The Fish and the Wind-Turbines

It's disappointing the disagreements and political debate has gotten in the way of offshore wind in the U.S. in a more extreme way than in Europe and elsewhere where we're falling quickly behind

While I agree with the suggested trade-off, if it is technically feasible, I cannot agree that the coastal fishing people were steamrolled.  Knowing many in the fishing community personally, I know they are not prone to that kind of pressure. And they have been fighting hard and effectively against wind power projects. The Maine fish/lobster community are still fighting to stop wind projects, even in federal waters in the Gulf of Maine, often to the chagrin of elected representatives. Unfortunately, as Matt suggests,  the issue has become another front in the culture wars, complete with massive misinformation campaigns.  The US may fall farther behind Europe as a result.

While they have improved their stewardship of ocean resources for many years now, the fishing community does sometimes take the attitude that those resources are theirs alone to manage and exploit. 

The Vineyard Wind project Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) went through an extremely thorough approval process. Improved risk mitigation measures were added especially for the coastal fishing community, in addition to cash compensation for any anticipated negative impacts.

The robust EIA process, if it is administered well, should ensure that the waters and seabed  around the wind power infrastructure are monitored better than ever before. Impacts will be detected and actions will be required. In both the short and long term, the wind power projects will be a boon to all stakeholders.

John you must mean fish trading :) . Have any studies been done on affects to marine life on the more established European wind farms?

Wind farms are incompatible with commercial fishing, just like solar farms are incompatible with farming.

I have no doubt the fishermen were steamrolled. The federal bureaucrats make great fanfare about public participation and public comments, but they generally virtually ignore providing responses to the public comments and concerns, particularly when they have obviously predetermined the outcome. This pattern exists throughout the federal government - and yes I have proof.

The impact on the marine environment and marine life of these massive machines is not yet well understood. Stumbling across the damage after installation of gargantuan projects seems to be an all too common technique of the green energy movement.

The green energy movement also has a nauseating habit of disparagingly labeling anybody who questions them.

Claiming we must do something in response to the conjectured future is not a good reason to inflict massive damage on the environment. That approach becomes even more damming when the underlying motives point to simple greed.