Maybe we should get used to sitting in the dark

Millions of people throughout the region experienced the inconvenience of losing power and the feeling of sitting in the dark for hours and days during and after Tropical Storm Irene. We all assume now and forever that we just have to flip the light switch and on go the lights. Bad assumption.

We have a lot of rights in this country. Voting, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and all the other rights are guaranteed by the Constitution. There is nothing in the law that guarantees New Yorkers unlimited power supplies for generations to come, and that’s the problem.

There is no doubt that our homes and businesses will have electric power for the next five to 10 years. But what about beyond that time frame? If someone wants to build a new power plant anywhere in this state, it takes a minimum of five years to get it approved and built. At this very moment there isn’t a long line of investors itching to build a new power facility in your neighborhood.

Whether you live in New York City or on Long Island, there aren’t too many takers willing to support a new power source in their backyard. A good example of that problem was the proposal in 2005 to build an offshore wind project in the Atlantic Ocean near Jones Beach.

What could be bad about windmills in the ocean? Apparently almost a thousand South Shore residents thought it was a disastrous idea, and they came out to protest what they called “visual pollution.” Any respectable environmental group you could name supported the idea, but the neighbors on shore found all kinds of reasons to shoot it down.

If you think it’s easier to build a wind facility in upstate New York, where there are millions of acres of vacant land, guess again. There have been a few wind facilities built, but lately almost every wind farm that has been proposed has been beaten down because of some local protest.