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“DESTROYING A RAINFOREST FOR A WINDFARM IN AMERICAN SAMOA”

Dear Editor,

Let me begin by again saying, I am not against renewable energy, but I am against the current site leaders in the American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA) have chosen for the windfarm. It is unbelievable that this is the best or only site available for this project. There has to be a more suitable site for this project, or another way to provide renewable energy for American Samoa. I have shared my concerns about the environmental damage this project will most likely cause in 2 letters to Samoa News on October 1st and 12th. These letters can be found on the Samoa News website.

https://www.samoanews.com/opinion/windfarm-amerian-samoa

https://www.samoanews.com/opinion/windfarm-impacts-coral-reefs-and-our-coast

I am also against the fact that this project has progressed this far without the public officially being made aware of it. This project will affect not only the forest and wildlife at the site but also surrounding and coastal areas, marine life, and all who enjoy and rely upon these natural resources. We all have the right to know what is happening with this project and how it will potentially affect us. Yet there has been no public hearing, while the project has progressed to the point that land owners are being asked to sign easement agreements and the representative of a potential partner/ investor in the project has visited the island.

My fear is that, even without adequate environmental impact assessments, if land owners are persuaded to agree, and a partner/ investor is found, our community and its decision makers may feel that environmental concerns now seem less important, and the project will be allowed to continue at this site.

Since this is a possibility, that we lose this unique site to the wind farm project, I am going to start a YouTube channel to show this site as it is now, pristine, primary rainforest, so that it can be seen by our posterity in the future. It will be a before and after type channel. When the wind farm project starts, there will be video of the forest and ridge tops being ripped apart by excavators, archeological sites being destroyed, streams and bays brown with mud and the coral reefs covered in sediment.  The channel will be called, “Destroying a rainforest for a wind farm in American Samoa”. I hope it will have many worldwide followers.

There is a Native American saying that goes “When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money.” I know that this project potentially may be financially beneficial to some, but please let us remember that there are things that are more important than money.

Our children deserve to be able know and enjoy the beauty of our forests, streams, oceans, reefs. Please let us not allow this project to damage this pristine rainforest site and related coastal and coral reef environments.

Thank you,

Ian Gurr