Thank you Mr. Franz, for looking out for our precious natural resources, and our aesthetic concerns.

The voters in Rep. Ray Franz's district should all be thankful for his understanding of the issues with wind turbines on the lakes. I hope he is successful in getting his bill passed so that we can all rest assured that the lakes stay open and unobstructed, and that our tax dollars will be put to better use.

Franz states.."the intent is to keep potential hazards out of the blue waters of the Great Lakes". ~> What about the hazard of having (4) nuclear power plants on our great lakes? **The Cook Nuclear Plant is located on 650 acres along Lake Michigan's eastern shoreline. The tract is part of the world's largest formation of freshwater dunes. The plant is owned and operated by AEP. **The (2) FERMI plants sit on our eastern shores off lake Erie **Covert, MI (5 miles S of South Haven, MI)Operated by Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc “It’s not environmentally sound to have machines like these on our lakes. They are our greatest asset, and industrialization on them is a hazard to nature and the economy,” Franz said...REALLY? And he notes..."Aesthetic concerns are also a problem and he said a majority of residents in the 101st District — Mason, Manistee, Benzie and Leelanau counties — oppose offshore wind development, he said." Where were the majority of local residents when (4) nuclear power plants were placed on our so-called "Greatest Asset"? Wind Power is absoultely a "NO BRAINER"...maybe they can be painted pink for aesthetics?

musicman, your right, wind power is a no brain. It is also a no brainer that the turbines should be on land and NOT IN THE LAKE. I hope the other states surrounding the great lakes feel the same. Let's get the lease $$$$$ in the hands of land owners so they can spend the money in their communities. If the lease $$$$ end up in the states hands it will simply disappear, and they will need more tax dollars to run the state. Let the lease money circulate in the perspective communities and keep the great lakes free of turbines.

Weird enough..I heard RAY FRANZ supports slant drilling on our great lakes...so much for non-industrializtion.

If this argument was really about keeping the wind turbines off the lake and on the land somewhere..it would be a "mute" argument. However, the goal of some individuals is not to have them at all. The reality is there are just as many folks against having them on land as on the lakes. Property owners rights issues..ect Personally, If I owned lakefront property, say, on the hills of Buttersville, I would put up as many windmills as I could afford and reap the rewards of renewable energy.

And now people don't want land-based wind turbines. Probably the same ones complaining about gas prices.

Wind turbines won't affect gas prices, Mike.

moot point? Imagine you are a visitor to the area and you come to the beach to see one of the legendary sunsets. There you sit, watching the sun set behind a couple-hundred turbine windmills!! I think not. Tourism is Michigan's #1 business. Think twice before you endanger that revenue for a form of power producer that currently has no adequate power storage for the power it creates. YES, minor detail: where do we put the power the turbines are making? uh....well....

Quite correct Buzz and dedhed, if wind turbines did affect gas prices, we wouldn't be in the present fiasco we are again now. So, what about slant drilling, is it too much to ask the American Oil companies to keep drilling in untold stockpiles of untapped reserves? So we reap the benefit at the pumps. Mr. Obama, asleep at the office again, or playing golf?