The Coalition for Buzzards Bay to Host Lecture on the Benefits of Wind Energy

April 16, 2004

CONTACT:

Michelle Frey, Communications and Outreach Coordinator

The Coalition for Buzzards Bay

508-999-6363, ext. 208

NEW BEDFORD, MA—The Coalition for Buzzards Bay will host a lecture on the benefits of wind energy on Tuesday, April 20th at the New Bedford Public Library’s main branch.

The Buzzards Bay ecosystem is currently being degraded by the world's reliance on fossil fuels for energy production and the situation is only expected to get worse in the years ahead. One of the most promising areas of renewable energy development is the potential offered by the free, abundant winds that dominate the New England coast. Wind development is the world's fastest growing energy source and Massachusetts could be the next global leader. Such a move could represent an important step away from our country's crippling dependence on fossil fuels, with all of their attendant environmental, political, social and economic costs.

Richard Lawrence of Cape & Islands Self Reliance will share what he learned on a recent trip to Denmark to study how wind turbines have affected the people, environment, and economy in the country that is the birthplace of the modern wind energy industry. He will talk about the potential for developing a wind industry in Massachusetts and show how wind turbines can help protect the local environment, economy, and public health. Presentation will include a showing of the 30-minute film, “Prevailing Winds in Denmark.”

This is the fourth of five lectures in this year’s Buzzards Bay Lecture Series.  The series will conclude with author George Colt discussing his book The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home on May 27, 2004 at the Millicent Library in Fairhaven.

All lectures are open to the public. Admission is $3 per lecture for non-members and free for members of The Coalition for Buzzards Bay.  Refreshments will be served at all presentations. Please call The Coalition for Buzzards Bay, 508-999-6363, for directions and other information or visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org.

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The Coalition for Buzzards Bay is a private, non-profit membership organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of Buzzards Bay and its watershed. The organization works to improve the health of the Bay ecosystem for all through education, conservation, research and advocacy and is supported by more than 4,700 members.