New York wants to be like Rock Port
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New York is convinced it’s the center of the universe.
They can’t imagine why any one would want to live anywhere else. As Eva Gabor told Eddy Albert, “Dah-ling, I love you, but give me Park Avenue.”
How things have changed! Suddenly, New York wants to be Northwest Missouri.
It’s not at all surprising. Smog, traffic jams and urban decay are so overdone. Green fields are the place to be.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed putting windmills throughout New York. He has a vision of turbines atop bridges and rooftops capturing the wind and converting it to energy.
He pretty much wants to remake the Big Apple into Rock Port, the little Missouri city that proved it could be done.
But when it comes to alternative energy, New York is just trailing in the wake of King City and Conception. A paltry little windmill stuck on a bridge in New York will hardly compare to the colossal structures that have reshaped the skyline in Gentry County.
It’s doubtful New York can find a spokesman as engaging as Eric Chamberlain, Rock Port’s funeral director turned wind farm manager. He’s something of a wind power rock star, appearing on CNN, ABC and CBS.
New York’s got a long row to hoe to bring Rock Port’s fresh air to Times Square. All those cabbies are going to have to learn how to navigate on gravel roads. People will have to get way friendlier and learn to take the time to stop and chat once in awhile.
New York will always fall short, though, until you can find a good tenderloin there.
When it comes to tenderloin, Northwest Missouri is impossible to beat. At the News-Press, we’ve put together a Tenderloin Tour featuring some of the best.
Fifteen restaurants in the region contacted us to be entered in the Missouri Pork Association’s contest for the best breaded pork tenderloin. The statewide winner won’t be announced until October.
Until then, you can be the judge and visit the entrants to take a taste sample. The tour has stops in Ridgeway, King City, Cameron, Dearborn, Agency, Barnard, Savannah, Maryville and several in St. Joseph. Find the map online at www.stjoenews.net.
Follow the tenderloin tour and you’ll pass by windmills surrounded by fields stretching out far and wide.
It’s not Manhattan. Thank goodness. Give me that countryside.
Business editor Susan Mires can be reached at susanm@npgco.com
This story has 2 comments. Click here to join in on the discussion.
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Ms. Mires, I agree with you that "green fields are the place to be"; but have you given serious consideration to what the industrialization of the countryside with wind farms and transmission lines will be like?
My area is a top-notch wildlife area of the nation. Hunting, agri-tourism, and bat and lesser prairie chicken viewing are just a few things my area offers. However, the wind developers, many foreign-owned, have been like sharks in a feeding frenzy leasing land for wind farm development. Presently, there are several large wind farms north of me, and more are slated for construction to my west and southwest. The wind farms in my area of the nation produce at about 36%, and I live where GOOD wind is available. Covering an area with wind farms is not a good idea and should not be acceptable to anyone. This huge industry answers to no one; my state and county have no regulations for siting, wildlife studies, etc.
Additionally, the extra high voltage transmission lines that will be built to service the wind energy industry in my state will run about a million to two million dollars per mile to construct; and the ratepayers will be paying for that. There will be miles and miles of these high voltage lines since the wind farms are almost always hundreds of miles from the load or populated areas. Already property value, health concerns, and more issues have surfaced. These lines require up to 200 ft. easements, and most all will be on private landowners property. Eminent domain is a factor; and lawsuits will occur.
I realize the wind lease income should be great for the farmer/rancher/landowner, but have you seen any of the wind developer lease contracts? One lawyer took a look at one and stated it was so one-sided in favor of the wind company that maybe the Attorney General of our state should take a look. For many in my area, the landowner compensation is unfair and not nearly enough......and to top that all off, the contracts can run from 40 to 150 years in length so children and grandchildren will be negatively impacted.
So, Ms. Mires, maybe the state of New York has it right. Some groups in that area have quite a fight going on against "big" wind.
Be careful about those things in which you take pride. In the future, your countryside could be overly industrialized with wind farms, their accompanying roads and transmission lines....and not so green anymore. All for an energy source that is intermittent and unreliable AND costs the ratepayer and taxpayer big bucks.
Posted by incendiary1 on September 2, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)Ms Mires
Look around....hillbillies turning once beautiful neighborhoods into a great big trailer park!.I'll take the traffic AND smog in place of a few windmills..perhaps u should visit NY and see what it's about and what real reporters worry about when thinking up their "angle"!
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