Lettres
Paradis waits to see which way the wind blows
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To the Editor:
March 22, 2007
When it comes to the most important environmental issue facing his riding, Brome-Missisquoi Liberal MNA Pierre
Paradis is waiting to see which way the wind blows. At a public meeting in Bedford, Quebec on March 19, 2007,
the former environment minister was asked to state his position on the industrial wind farm proposed for the
area. According to plans recently presented by the promoter, Le Groupe S. M. Internationale, the 51 giant wind
turbines would rise up to 150 meters (492 feet) in Stanbridge Station, just west of Bedford and the historic
village of Mystic.
The scale of the project is staggering--the blades would reach to 4/5 the height of Place Ville Marie. The wind
farm would cover a 4-km-wide swath of fertile farm land with huge cylindrical foundations and access roads
engineered to support construction cranes and trailers. The Eastern Townships would be forever blighted by
a forest of industrial wind-turbine "skyscrapers."
The project will face several reviews, but there are signs of big money and momentum behind it. Tall slim
towers have already been erected on the site to test wind speeds, and engineers have drawn detailed site plans.
When asked for his opinion, Pierre Paradis responded he would have no comment on the project before the election,
and none until the people had "done their homework" on the project. In fact, citizens are doing their research
already, as evidenced by the web site www.eoliennes-infos.com.
Local residents might well ask why their paid representatives are not demonstrating some vision and leadership
by doing their own homework on an issue which is certainly, in terms of its environmental and aesthetic impact,
the most massive and radical engineering project ever proposed for the Eastern Townships countryside.
Information, photos, plans and visualizations of the proposed Stanbridge Station wind farm are being collected
online at www.eoliennes-infos.com
Eden Muir
Frelighsburg, Quebec
The project will face several reviews, but there are signs of big money and momentum behind it. Tall slim
towers have already been erected on the site to test wind speeds, and engineers have drawn detailed site plans.
When asked for his opinion, Pierre Paradis responded he would have no comment on the project before the election,
and none until the people had "done their homework" on the project. In fact, citizens are doing their research
already, as evidenced by the web site www.eoliennes-infos.com.