historic preservation. Subsequently, Salazar will announce his final federal decision.

Speakers must register in advance at capewindsection106@achp.gov. SPACE WILL BE LIMITED, SO TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

Please submit your written comments to the same email address by 5 p.m. March 29.

We must voice our concern regarding the devastating effects of this industrial plant on the unique setting of Nantucket Sound.  It has already been deemed eligible for listing on the National Register as a place of significance to the tribes and the many historic properties and districts that face the Sound from the islands and the mainland, including two National Historic Landmarks: the Nantucket Historical District and the Kennedy Compound.

Whether or not you plan to speak, WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AT THIS HEARING! This may be our last opportunity to show our solidarity and determination to Save Our Sound from reckless industrialization. Please email us if you plan to attend. pdineen@saveoursound.org 

  Link to ACHP Press Release

 45 DAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

In 45 days, the Department of Interior will be making a decision on the fate of Nantucket Sound. Your support is urgently needed – your generosity at this moment may have more of an impact NOW than at any other time in this 8+ year fight.

Our work is entirely funded through donations like yours. Every dollar contributed is appreciated and used to further our mission of not only saving Nantucket Sound from industrialization but also reinforcing the need of balancing alternative energy with responsible siting.

SOS victory may come in April either by the denial of or relocation of the proposed Cape Wind project – or - at a later date - through legal action or an FAA determination of hazard to aviation safety. Together we can win this fight. We are almost there! Let’s keep working together to Save Nantucket Sound!

DONATE TODAY (link below)
THE MOMENT IS NOW - YOUR IMMEDIATE SUPPORT IS CRITICAL TO WIN THE FIGHT!
or Mail a check to:
Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound
4 Barnstable Road
Hyannis, MA. 02601

 Make an online donation today of $100 or more and receive a set of four Save Our Sound Wonderstone Coasters. “Millions of years in the making, these unique coaster are extremely porous, absorbing all condensation.  When a glass if lifted, these coasters will not stick.” Save Our Sound – don’t let Cape Wind stick!

 FORTY-FIVE REASONS TO SUPPORT SAVING NANTUCKET SOUND FROM INDUSTRIALIZATION:

1. Nantucket Sound is a national treasure eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places
2. “The Cape Wind project will forever change the physical integrity of the sacred site.” A statement from the coalition of 24 tribes known as the United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. asking Secretary Salazar to stop the controversial project
3. There are alternative, less conflicted locations for this Wind Plant: off-shore @ South of Tuckernuck Island, and land-based @ Massachusetts Military Reservation
4. "Cape Wind business model will pick public's pocket," Joseph P. Kennedy lll
5. "Nantucket Sound is a national treasure and it must be protected at all costs." Cape Cod Times Editorial 3/07/10
6. "This wolf in sheep's clothing will do nothing but provide a small amount of energy at an increased price and ruin the way of life for those of us who live on and visit the Cape and Islands." T. Kane Stanton, Letter to the Editor, Cape Cod Times 03/07/10
7. "My prediction: politically correct approval, followed by low profits, abandonment, and hundreds of rusting wind towers too expensive to remove, sitting in the middle of Nantucket Sound, laughing at our lunacy." Don Dillon, Letter to the Editor, Cape Cod Times 03/08/10
8. “For me personally, there is no amount of money that would justify selling out our people and our right to practice our traditions and ceremony; now and/or into the future.” Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, Chairwoman Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head - Aquinnah
9. This industrial project is out of place in an area that borders marine sanctuaries on all sides

 Check out our website for daily reasons to Save Our Sound and other important updates as they happen!

 DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!

Both Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribes turned down Cape Wind's million dollar buy-out. This last ditch effort by Jim Gordon has only strengthened the moral high ground of the tribal members.

March 1st Secretary Salazar concluded the consultative process between the Tribes and Cape Wind
The matter has been referred to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), which has 45 days to review the matter and  make a recommendation to the Secretary. The ACHP could recommend that the project be approved, or terminated, or be relocated to the compromise location South of Tuckernuck Island.  At that point, Secretary Salazar will announce his decision. Still outstanding is a final determination of presumed hazard from the FAA, as well as a decision from the MA Supreme Judicial Court on numerous state and local permits. ACHP will be accepting public comments in the near future. We'll keep you posted.

What is the Bloom Box, anyway? Can two brick-sized fuel cells could power an entire house cheaply—and with almost no carbon-dioxide emissions? Could every American house be using these clean-energy generators to go off the grid within five to 10 years? (Watch the "60 Minutes" report)

THE COST

On a positive note, Ian Bowles, the state’s environmental and energy chief and an outspoken backer of Cape Wind, is showing concern over the potential cost to ratepayers in the Commonwealth. In a February 17^th letter to Cape Wind and National Grid, he urged them to consider consumer costs: “Let me be clear: Our expectation is that the Cape wind project must produce electricity at a substantial discount to the Rhode island offshore wind project.” This concern was precipitated by “suggestions in the media” that the project could end up costing as much as a wind pilot program off Rhode Island, which could triple the wholesale rate.
Please send your letters, emails, and faxes to Ian Bowles at:
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114
Telephone: 617.626.1000
Fax: 617.626.1181
Email: env.internet@state.ma.us 

Senators seek to block stimulus money complaining that the money is going to projects that are creating jobs in foreign countries and that a majority of the turbines purchased with the money were built by foreign manufacturers. Link to AP Article

Audra Parker's Cape Cod Times My View: Any way you slice it, Cape Wind is an expensive venture and cannot survive without heavy public subsidies and higher electric prices on the backs of the homeowners and businesses throughout MA. The bottom line is taxpayers, ratepayers, and those who depend on and value the Sound will pay dearly for this private developer's boondoggle unless we say no. Link to Full Text  

Cape Wind Cost Claims Misleading - Developer's Study Advances Myth of Offshore Wind Savings To repeatedly mislead already overburdened ratepayers with the myth of cheap offshore wind is a deliberate attempt to hide the true cost to consumers of Cape Wind. Link to APNS Press Release

Boston Herald Op/Ed - For Tribe, Cape Wind Like a Bad Film The Wampanoags have logic, as well as culture on their side. Cape Wind is, by any standard, a boondoggle that defies economic logic.The Beacon Hill Institute found that the costs would come to $2.2 billion and the benefits to $1.2 billion. The developers want to go ahead because they would receive more than $1 billion in subsidies. The Interior Department, which has the final say on the project, does not want to be bothered with an economic analysis. The entire green-energy, green jobs movement by which the Obama adminstration is enthralled is not driven by facts or logic. Rather it is a secular religion, driven by faith.  Link to Full Text

Joe Kennedy's My View in the Cape Cod Times: Our political leaders are supporting the most expensive energy choice for MA residents. For the same cost as Cape Wind we could produce two to three times the amount of renewable energy from onshore wind and spread the benefits throughout the commonwealth - meaning more jobs for our citizens, more tax revenue for our schools and more opportunity for our businesses Link to Full Text

 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

The fate of Nantucket Sound’s eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places rests on the shoulders of Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. The comment period is over, but we must continue to write Letters to the Editor ( Take Action tab above for newspaper email addresses) and fax your concerns to Secretary Salazar at 202-208-6950. Click here for talking points.
To read the Revised Finding, go to: www.mms.gov/offshore/RenewableEnergy/CapeWind.htm 

National Park Service Rules Nantucket Sound is Eligible for Listing on National Register  Decision confirms need to deny Cape Wind or relocate it to a less conflicted site. The Alliance applauds this decision which confirms that MMS should exercise the leadership necessary to move Cape Wind to another location that will be supportd by all of the stakeholders that depend on and value Nantucket Sound. According to Audra Parker, President and CEO of the Alliance, "The National Park Service determination confirms the historic significance of Nantucket Sound and why this unique and threatened body of water deserves protection. The Sound is absolutely the worst location for a 25 square mile industrial scale wind plant, and the only effective means to mitigate the myriad adverse impacts is to deny the project or relocate it to a less conflicted site outside of Nantucket Sound." Link to Alliance press release. 
Dr. Tom King co-author of the National Park Service "Guidelines for Evaluating and Documenting Traditional Cultural Property," gave a presentation on Nantucket Sound's eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places on November 23, 2009, at Cape Cod Community College. Link to video: http://www.allmediapro.com/drtomking.html 

See what you can do to designate Nantucket Sound a monument to Senator Kennedy 

GRASS ROOTS

Looking for a speaker for your next event? Audra Parker, President/CEO of the Alliance would be happy to give a presentation. Email: bpennick@saveoursound.org
Did you hear our ad campaign?  Click here to listen! 
Click here to learn how you can stop Cape Wind now! Because once Nantucket Sound is gone, it's gone forever. 

NEWS AND LETTERS

There is more at stake than the concerns of the Wampanoag
03/06/2010: Cape Cod Times Editorial
As important as the tribes' objections are, there are a myriad of issues that Salazar needs to consider. Chief among them is whether a private developer can stake a claim on a public resource without adaquate input from local and regional stakeholders.
Bombshell: Obama Admin. Caught Red-Handed Working with Big Wind Lobbiests, Misleading American People
03/04/2010: Chicago Tribune
Documents show significant collusion among Energy Dept officials and the American Wind Energy Assoiciation (AWEA), as well as other third party special-interest groups, including the left-or-center Center ro American Progress
Senators Seek to Block Stimulus Money
03/03/2010: AP - Frederic Frommer
A group of Democratic senators is urging the is urging the Obama administration to suspend an economic stimulus program aimed at financing renewable energy, complaining that money is going to projects that are creating jobs in foreign countries
Acknowledge Wampanoag's Right to Weigh in on Wind
03/02/2010: Cape Cod Times Letter to the Editor - Fain Gildea
No one can deny the Mashpee people's claims, which our own Supreme Judicial Court agreed exist in Commonwealth v. Maxim
Decision Time for Salazar on Cape Wind
3/02/2010: Cape Cod Times - Patrick Cassidy
A very informative article on Secretary Salazar's role determining the future of Cape Wind 
Cape Wind Gets Desperate
3/01/2010: Environment, Renewable Energy - Ben Buchwalter 
These last minute maneuvers by Cape Wind supporters [such as offering to pay off the Wampanoags] indicate that they expect Salazar to decide in favor of The Alliance and tribal leadership ... But these last ditch maneuvers have only strengthened the moral high ground of tribe members opposed to the project                
Tribes Reject Wind-Fall
2/27/2010: Boston Herald - Christine McConville
Cape Wind developer Jim Gordon has offered two Native American tribes millions to halt their opposition as the clock runs down on the review period for the controversial wind power project
Cape Wind Business Model Will Pick Public's Pocket
2/24/2010: Cape Cod Times Letter to the Editor - Joe Kennedy
My opposition to the project is not based on any NIMBY concerns, but on the basis of its unjustified burden on the ratepayers of Massachusetts
Official to Grid: Curb Wind Costs
02/18/2010: Boston Herald - Jay Fitzgerald
The state's environmental and energy chief is warning Cape Wind Associates and National Grid to keep electricity rates as low as possible for consumers if the controversial wind farm off Cape Cod is ever built
Patrick Presses Obama to Break Promise
02/15/2010: Cape Cod Times My View - Fain P. Gildea
Gov Patrick is pressing President Obama to break his promise and ignore the federal rights of the Wampanoag tribes. Tribal rights became a matter of national concern because the U.S. neglected to perform its legal duty to the tribes in the review of Cape Wind, and because MA chose to adopt a hard line against tribal concerns and the concerns of others who care deeply about Nantucket Sound
For Tribe, Cape Wind Like Bad Film
02/08/2010: Boston Herald Op/Ed - David G. Tuerck
To the casual observer, this is just a clash between culture and progress. It turns out, however, that the Wampanoags have logic, as well as culture, on their side. Cape Wind is, by any standard, a boondoggle that defies economic logic
More Tribes Join Bid to Derail Cape Wind
01/26/2010: Boston Herald - Christine McConville
With the clock ticking on the Cape wind decision, American Indian tribes across the nation are lining up in support of the Wampanoags
U Mass Poll Gauges Willingness to Pay for Wind Power
01/23/2010: Cape Cod Times - Patrick Cassidy
A new poll found that support for a wind farm in Nantucket Sound drops if customers' electric bills go up by $100 or more per year
Ratepayers Will Regret Cape Wind
01/19/2010: Cape Cod Times My View – Audra Parker
When National Grid makes public the real costs of the Wind project, this state is going to be in for a bad case of rate shock
Cape Wind: Fit to Spin or Money Pit?
01/14/2010: Cape Cod Times My View – Joe Kennedy
It seems our elected officials have chosen to engage in closed-door negotiations with designs on benefiting their own political agendas and the bank accounts of a few handpicked developers. They hide behind good intentions, yet they intentionally ignore more responsible cost-effective energy options
A Better Site for Cape Wind
01/13/2010 Boston Globe Op/Ed - Audra Parker
Let's stop wasting time and money trying to put an industrial project into a place it does not belong. Instead, let's build a wind project in a location with far fewer downsides and start providing MA with clean, renewable power
Not Every Location Works
01/11/2010 USA Today Op Ed - Audra Parker
On the surface it is easy to support green energy, but not every location works, particularly one  that industrializes a national treasure and tramples the religious rights of Native Americans
Cape Wind Risk to Navigation and Fishing
01/08/2010 Cape Cod Times My View - Rear Admiral John Linnon
The hazards to navigation and the loss of historic fishing grounds are too great to ignore as the poliitics of this scheme play out
Martha Coakley Mum on National Grid Donations
01/06/2010 Boston Herald - Christine McConville
Outraged Bay Staters are calling on Massachusett's attorney general to probe links between a utilitiy's big rate-hike approval and subsequent donations by company executives to Gov. Deval Patrick re-election campaign

PRESS RELEASES & STATEMENTS

03/01/10: Today Secretary Salazar concluded the consultation process between the Wampanoag Tribes and Cape Wind after the parties were unable to reach an agreement on mitigation actions
02/23/10:  We continue to make progress. The latest updates re Department of the Interior, FFA, legal challenges, & power purchase agreement
02/11/10: Cape Wind Cost Claims Misleading, Developer's Study Advances Myth of Offshore Wind Savings 
02/03/10: Statement - Investigative Report of Cape Wind by the Department of the Interior, Acting Inspector General Kendall
02/02/10: Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound Praises Salazar Visit
01/27/10: UMass Dartmouth Poll Finds MA Electric Customers Unwilling to Pay More for Cape Wind
01/13/10: Statement urging Secretary Salazar to lead the process toward a solution that can receive the support of all parties involved
01/13/10: Native American Tribal Leaders and Cape Cod & Island Stakeholders Propose Solution to Protect Nantucket Sound
01/04/10: National Park Service Rules Nantucket Sound is Eligible for Listing on National Register
12/14/09: Cape Chamber Poll Finds 55% Opposed to Controversial Wind Project
12/02/09: Patrick Announcement is Moment of Truth for Cape Wind
12/02/09: Delaware Survey Understates Impacts of Cape Wind
12/01/09: Patrick Administration Approves $44 Million Electricity Rate Hike
06/17/09: Cape Cod Commission, Town of Barnstable, and Alliance Appeal EFSB Decision
05/21/09: Alliance Prepares to Appeal EFSB’s Steamrolling of Local Authority
04/10/09: National organizations call upon Feds to halt review of Cape Wind [Related documents: AOPA, PVA, USET]
04/07/09: APNS on Nantucket Soundkeeper
04/04/09: Cape Wind fails to meet Cape Cod Commission standards
02/25/09: Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management violates law on Cape Wind

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