Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
This letter is in support of state Rep. Reagan Paul and particularly with regard to her stand on offshore wind power. As a recreational lobster fisherman, this retirement activity could be threatened depending on where turbines are placed, interrupting where I enjoy lobster fishing. Although I don’t make my living at it, I tremendously enjoy the activity in retirement. I can’t imagine how threatened commercial fishermen are feeling on this given they make a living at it and it is critical to supporting thousands of Maine fishing families.
That said, Paul is supporting fishermen in opposition to offshore wind power where it could hurt the fishing industry, and at the same time she is considering environmental impacts. I think there are smarter ways to approach energy solutions and Paul is a leader on tackling these issues.
From a personal standpoint, I have been up close to wind turbines. They are much more noisy than I expected and I wonder how they will impact various kinds of sea wildlife.
Lastly, indicative of a strong leader, I think Rep. Paul does her researching and becomes very knowledgeable with factual data before moving forward on issues, allowing her to get it right when it comes to decision making.
I support her efforts as do others I have spoken to on this issue, including commercial fishermen.
Terry D. Atwood
Prospect
