Friday, August 26, 2011

Arguments against wind power are faulty

Watertown Daily Times | Arguments against wind power are faulty
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2011


I have read with amusement the comments of Rob Aliasso from Henderson. He claims that wind farms will destroy the pristine beauty of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. He’s too young to realize that his idealized image vanished when the St. Lawrence Seaway was created and when the numerous trailer parks along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River developed more than 50 years ago. He can’t see the polluted beaches, the damage invasive species have caused and the sewage draining into these waters.

Mr. Aliasso also claims that the wind companies have run roughshod over communities. If he talked with many wind-farm township supervisors, township assessors in wind-farm areas, or the superintendents of schools receiving monies from the wind farms, he would not say that about these thriving communities. He would also have a very different impression if he talked with many of the more than 55,000 residents living in the 14 wind farms covering more than 25 townships in New York state.

Since Mr. Aliasso can’t see beyond more than a couple thousand feet of the shorelines, he has no idea how much once-viable farmland has gone to scrub brush in Cape Vincent. Lands that once produced crops for the dairy industry have become wastelands as one after another dairy farm has ceased operation. Even though the farmer no longer sustains a dairy or raises the crops necessary for milk production, he still pays taxes on the land. As the income to farmers dwindled, so did the economy of the village of Cape Vincent. Many who have lived in Cape Vincent for only a decade or two have no idea what the village was like in an earlier era when dairy farms were numerous.

Times have changed, and the future requires alternative methods of energy production. The farmland beyond the village of Cape Vincent could once again become viable. The income the farmers received through turbine leases could once again benefit and strengthen the economy of the village. All who own property, especially seasonal landowners who pay taxes on more than one property, would benefit from reduced property taxes.


Despite the many falsehoods propagated by the anti-wind faction, wind energy is the cleanest and most ecologically sound form of energy. The blowing wind is free, and its extraction does not pollute.

Karen L. Stumpf

Cape Vincent

13 comments:

ConcernedCitizen said...

"Since Mr. Aliasso can’t see beyond more than a couple thousand feet of the shorelines"

In her vast ignorance, little does K. Stumpf know about Mr. Aliasso's possible view of her husband's turbines from one of Cape Vincent's several islands. If they are built, Mr. Alliasso will be one of Stumpf's many view shed victims.

Ms. Stumpf has no idea of the extent of her personal invasion on other people's rights to the enjoyment of their own land.

Kathryn Muschell said...

Ms. Stumpf has no idea of the extent of her personal invasion on other people's rights to the enjoyment of their own land.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nor does she care.

Anonymous said...

The few dairy farmers who are left in Cape Vincent are no doubt hurting. Agricultural forces seem to be working against the family farm, but this is nothing new. It's been going on for decades.

If market forces are working against farmers, do the rest of us have to sacrifice the value of our homes to support the few hurting farmers who are left in our town? We'd all like to help, but if it means I lose $50,000 on the value of my home I can't help. I would hope Karen Stumpf and others don't expect me to help, that much.

Karen Stumpf has been the major voice echoing the wind developers claim that property values won't be affected by wind development. Yet, she never mentions property value guarantees. She should be acknowledging our concern by supporting property value protection, but she ignores this very important protection.

By ducking the issue she exposes her selfish, self interest. I am sorry, but I'd be a lot more receptive to the plight of the few farmers who are struggling if they were receptive to our concerns for devalued property. The fact they are not is the reason why I am not.

Anonymous said...

So, the same people who can't get a decent return on the production of milk expect a decent return for leasing their land? Don't they already get subsidies to limit milk production ? Isn't that how they keep the price of a gallon of milk so high at the market? What happens when milk production drops even further? Food quality in America has been on a decline too long, and getting worse. They put BGH in feed for a while as well. When will farmers learn that the government and corporations are destroying communities with these projects? As far as "property values" goes, the only time you have to be concerned with that is when you pay real estate taxes,or try sell your property. The problem is, perceived value and actual value.

Anonymous said...

Thank you K., that point seems to be lost with the Gang Greeners.

Anonymous said...

yada yada yada mrs stumpf we have all heard your bullshit and quite frankly we are sick of hearing it .

Anonymous said...

What kind of men would prostitute their own mother/wife like this? Why can't they speak up for themselves? It's not like she's some old lady who has her own opinion. It's OK Karen, sell your PC and buy some nice paints and a canvas and go outside and capture the beauty you seem so intent on destroying. Listen to the birds while they're still able to fly without getting killed by ten story blades. Enjoy the starlit night and the aurora when it appears. Be careful you get what you want, as they say, you might really not want it. I think you're just being used. Shame on them who would use such a lovely person for such a sleazy cause. Lovely hair, by the way, nice shoes , too. Prada? You must be doing well these days.

Anonymous said...

I have to ask. What is so sacrosanct about dairy farming that makes anyone think that a whole community – in fact, a whole region famous for natural beauty – should sacrifice itself for the benefit of a few farms looking to inefficient, intermittent, highly expensive wind power as a new form of farm aid?

Where is the equity in this way of thinking? Where is the balance? Where is the fairness? I would really like to have someone (a farmer, preferably) explain this to me.

Anonymous said...

Good question. Cape Vincent is not a "rural" community, and farmers have to coexist with a variety of residential types. It's not farming in the really old fashioned sense. Farms actually add to the charm of a community, and they should be able to rely on that very farming as a sustainable way of life. As far as anything else goes, they have to follow the same rules as anyone else in a community. It seems ironic that the very people who want to sit on "planning boards" and dictate to others what they can or can't do, or have forced upon them is the key problem here. You can't allow anyone to be that arbitrary and keep the peace. What if the very same farmers who sit in town hall decided they wanted a shopping mall on their land to "supplement" their income? The tax structure for farmers is different. Do they get some sort of income tax break from wind development on top of it? Anyone else would have to pay income tax on their leases. My grandfather's land would have been ideal for this. 860 acres on a hill with constant wind and no neighbors for 5 miles in any direction. Even then, I would never even think of putting these things there. The utilities alone will eat up the local profits, and these things are only good for twenty years , max. It's not worth it. The farmer's should get enough for their products. Why don't they go after that story? They'd have a lot more support. This way just makes the local farmers look like scoundrels. Some of them are,there is no doubt.

Anonymous said...

"Implications for Farmers and Ranchers
Most farm income is taxed as individual income rather than as corporate income. As a result, farmers and many other small businesses are major beneficiaries of the recent tax changes since they benefit not only from the lower individual tax rates and other changes aimed at all taxpayers, but from faster write-off of investment in machinery, equipment, and other eligible
capital purchases and from the newly enacted manufacturers' deduction.
The cumulative effect of these Federal income tax policy changes has been the lowest Federal income tax burden on farm income and investment in decades. Like all households, about one out of every three farm households now owes no Federal income tax, with some actually receiving a refundable child or earned income credit. The average Federal tax rate is estimated to have been reduced from 18 percent in 2000 to about 14 percent for 2005, providing farm households with an estimated $4 billion in tax relief."
So another question arises; What will the added income and the expected decrease in farm production do for the farmer? Will he still be considered a farm? If so, will everyone then get the farm tax rate? Fair is fair, right? Will they actually gain anything at all,or lose even more?

Anonymous said...

OK, Mr and Mrs Stumpf. How much of that over $21 MILLION dollars of farm subsidies do you receive from the Federal Government? Hummmm? No wonder you people think you can run shod over everyone. Well aren't you SPECIAL. Your lazy ass son and husband sit back and keep their stupid mouths shut now, don't they? How about one of them speaking up for a change? Punks, just like the rest of these Bozos? Tell me, when was the last time you people actually did any farming? Or do you expect people to starve while you go shopping for a new Hummer? No, not the one who was just arrested either.

Subsidy List said...

The top 20 farm subsidy takers for Cape Vincent are a verbatim list of the towns Mason law signing, Gangreene infected windmill subsidy cowpokes. These people aren't farmers.... Theyre wellfare leaches looking for the next easy payout. If you cant make any money in CV then sell the farm and leave.... If I lost my job, I would have to pack up and find a new one. Whats so damn special about farmers.

Cape Vincent Subsidy List below. These folks get to win the lottery every year!

http://farm.ewg.org/addrsearch.php?s=yup&stab=US&zip=13618&z=See+Recipients&last=&first=&stab=AL&fullname=&stab2=AL

Anonymous said...

Well well, I bet the Masons think some attention has been drawn from them? This is what you get when you send mommy in to do your talking for you. How much more are you going to subject her to? You send a shill, you get back a stump. end more shills. The pack is angry and hungry for revenge. You started it, you can end it. Resign, every lousy one of you who tried to steal a town. Tell mommy to put her clothes back on, she doesn't have to wear that dress tonight. This isn't 1939 Russia, either.