I read Jeff Wheelwright’s letter labeling opposition to offshore wind turbines as “selfish” with bemused frustration (Estero Bay News Vol. 8 Issue 11). At the heart of his position is his appropriate belief in climate change. Yes, alternative energy sources should be pursued immediately. But not at the expense of our already suffering oceans. The dead and dying coral reefs and kelp forests are getting most of the press today. Coming soon will be the wholesale die-off of many creatures of the sea that depend on the ecological systems of the ocean for their survival.
Should we really consider installing the tethers for towering windmills directly in the path of migrating sea creatures whose existence already faces critical challenges? And while the massive structures — over twice the height of the Morro Bay “stacks” at 1,100 feet — won’t be obtrusive, they will be visible from shore. What will be highly visible on shore is the substantial fleet of heavy maintenance ships and trucks running 24/7 to service the corrosive towers and understructure.
Picture the regular presence of 500-foot replacement blades being stored, then shipped out for service at or near our quaint Embarcadero! THAT is the “industrialization” that this debate has not properly recognized. The cold and windy, salt-laden marine environment will wreak havoc on those intricate, difficult-to-maintain-on-dry -land towers. Scores of locations away from the coastline can accommodate more wind turbines without jeopardizing our sensitive oceans. Build them there.
Greg Astle
Cayucos
Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter
Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter
If I were a sharpshooter -of the glassy-winged kind
No longer would I be searching for ways to spend my time
With wings like a lace-wing firefly, and a face but loved by mother
I’d rub my tarsal claws together, trying to attract another
And if a glassy-wing I were, eschewing of the conifer
I’d choose instead to break my bread, while turning table cloths to red
Becoming soon thereafter glassy eyed, by drinking red wine ‘til I died
Sharpshooter, to thy aim be true as master of your wino crew
Waiter bring another round! It seems I’ve drank the last one down
One more chalice, sans the malice, pair with shallot for my pallet
Do beg the vintner- spare the mallet!
Now I’m feeling sharp-shot woozy, tied one on this time a doozie
Still to make a great escape across the vintners parched landscape
Condolences to poor homeless fox, who wishes vintner cases of pox
A proudly glassy pest I be and now I’m off to fly, be free!
Joseph John Racano
Los Osos
