Editorial
Green winds

The newest catchphrase seems to be "going green."

There are ads for everything from how to make your house more green through low-flow toilets and long-lasting light bulbs, to the first all-green television network (still don't understand this one). This move to green could be a come-and-go fad like many highly popular diets, or it could be the wave of the future like that onetime fad of rock 'n roll.

In a day that electricity use is ever increasing in cost and consumption, the Ashburnham Planning Board and the Ashburnham Municipal Light Company are trying to both bring in the business and reduce costs. The Planning Board has spent the last few months writing a bylaw that would change the zoning to allow for wind towers in certain areas of town.

This is a great use of the large acreage of land available in town, especially the less settled areas in the northeast section of town. It is also a great way to take advantage of a modern craze that will have in impact long into the future, even if the catchphrase disappears.

Energy produced at a wind farm doesn't usually plug in to power a specific building like windmills of yesterday. These windmills produce power that is fed into the grid system for electrical companies to buy. The Ashburnham Municipal Light Company buys a percentage of its power from reusable energy sources already.

This creative use of land is a positive thing in a town that has a hard time attracting and retaining commercial and industrial businesses.

While the windmills may not attract as much tax revenue as a giant paper mill or a housing development, they will use less town services.

Now all we have to watch out for is the NIMBY folks, those who like the idea of windfarms but say, "not in my backyard." These people probably won't object in the fall when the bylaw is proposed before town meeting, or in any of the proceeding discussions. They will come out once a proposal is on the table.

Those who are supportive of this plan for a new zoning bylaw should let the Planning Board know and they should show their support for this green craze.