NIMBY

When speaking with Ed this morning about the latest news on the environmental front, he reminded me of a phrase I heard as a child growing up amongst conservative Democrats in Massachusetts- NIMBY, which stands for Not In My Back Yard. Affordable housing for the poor? Great. A new wastewater treatment plant? We need that...just not in my backyard. In other words, just don't put it where I can see it and please be sure it doesn't interrupt my life in any way. And the news yesterday from the New York Times regarding the fight over US offshore wind farms is no different. Not so coincidentally, yesterday's paper also contained an update about the broken Gulf of Mexico pipeline that is leaking 42,000 gallons of crude oil into the sea every day and is now threatening the Louisiana coastline. Couple that with the recent news from West Virginia where 29 coal mine workers were killed in what is being called the worst coal mine accident in 25 years. With all the health, safety and environmental problems with our dependence on fossil fuels, it seems like a no-brainer to embrace new forms of cleaner energy. Europe and China have done so already and the US really needs to step up to the plate. If not, we'll all be looking at more than wind farms in our backyards.