Protest rocks the granite state

Written by Joe Pisani
Wednesday, 19 October 2011 09:36

While I was driving through the White Mountains, enjoying the autumn foliage, I came upon three women standing by the roadside under a colorful canopy. At first I thought it was a soccer mom bake sale, but when I pulled over to buy some brownies, I saw a large orange balloon bobbing in the breeze 135 feet above us and a banner proclaiming, “Live Free or Fry — Stop the Northern Pass.”

“Protesters,” I gasped. “The Occupy Wall Street movement is moving north.”

I soon learned, however, they were part of a grassroots group of farmers, homeowners, tree-huggers and angry New Hampshire residents trying to derail a $1.1-billion power project by a foreign utility that threatens to cut the state in half with 135-foot high-voltage towers marching like an invasion of Transformers from Quebec through almost 200 miles of New Hampshire, including 40 miles of wilderness and White Mountains.

The so-called “Northern Pass” project is designed to send power to the flatlands — New Hampshire has a surplus of power — through a collaboration between Hydro-Quebec and Northeast Utilities, a collaboration that many say would unnecessarily destroy the natural landscape and put smaller companies out of business.

Being a New Hampshire homeowner, I went to the Web site livefreeorfry.org and realized the route would virtually bisect the state with monstrous towers.

But three women and angry landowners can’t stop major power companies, corporate money, PR juggernauts and politicians, especially when they’re promising JOBS!, TAX REVENUE!, CHEAP ELECTRICITY!, a chicken in every pot and a lot of other tempting things — except for the farmers who have their land taken away or the homeowners and hikers who have to see the forests ravaged.

Property owners in the northern New Hampshire are refusing to sell, but the threat of eminent domain hangs over their heads. When the sweet talk and blank checks don’t work, the tough talk starts.

One landowner, Bill Weir, told the Colebrook Chronicle: “It’s going to spoil our views and our property values. I just don’t want it. My father saved that land for me, and I’m doing the same thing for my kids. ... I said the property’s not for sale. Then she [the Realtor] said, ‘The guy’s got cash and all kinds of money.’ I still told her it’s not for sale.”

Who will defend the little man? Where are their elected officials? Look at the unseemly influence and power of lobbyists and political contributors, and you have to despair.

Our trust in politicians, corporate America and financial institutions has reached an all-time low, and a new cynicism is igniting angry protests nationwide, largely because once-respected institutions seem motivated more by self-aggrandizement and excessive profits than the common good.

To homeowners facing the loss of their land, those steel towers symbolize every political and corporate promise that has been broken along with the helplessness of every little man who has struggled to fight a system driven by greed.

Those women were right about one thing: If we can’t live free, we’re doomed to fry.

Joe Pisani can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .