LETTERS
SEND YOUR VIEWS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: DON@NANTUCKETINDEPENDENT.COM

WATER TOWER WOES

The following letter was sent to the Wannacomet Water Company and is reprinted here at the author's request.

To the commissioners:

The purpose of this letter is to voice our concern over your recent decision to require that Wannacomet Water Company place the name NANTUCKET in bold block letters on its to be constructed water tower off Polpis Road.

As you may know, the Nantucket Civic League, which is comprised of over 22 area and community associations on the island, has as one of its mission goals the preservation of the unique nature of the island and island life.

At our last Board of Directors meeting in December, the NCL board unanimously agreed that this signage would be unnecessary, not in keeping with the commission's goals of approving signage that is low-key, and conservative, and would be an "eye-sore" visible for miles. We all know who we are and where we are, and big, bold letters announcing our existence to the community will not be in keeping with the natural environment of this island.

Therefore, we strongly urge that you reconsider your decision on this matter.

- Janis E. Carreiro, Secretary

for the Board of Directors

Nantucket Civic League LINKED THROUGH FAMILY, CORRESPONDENCE

To the editor:

I have just read the beautiful obituary about my cousin and namesake Alan Brown which appeared in your newspaper on the 16th of January.

The late Alan and I had been communicating for many, many years and during this time he sent a number of photos to me covering different places on your historic and interesting island.

Our fathers were brothers: mine was the youngest of twelve children and James (Alan's father) was the eldest. James left England in the 1900s,and the only time the brothers met after this was in 1919 after the first world war when James served in the Canadian army and my father in the Seaforth Highlanders (he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery at the age of 18.) They met in Berlin - all I can remember my Dad telling me was his surprise as a British soldier hearing that his brother was earning seven shillings per day, as against the one shilling he was earning. They both had the same rank. Needless to say they enjoyed seeing each other after all the years and the earnings issue I am sure was tongue in cheek.

They corresponded, once per year mind you, at Christmastime - very short letters I must add which continued right up until James' death, who I think was over ninety. It was at this stage that I started writing to Alan. He was indeed a wonderful person - from what I read in his letters and as you say he always had Nantucket in mind. I can well remember him telling me about the problems with too many motor vehicles on the island. I never had the pleasure of meeting him except by letter. I was only introduced to the Internet a few months ago and admit that I have missed a lot. Like Alan, I too am an ardent letter writer to the media and can boast with over 10,000 being published here and overseas since June 1948 when I wrote my first letter.

I really enjoyed reading your newspaper. Sincerely,

- Alan C. Brown

South Africa LAUDS NEW CAPE WIND REPORT To the editor: The recent federal Draft Environmental Impact Statement found Cape Wind will have only minor detrimental impact, but major beneficial impact. Minerals Management Service performed this very thorough analysis, which followed the Army Corps of Engineers report.

MMS determined the best New England offshore alternative sites are: off Portland Maine, Cape Ann and Boston; east of Nauset Beach; Monomoy Shoals, east of Monomoy; Nantucket Shoals and Phelps Bank, both southeast of Nantucket; south of Tuckernuck Island; and east of Block Island. MMS evaluated Monomoy Shoals and south of Tuckernuck Island as best of those nine, but found Cape Wind's Horseshoe Shoals site to be better than any. MMS also evaluated three hypothetical variations of Cape Wind - 50 percent fewer turbines, closer spaced turbines, and time-phased construction: these had environmental, lower electricity availability, and other major drawbacks ruling that out.

Table E-1 in the DEIS Executive Summary summarizes Cape Wind's negative impacts. Wind farm operation could create 30 negligible, 25 minor, two moderate, and no major impacts: negligible means no measurable impact, minor means impact will be avoided with planned mitigation, and moderate means impacts are unavoidable but the viability of the affected resource is not threatened. Considering that MMS' prime assignment was to find negative impacts, and new fossil-fueled or nuclear power plants will have much greater negative impacts than Cape Wind, the DEIS is extremely favorable.

You can review the entire DEIS at the Hyannis, Falmouth, Eldredge, Edgartown, and Nantucket Libraries, or at www.mms.gov. Oil prices have multiplied five times since November 2001, when Cape Wind first applied. Meanwhile, natural gas rose 3.5 times, is scarce in New England, and importing LNG from foreign countries is dangerous. The DEIS shows Cape Wind should be approved: international conflicts necessitate improving our energy independence quickly, including not delaying the wind farm.

- Jim Liedell