Op-ed
When: Thursday, September 19th, 7PM-8PM
Where: The Elms, 67 Bellevue Ave, Newport, RI 02840 US
Contact: Nick Horton, Climate Action RI nick@climateactionri.org, 401-484-0545
After months of refused attempts to contact the Newport Preservation Society’s Executive Director and Board, Climate Action Rhode Island is announcing a protest against the Preservation Society of Newport County (PSNC), demanding they drop their obstructionist lawsuit against offshore wind development in Rhode Island. “The lawsuit threatens Rhode Island’s ability to meet its clean energy goals, provide pollution free energy to 350,000 homes, and end our dependence on foreign oil. Their Newport Mansions are already worth over eighty million dollars and the organization is run by some of Rhode Island’s wealthiest people. Yet they are suing the Federal Government in an attempt to win a multi-million-dollar settlement from the offshore wind companies, which is money Rhode Islanders will end up paying in higher electricity bills. They refuse to discuss their lawsuit with us so we are taking our demands to them and protesting their $750/per person fundraiser,” stated Climate Action Rhode Island. CARI has already obtained hundreds of signatures on their petition against the lawsuit and is continuing to collect more.
Climate Action Rhode Island will be protesting outside of the Newport Mansions on Thursday September 19th at 6:45pm (Details and RSVP here). This protest comes after Trudy Coxe, Director of PSNC, refused to participate in a panel discussion organized by the Newport Energy and Environment Commission on the topic in August, as described in a CARI Op-Ed in the Boston Globe recently. Last year, after the lawsuit was filed, a coalition of environmental and labor leaders wrote a letter calling on PSNC to drop the lawsuit.
Bart Lloyd, a CARI member and Newport Resident, states, “The Preservation Societies’ shamelessly greedy lawsuit against the wind farms is unconscionable. Make no mistake about it – it’s about the money. The idea that their view is impaired – or that people will decide not to visit the mansions because of the wind turbines – is ludicrous. The law firm has convinced them that they can get paid by suing – as this same law firm has done for other clients – and the Preservation Society doesn’t care that clean energy consumers will end up footing the bill. The City of Newport was approached by the same law firm to join in the same lawsuit – and they declined. Because it was not the right thing to do.”
Nick Horton, CARI ‘Yes to Wind’ Campaign Organizer stated “The Town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island was also promised a big cash payout from Cultural Heritage Partners if they sued wind companies, but unlike the Newport Mansions, they cared more about supporting the transition from fossil fuels and reducing pollution spewing projects that have serious health, environmental and long-term economic dangers for Rhode Islanders than their own self-interest.”
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