The likely finalists for Governor of Massachusetts blew into New Bedford several weeks ago, seeking the endorsement of New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell and to heap praise on the city's efforts to attract wind-related business.

The Biden Administration has approved the poking of windmills into the ocean floor off Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Block Island and the New York Bight, a rich fishing ground that feeds the New Bedford fishing industry, will also host windmill farms. 

Republican Governor Charlie Baker and Democrat Attorney General Maura Healey – neither of whom have made clear their intentions for next year's election – are expected to seek and receive their party's nomination. Both are big Green New Dealers and are hell-bent on substituting windmills for fishing vessels in Massachusetts' coastal waters. 

Mitchell seems to think that he's discovered the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with wind farms offshore. This could be the stake that finally kills the fishing industry here.  

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Fortune.com published an excellent piece about how Europe went "all in on wind power" and what happened when the wind in the North Sea stopped blowing, "forcing regional energy markets to scramble for gas reserves to heat homes and power businesses." Fortune reported, "European countries are setting aside quotas meant to cap carbon emissions and rethinking the shutdown of coal plants in order to fill the gap left by the missing wind." 

The article reported finding alternatives to the alternative, renewable wind power, has not been an easy task: "Natural gas supply across the continent is tied up in a geopolitical tangle. Supply from Russia has dropped as Russia builds its reserves—and perhaps to increase interest in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline—and China, Japan, and South Korea are outbidding Europe for liquefied natural gas (LNG)."

Just wait until they have all of those electric cars to plugin when they become mandatory in just a few years. You know, just like we're doing here in Massachusetts.

American progressives seem to love the European social and political model and we will likely be right where they are in just a few years: full of regrets. What a mess. Rank this one right up there with Route 18, I-195, and downtown urban renewal. 

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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