View Full Version : Alto Vista VS Sentinels

05-17-2012, 10:10 AM
In writing the sentinels I was faced with the following:

The photograph that Werner showed me was lovely and had a sense of "art" to it that I found uncommon, yet I needed to fit it into what is here on Aruba. It occurred to me that these monsters are nothing but steel and fiberglass until there is wind and that it is the wind that makes them what they are. In that, I tried to focus less on the Sentinels and more on the wind.

Why would I do that?

If we lived on a massive expanse of place with untold useless square miles of land, then no one would care much about a few windmills right? WRONG!! Wrong big time! You see, if (on this massive land) you went into the desert and found a group of 20 small houses without electricity, and then placed one of thee things close to the houses and across the street from a church, as much as they would appreciate the electricity, they would be pissed off at the physical intrusion. REMEMBER - here we are considering a massive track of land.

NOW - Shrink that massive piece of land to about (more or less) 4 miles by 20 miles and consider that more than half of it is constructed on and of the remaining open land, a huge portion is a park. Then consider that the left over terrain is not that nice to build on. What do you have? Obvious answer.

FURTHER- on this small parcel I mention, with the minimal left over land, consider that there are monuments on it. Such as Alto Vista. Consider further that the history of this one place (Alto Vista) has a religious significance that is of importance to - not only the island but the Caribbean.

LET US SET ALL THAT ASIDE - Now imagine that after significant study, the power company has openly stated in the newspapers that the additional wind turbines will NOT (allow me to repeat that) N O T have an impact on the electrical bills to the consumer. WELL - not aint that a pisser. think about it again and let's recap.

RECAP - Land scarcity - Monuments - No impact on consumer energy bill.

Am I missing something or perhaps I am not. If these things are so good for mankind, then put the damned things out at sea. Is that a monumental task? The answer to that is NO IT IS NOT. These floating turbines do literally that - float. they are anchored with anchoring cables and do minimal disturbance to the ocean bottom. They are equally as effective and -(HERE IS THE CATCH) do not take up land.

THE SENTINELS - My story called the sentinels is about wind. It is about the artistic side of what we see in a photographers work or a painters painting. It is a story about the planet and how the wind plays a part. It is not about placing these things next to a sacred piece of land.

I take this small line to say that I dislike wind-turbines (for a myriad of reasons, some very personal) and am appalled that placing them across from Alto Vista is even a slight consideration.

Tonight, you will find me and my son alone, without a crowd and without banners - sitting on a cement bench and praying for the dignity of a small chapel. I shall pray that we dig deep into our souls and look at options that are mot an intrusion into our spiritual, visual and ethereal values and say a quiet no.

A QUIET NO. It should be a quiet no. Not one that is covered with hoopla or screaming. Just a message that asks that those in government inviite those at the water plants and others that are wise and without much to gain and silently reflect on this issue and perhaps (individually) to their personal gods.

I have thought about it and wonder why other options have not been looked at. This lack of foresight is frightening.

Be well
If you read my words, be wise and considerate


Mr. Ratt
05-17-2012, 07:09 PM
"...A QUIET NO."

Perfect. Nothing more to say in regards to this.
The method of "protest" should match the nature of the space being "disputed".
Good luck getting the "powers that be" to listen, and many blessings in the battle that's likely coming...

05-21-2012, 10:17 AM
Good luck getting the "powers that be" to listen, and many blessings in the battle that's likely coming...As usual, it will be the lawyers who truly benefit :rolleyes: from this. :(