Chris Estes Outside Reading #3

Chris Estes Outside Reading #3

The title of this article is Sacred Landscapes And Profane Structures. The review of the 420-megawatt Cape Wind project proposed for Nantucket Sound is being conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act. It challenges any existing environmental review laws and programs. The review first shows how NEPA and MEPA can provide a group to create a concrete governmental policy here, on siting and reviewing offshore wind power projects. Second, the review shows some concerns of creating a system of planning and regulating the ocean, we might zone out renewable energy projects, the way we have allowed affordable housing and other social needs to be zoned out of the land. Finally, the Cape Wind review make it known about their cult of wilderness, with is presumption that human actions always harm the natural environment, can impede the development of a truly sustainable approach to environmental law and policy.