Cape Wind
Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound
PublicAffairs,U.S. (Publisher)
Published on 8. May 2007
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-58648-397-5 (ISBN)
Description
This work is an acidly funny account of the battle for wind power off the coast of Nantucket. When Jim Gordon set out to build a wind farm just off the coast of Nantucket, he knew some people might object. But there was a lot of merit in creating a privately-funded, clean-energy source for this energy-starved corner of America, and he felt sure that most people would recognise it eventually. Instead, all hell broke loose and years of protest erupted, drawing the attention of media across America and beyond. Gordon hadn't accounted for the fact that some of America's richest and most politically connected people (including names such as Ted Kennedy, John Warner and several well-known industry titans), holiday on the shores of Nantucket and Cape Cod, and he certainly hadn't foreseen the lengths they'd go to in order to stop him - and the fact that they were so experienced at getting their way! And when some of the other celebrity summer people, such as Walter Cronkite and Theodore Roosevelt IV, decided that they did like the wind farm and jumped into the fray, the issue grabbed more and more attention.
"Cape Wind" is the improbable and largely untold story of a flawed-but-admirable visionary who unwittingly ends up challenging the privileges, power and assumptions of the ultra-rich. A rollicking tale of democracy in action and plutocracy in the raw, it wrestles with environmental, energy, social, political and aesthetic issues of vast importance, as played out among colourful, glamorous characters. Incisive, character-driven and steeped in local colour, it provides a cautionary tale about the challenges of evolving beyond the reliance on fossil fuels and 'foreign oil'. The battle over Nantucket Sound is one of many coastal conflicts that have erupted in recent years in the US and many other affluent countries. There promise to be many more such controversies in the years to come.
"Cape Wind" is the improbable and largely untold story of a flawed-but-admirable visionary who unwittingly ends up challenging the privileges, power and assumptions of the ultra-rich. A rollicking tale of democracy in action and plutocracy in the raw, it wrestles with environmental, energy, social, political and aesthetic issues of vast importance, as played out among colourful, glamorous characters. Incisive, character-driven and steeped in local colour, it provides a cautionary tale about the challenges of evolving beyond the reliance on fossil fuels and 'foreign oil'. The battle over Nantucket Sound is one of many coastal conflicts that have erupted in recent years in the US and many other affluent countries. There promise to be many more such controversies in the years to come.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Illustrations
b&w line art and photos
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-58648-397-5 (9781586483975)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Robert Whitcomb | Wendy Williams
Cape Wind
Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound
E-Book
08/2007
PublicAffairs
€9.49
Available for download
Persons
Wendy Williams and Robert Whitcomb have covered this story since the beginning, sometimes 'under cover' Williams is a resident of Cape Cod, and has written for major American publications including The Boston Globe and The Scientific American. She is also the author of several books. Whitcomb has been writing articles about the Cape Wind controversy for the past three years, and has written extensively about other energy issues. He has worked for The International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal and has contributed to many publications including Newsweek, The Washington Post and New York Times.