Local Non Profits Back Home Rule

I see in a WDT article that Save the River, Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT) and the Thousand Islands International Tourism Council all came out in favor of home rule and communities deciding their own futures when it come to industrial wind siting and other land use matters. See the link below

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20130125/NEWS03/701259837


GOOD!!! I applaud these non-profits for their stance on Art X and home rule and it is about time they took a tougher stance on wind energy development in the 1000 Islands region…you know like NO!!!. I particularly applaud TILT for at least having the metal the other two don’t and saying NO to industrial wind in our region. Time for the other two non-profits to get with it and stop dancing around the painfully obvious with their measured political correctness. And of course even with TITLT there is the inevitable guilt disclaimer that they are not against renewables…but! Still have to be politically correct and palatable.

And the Tourism Council says they have no stance. Really? Probably the most important negative impact on the region’s tourism in a decades and they have NO stance? Seriously???

I also noticed that Mr. Willbanks of Save the River said this in the article:

“D. Lee Willbanks, executive director of Save the River, said the problem with the state’s Article X siting process is that it doesn’t require developers to conduct these long-term, regional impact studies.”

Whoa hold on just a minute! Mr Willbanks is rather misguided on that account.

NO, Mr. Willbanks, long term studies are NOT the problem. You have badly missed the point. The real problem with Art X is it removed your rights. Rights to determine your communities land use and the regional environmental future, and to even impose studies, and in the long term apply and enforce them as you see fit. THAT IS THE PROBLEM!!!

Why in the hell don’t some of these people get it???? Let’s just jump on the more studies and regulation is good band wagon. Jesus…face up to the painfully obvious for God’ sake!!! These invasive wide spread sprawling industrial energy complexes do not belong in our region, and we need to take radical steps to make sure our rights are preserved to defend this region without interference from big money lobbied political legislative profit schemes like Cuomo’s Art X. This is NOT rocket science people and more studies and regulation schemes are not going to solve the issue!!!

We also need to make sure we attack the real root cause of our regional wind energy siting issue and that is that the courts and the govt think corporations have constitutional rights like people that they can wield against us to supplant our local rights and destroy our communities.

On this issue look up the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund or

www. CELDF.org

If we are serious about protecting our communities and regional environmental assets then forget these absurd regulatory scams like Art X, and more studies… and here is what needs to happen

1. Each town needs to outright prohibit such invasive industrial uses such as wind development in their zoning and comp plans.

2. The towns individually and jointly along with the support of local no-profits need to pass a regional legislative resolution in opposition to Art X just like Jefferson County Legislators did. Why aren’t our towns and local environmental groups supporting the County? Why won’t they even take this basic step?

3. The towns supported by the non profits need to pass a legislative resolution that Art X has no standing in our communities and region, and they will not participate in the process and will deny Art X into our communities.

4. Each town needs to pass a community bill of rights using free CELDF legal services to enforce their own laws as they see fit and deny corporate constitutional rights since there is no provision what so ever in the US Constitution giving corporations constitutional rights. Deny access to corporations we don’t want in our communities.

5. Pass a regional environmental comprehensive environmental and land management plan as we see fit to preserve our unique and treasured natural assets and include it in a regional bill of rights to defend and enforce it.

That is what I see needs to be done and it is much more powerful if we do it as a regional strategy. That attacks the real problem we are facing with Art X and makes it a rights battle that is very politically uncomfortable for politicians to deal with, and demonstrate we have resolve to defend our rights to defend our communities and region, and if they are going to force something else on us their will be a price to pay in a highly visible political battle. If they insist on removing our community and regional rights, then make them come and do it in a nasty uncomfortable public manner.

The hell with appeasing and bending over to this State/corporate lobby sponsored regulatory crap. They will win that battle every time. That is exactly why Art X was put in place because wind opposition across the State was starting to get savy and educating communities, and it was standing in the way of the State/corporate green profit, and political agenda.

Stand up and do what it really takes to defend our communities and regional natural resources and stop talking about it …DO IT!!! Before it is too late!