Friday, November 8, 2013

Cape Wind: investigating the controversy




Following a two week exploration of the Deepwater Horizon event, we began an investigation on another way of producing energy offshore.  The Cape Wind project is significant because both the project and the debate are taking place not far from the Fay campus.  Last week, we identified the various stakeholders in the debate: environmentalists, business owners, property owners, politicians, special interest groups, commercial fishermen, the Coast Guard, local residents, and those who earn their living in the many businesses connected to tourism.  

Next week, students will continue their research and attempt to answer the question: with all we know about the potential impact on maritime pollution and safety, should the Cape Wind project move forward? 

11 comments:

  1. After our debate last Tuesday, I decided that I still believe that the Cape Wind project should move forward and be built. No matter how many detriments the opposition stated, I felt the benefits of the Cape Wind greatly outweighed the possible negative effects. Also, many of the oppositions statements were misguided and held no validity. What I learned from my research from both points of view showed me that Cape Wind is a perfect solution to prevent a polluted future.

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  2. Before the debate, I was against the Cape Wind program and after the debate, I am even more firm against it. During the debate, I learned more about the whole program from other people. I get to know some details I didn’t know about from both pro side and con side. And I think,over all, the damage that the Wind Farm causes is heavier than the benefits they would make. The harm on both the nature and the citizens are much bigger than the benefits on the people.
    -Tim

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  3. I think that the pro wind debate won, because they had solid evidence to back up their arguments. They also worked well together as a group.

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  4. My thought has not changed. I still believe that people should not continue the Cape Wind Project. Even though building the windmill would give a great support for us, it would still give us some negative effects such as environmental issues.

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  5. Before learning about this issue, I had the basic knowledge about the renewable energies, including how the windmills worked and how it could be an advantage to our environment. Researching and debating about this topic made me think if the Cape Wind Project was truly indispensable for the area it was going to be settled in or if it would only damage the daily life of the residents. I agree with the project due to many advantages our group pointed out during the debate. The windmills will produce electricity from wind, which is a renewable energy, create more touristic and high-paying job opportunities, and reduce pollution. The windmills will not disturb our vacations in the coastline due to the long distance between each other and the beech. The cars in the road would cover up the sound of the roaring windmills. Boats will be able to pass through the windmills and they would not cover the beauty of the Cape. There would be nearly no damages at all for the birds flying in the area. The electrical construction will be buried underground and fishers will be able to continue fishing. In overall, the Cape Wind Project would bring most of the needs the residents wanted and it would have a lot of advantages for them.

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  6. I found the Cape Wind debate to be very interesting and enjoyable. After the debate, realized how just this project can affect yet benefit a lot of things at the same time. For those who did the “for” the wind farm did very well while the against team did as well. Either side will have a disadvantage though however, I am for the wind farm as this will not only benefit us but it will also benefit the marine life. Don’t we want to see a cleaner and healthier atmosphere while still sustaining the beauty of the Nantucket?

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  7. After our debate, I still believe that Cape Code Wind Project should not be build. Our debate did actually reinforce my opinion and I actually learned a lot about the wind energy. I think that our group won the debate because we did a better job in stating our opinions while connecting to the resolution.

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  8. It was hard to decide, but I think that the con team won the debate.
    The pro team made an argument of really good points. They researched well, and were able to answer the con's questions. However. the con team were able to use the questions against the pro team, which was what allowed them to win.

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  9. I am for the project, as it will do more environmental benefit than damage. It will not decrease tourism or destroy the beautiful view of the water, because they are interesting and not easily seen from the environment. It will also decrease the amount of fossil fuels burned in Nantucket.

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  10. After our debate, I still believe wind mills are not good sources of clean water. But I did learn a lot during the process. It is very good to learn things from different sides. I think both sides did really impressive jobs, and I can see why this problem is so controversial.

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  11. Based on these three videos, what are some of the factors that could impact the future of the Bristol Bay fishery?

    The Bristol Bay fishers survive by fishing thousands of salmons they sell: the salmons are their source of money and job that provides their families food to eat and live their life. Recently, a company offered to build a copper mine in the area of Bristol Bay, where the life cycle of the salmons is present (where they born, reproduce, provide nutrition for wildlife and us, and die). The area where the salmons live is full of pure water rich of oxygen that comes from the glaciers that melted long ago, reaching underground. This makes the reproduction go smoother and with much more possibilities for the eggs to survive. If their plan is executed, the area will be polluted and the salmons would be greatly affected, reducing the number of species. The fishers would eventually lose their job due to the reducing number of salmons. We would no longer have the huge source of salmons where it is exported to every corner of the world.

    What factors do you think contributed to the loss of the wild Atlantic salmon fisheries (you currently cannot buy any Atlantic salmon that has been caught in the wild)?

    The Atlantic salmons are nearly extinct species. The salmons were threatened by various kinds of problems: acidified water, too many predators, change of the environment, elevated water temperature, artificial uses, new species invading their territory, and many other threats we human gave. Nowadays, it only exists in fish farms with artificial ways of growth.

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Ideas on this blog are the opinion of the persons posting and do not necessarily reflect those of Fay School, Saigon South International School, or NAIS.