Today’s NY Times featured a great letter that I thought was worth re-posting here. It is in response to an op-ed on 9/29 stating strong opposition to wind turbines being placed on a mountaintop in Vermont, the state where I went to graduate school.

Re “The Not-So-Green Mountains,” by Steve E. Wright (Op-Ed, Sept. 29):
To the Editor:
Steve E. Wright’s article is in denial of reality; he disregards the real effect of Vermont’s importing almost 90 percent of its energy.

It’s not an issue when it’s not in your backyard. But let’s be clear about what it means to oppose clean energy produced locally: it means mountaintop removal in Appalachia, oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, the extraction of tar sands and transcontinental pipelines, and uranium mining and nuclear meltdowns.

That’s not even mentioning the global effects of climate change and the effects we are already seeing, including the record flooding destruction our state felt just a month ago.

As a lifelong Vermonter, I am proud that Vermonters overwhelmingly support carefully developed wind farm projects and their role in our working landscape. Our Green Mountains will remain green in the future only with the right decisions now. — DAVID BLITTERSDORF, Chief Executive, AllEarth Renewables, Williston, Vt., Oct. 4, 2011