There is wide agreement that we – that means everyone on the planet – must identify and develop alternative energy sources. The world’s supply of fossil fuels will eventually vanish and, without alternatives, we will literally be powerless.

The strongest argument against developing alternative sources is the impact these alternatives, such as wind and tidal turbines, have on the environment and the change they create in the viewshed.

These arguments seem pretty slim, considering the vastly more destructive impact petroleum collection has on the environment and our viewshed.

The folks living in million-dollar homes along California’s Newport Beach don’t see pristine ocean views. They see hundreds of pumps – less than a mile offshore – drawing oil out of the ocean bed 24 hours a day. The same view exists along the entire Gulf of Mexico shoreline and throughout the southerly Eastern Seaboard. There’s also Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay area, a blighted shore if there ever was one, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline that cuts through the land, feeding our energy demand.

The population-heavy, energy-consuming Northeast is fortunate to have pristine shore views. That we might fight the effort to site wind turbines on our mountainous viewsheds but tolerate blighted shore views elsewhere in the country is classic NIMBY behavior and runs contrary to the very real need to capture energy using alternative means.

We’re not suggesting that plopping wind turbines on every mountain in the region makes sense, but we do support the notion that there must be acceptance of wind energy – and the sight it creates – in our very immediate future.

It is possible, through good planning and reasoned conversation, to establish wind farms that will produce energy with the least possible impact on our environment, which includes scenic views. They already exist in Vermont, Upstate New York, California, Texas and elsewhere in this country. More than 16 percent of Denmark’s total energy production comes from wind, and Ireland and England are siting wind farms just as quickly as they can build the towers.

We have ever-improving technology available now to capture constantly renewable energy from the wind and still be sensitive to the environment, which seems a vastly better alternative to maintaining our dependence on our limited supply of fossil fuels.

We support applications by Endless Energy to establish wind farms in Redington and Wyman townships. Concerns raised about unsightly ridge lines and potential danger to wildlife should be raised and can be addressed through a careful and thorough review of the applications by the Land Use Regulation Commission. Public hearings are scheduled to begin in August and, if the process is cautious and compromising, the result can be a solid plan to produce clean energy in Maine.