Hyannis, Mass., United States —
Greenpeace’s Global Warming and Energy Campaign challenged the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound today as it hosted Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. aboard the Spirit of Massachusetts. Two Greenpeace boats pulled alongside the event with banners reading "Bobby You Are On The Wrong Boat," "Wind Power Protects Nantucket Sound" and delivered a package to Kennedy, encouraging him not to abandon his environmental principles. The alliance’s event is part of an ongoing NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) campaign to defeat the visionary wind farm proposed for the waters off of Cape Cod.
"Mr. Kennedy has championed efforts to clean up America’s dirtiest
power plants and is a supporter of renewable energy. Unfortunately, now
he is abandoning his environmental principles and taking a boat tour
with a big oil executive who opposes the most important renewable
energy project in New England," said Chris Miller of Greenpeace.
"People throughout the United States need to know that Robert Kennedy
is on the wrong boat."
For more than a decade, Greenpeace has worked successfully to bring
offshore wind to Europe and now the industry is strongly supported by
politicians and the public. The proposed offshore wind in Cape Cod will
provide 75 percent of the Cape and Island’s energy needs without
spewing any asthma-causing pollution or adding to the growing threat
from global warming. This project has gone through extensive review and
found no lasting environmental impacts. When built, it will help clean
the Cape’s air and protect its water and will become a scenic
attraction for tourists.
"Given the fact that Mr. Kennedy’s own children suffer from asthma and
he has worked tirelessly on these issues in support of wind power, he
should join Greenpeace and countless other environmental groups in
support of the project" continued Miller. "It’s time for RFK, Jr. to
lead the Cape and Islands toward a clean energy revolution. It’s about
a vision for healthy oceans, not the view from the Kennedy compound."
