Conquering Global Warming
I saw an article yesterday about a Texas billionaire that's going to spend probably billions buying land from Texas north to Nebraska or further then installing several thousand wind turbines on the properties. He's doing this to make money as well as to help with global warming and the constant use of oil as a fuel, even though he's a billionaire because of oil. To me it makes sense that someone who's become rich and powerful such as him to seek new alternative ways to make money, how else would he stay rich? It's too bad that every billionaire like Bill Gates or those hundreds or thousands of others we hear about don't focus more on this huge issue we have confronting us. Yes we also have starving and sick people all over the world that need help but we also have the immediate need of this planet. If we don't stop destroying it, it will eventually kill us all anyway so why not use our resources to fight ourselves?
Let's start with South Dakota. Nothing against the residents it's just that I recently spent several days and nights there and I realized something: IT'S WINDY!
I've done some research and found out that the two cities that I recently stayed overnight in (Mitchell and Rapid City) have higher than average wind speeds all year long (compared to the rest of the United States). Mitchell, South Dakota has a LOW average of 10MPH with a high of 13MPH. Rapid City, South Dakota has a LOW average of 10MPH as well as a high of 13MPH. Mitchell has a low average of 50% sunshine during the winter with 75% during the summer. Rapid City is about the same. Both cities have high averages of sunny days. I don't want to leave out Pierre, Murdo or Sioux Falls with a low average wind speeds similar to both Mitchell and Rapid City and sunshine along the same lines.
Given this data one could ask why there aren't wind turbines and solar panels lining Interstate 90 from Sioux Falls to Spearfish. In fact, let's ask. With South Dakota being 46th in population with about 800,000 people in the state one may say that there isn't the need for carbon free electricity production and we should focus more on New York City or Chicago or Los Angeles or Dallas but why not start where more coal is used for producing electricity. That makes the most sense to me. New York gets power from dams, biomass, solar and wind, according to Consolidated Edison's website. Chicago uses a 352 MW power station (SE Chicago Energy Project) that burns natural gas which is definitely not good; their Mid-Atlantic facility uses hydroelectric plants to produce 1621MW; they are also buying power from a 153MW wind farm in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Los Angeles has started a Green Power program which uses solar, wind and water to produce electricity. While all of these cities, and many more, have started using renewable sources to produce electricity there are still many others that aren't.
Most people know that electricity will be lost on extended runs of power lines. The insulation surrounding the conduit just can't hold it so it leaks out. This is why installing wind farms is a bad idea. More and more people are installing tankless water heaters because they are more efficient. The reason for the efficiency is because they only heat the water when it's needed AND they are generally installed near the common places that hot water is needed. Why set up a wind farm in Oklahoma and send the power to Denver? That doesn't make sense. Set up wind turbines in different areas around the country where it's normally windy but where people live. It's not like they are coal fired power plants that are mostly installed just outside of cities then the wind causes the spoils to blow into the city and cause us all to get sick from the carbon emissions. Don't be scared of the wind turbines. Install them in the middle of the city if your city has enough wind on average to make it worth while. Even if every house and business in any city installed a wind turbine it wouldn't cause any permanent damage to the planet and the amount of wind passing over or through each turbine wouldn't slow down just because 10 others down wind got it first. Yes a turbine on every street corner may look obtrusive but compared to the alternatives I'd rather look at a wind turbine. Every time I did I'd know it was helping to make this planet a cleaner place and be much easier to look at that the thousands of cellular towers I see any time I go anywhere, or look out my office window for that matter.
Back to South Dakota for a minute. While sitting in the passenger seat of my vehicle as my wife drove west on Interstate 90 from Sioux Falls to Mitchell I noticed how much the wind was blowing us around and how bare the land is around us. Yes it was the beginning of spring so there weren't any crops growing but I still noticed the many cellular towers planted in many fields, most likely giving the farmer an extra source of income (the land they are on is usually leased to the cellular companies, if not they should be). Those towers are an eyesore, even though I, like most Americans, use them all the time. Why not use the existing towers as a place to mount an efficient wind turbine? All of those power lines I saw while trying to take pictures outside my window that block the views are also an eyesore. If wind turbines and solar cells were installed close to where the power was needed, say in the middle of where 10 farms are located in remote areas such as some parts of South Dakota, most of those power lines could be removed balancing out the eyesore that a wind turbine may cause to some (idiotic) people.
Why stop with South Dakota. Consider Montana, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, heck every state - even Alaska. Puerto Rico may be a good place for solar panels while wind turbines in Fairbanks, Alaska may be the best option there.
I've found a company that manufacturers wind turbines that can produce up to 10 kilowatts and have a start up speed as low as 3MPH.
The larger 10akw turbine needs 6MPH to start while the lower 5kw model needs 3MPH. None have a cut off speed like standard turbines do and none of these models need to face the wind since they are vertical which means regardless of the number of times the wind changes direction, the turbine always turns which is more efficient than the larger ones. While these models aren't enough to power even a small city, they can be stacked or can be installed at many locations throughout a city or town. The more you use renewable sources the less coal or natural gas is burned the less carbon is released into the atmosphere the sooner the planet can recover.
I once contacted the utility company where I lived and inquired about solar and wind power and whether or not they were planning or were using either. I was told that the area we lived in didn't have enough wind or sun to produce enough electricity to make it worth while. They said that they would need one turbine for every home they fed in order to produce enough but even then they couldn't do it since the wind wasn't blowing enough of the time. I suggested that they offer the businesses in the area an incentive to install solar panels on their roofs since most large buildings have acres of empty unused space up there, much like the utility company's brains. I argued that if every business had solar panels they could produce enough power to reduce the need for coal fired power, which the power company relied on 100%. Of course not only were my ideas shot down, they were sat on, smothered then dismissed. On top of that, the power company convinced everyone in that area that in order to keep up with demand, they had to build an additional coal fired plant! I've since moved to a more friendly state with the hopes that one day I can buy some property that has no covenants to prevent me from installing 10 wind turbines and a massive solar array so I can provide power to my new neighbors, most likely for free AND be able to get a check every month from the power company because I'm certain I could produce more power than even 10 homes would need so the excess would feed back into the grid reducing some of the strain of the coal fired plants that feed us every second of every day just so we can turn on our computers and spend an hour writing a blog that probably wasted enough power to run a television for a day.
And just so you are aware, I'm going to buy a server so I can turn off my computer when I'm not using it since it will use less energy than my PC but for now it has to stay running but I do turn my monitors off instead of waiting for the power save feature to do it for me. I may run into the door on the way out of here and stub my toe but I will be back to complain about more stuff another time, even if I have to limp in here.
I saw an article yesterday about a Texas billionaire that's going to spend probably billions buying land from Texas north to Nebraska or further then installing several thousand wind turbines on the properties. He's doing this to make money as well as to help with global warming and the constant use of oil as a fuel, even though he's a billionaire because of oil. To me it makes sense that someone who's become rich and powerful such as him to seek new alternative ways to make money, how else would he stay rich? It's too bad that every billionaire like Bill Gates or those hundreds or thousands of others we hear about don't focus more on this huge issue we have confronting us. Yes we also have starving and sick people all over the world that need help but we also have the immediate need of this planet. If we don't stop destroying it, it will eventually kill us all anyway so why not use our resources to fight ourselves?
Let's start with South Dakota. Nothing against the residents it's just that I recently spent several days and nights there and I realized something: IT'S WINDY!
I've done some research and found out that the two cities that I recently stayed overnight in (Mitchell and Rapid City) have higher than average wind speeds all year long (compared to the rest of the United States). Mitchell, South Dakota has a LOW average of 10MPH with a high of 13MPH. Rapid City, South Dakota has a LOW average of 10MPH as well as a high of 13MPH. Mitchell has a low average of 50% sunshine during the winter with 75% during the summer. Rapid City is about the same. Both cities have high averages of sunny days. I don't want to leave out Pierre, Murdo or Sioux Falls with a low average wind speeds similar to both Mitchell and Rapid City and sunshine along the same lines.
Given this data one could ask why there aren't wind turbines and solar panels lining Interstate 90 from Sioux Falls to Spearfish. In fact, let's ask. With South Dakota being 46th in population with about 800,000 people in the state one may say that there isn't the need for carbon free electricity production and we should focus more on New York City or Chicago or Los Angeles or Dallas but why not start where more coal is used for producing electricity. That makes the most sense to me. New York gets power from dams, biomass, solar and wind, according to Consolidated Edison's website. Chicago uses a 352 MW power station (SE Chicago Energy Project) that burns natural gas which is definitely not good; their Mid-Atlantic facility uses hydroelectric plants to produce 1621MW; they are also buying power from a 153MW wind farm in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Los Angeles has started a Green Power program which uses solar, wind and water to produce electricity. While all of these cities, and many more, have started using renewable sources to produce electricity there are still many others that aren't.
Most people know that electricity will be lost on extended runs of power lines. The insulation surrounding the conduit just can't hold it so it leaks out. This is why installing wind farms is a bad idea. More and more people are installing tankless water heaters because they are more efficient. The reason for the efficiency is because they only heat the water when it's needed AND they are generally installed near the common places that hot water is needed. Why set up a wind farm in Oklahoma and send the power to Denver? That doesn't make sense. Set up wind turbines in different areas around the country where it's normally windy but where people live. It's not like they are coal fired power plants that are mostly installed just outside of cities then the wind causes the spoils to blow into the city and cause us all to get sick from the carbon emissions. Don't be scared of the wind turbines. Install them in the middle of the city if your city has enough wind on average to make it worth while. Even if every house and business in any city installed a wind turbine it wouldn't cause any permanent damage to the planet and the amount of wind passing over or through each turbine wouldn't slow down just because 10 others down wind got it first. Yes a turbine on every street corner may look obtrusive but compared to the alternatives I'd rather look at a wind turbine. Every time I did I'd know it was helping to make this planet a cleaner place and be much easier to look at that the thousands of cellular towers I see any time I go anywhere, or look out my office window for that matter.
Back to South Dakota for a minute. While sitting in the passenger seat of my vehicle as my wife drove west on Interstate 90 from Sioux Falls to Mitchell I noticed how much the wind was blowing us around and how bare the land is around us. Yes it was the beginning of spring so there weren't any crops growing but I still noticed the many cellular towers planted in many fields, most likely giving the farmer an extra source of income (the land they are on is usually leased to the cellular companies, if not they should be). Those towers are an eyesore, even though I, like most Americans, use them all the time. Why not use the existing towers as a place to mount an efficient wind turbine? All of those power lines I saw while trying to take pictures outside my window that block the views are also an eyesore. If wind turbines and solar cells were installed close to where the power was needed, say in the middle of where 10 farms are located in remote areas such as some parts of South Dakota, most of those power lines could be removed balancing out the eyesore that a wind turbine may cause to some (idiotic) people.
Why stop with South Dakota. Consider Montana, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, heck every state - even Alaska. Puerto Rico may be a good place for solar panels while wind turbines in Fairbanks, Alaska may be the best option there.
I've found a company that manufacturers wind turbines that can produce up to 10 kilowatts and have a start up speed as low as 3MPH.
The larger 10akw turbine needs 6MPH to start while the lower 5kw model needs 3MPH. None have a cut off speed like standard turbines do and none of these models need to face the wind since they are vertical which means regardless of the number of times the wind changes direction, the turbine always turns which is more efficient than the larger ones. While these models aren't enough to power even a small city, they can be stacked or can be installed at many locations throughout a city or town. The more you use renewable sources the less coal or natural gas is burned the less carbon is released into the atmosphere the sooner the planet can recover.
I once contacted the utility company where I lived and inquired about solar and wind power and whether or not they were planning or were using either. I was told that the area we lived in didn't have enough wind or sun to produce enough electricity to make it worth while. They said that they would need one turbine for every home they fed in order to produce enough but even then they couldn't do it since the wind wasn't blowing enough of the time. I suggested that they offer the businesses in the area an incentive to install solar panels on their roofs since most large buildings have acres of empty unused space up there, much like the utility company's brains. I argued that if every business had solar panels they could produce enough power to reduce the need for coal fired power, which the power company relied on 100%. Of course not only were my ideas shot down, they were sat on, smothered then dismissed. On top of that, the power company convinced everyone in that area that in order to keep up with demand, they had to build an additional coal fired plant! I've since moved to a more friendly state with the hopes that one day I can buy some property that has no covenants to prevent me from installing 10 wind turbines and a massive solar array so I can provide power to my new neighbors, most likely for free AND be able to get a check every month from the power company because I'm certain I could produce more power than even 10 homes would need so the excess would feed back into the grid reducing some of the strain of the coal fired plants that feed us every second of every day just so we can turn on our computers and spend an hour writing a blog that probably wasted enough power to run a television for a day.
And just so you are aware, I'm going to buy a server so I can turn off my computer when I'm not using it since it will use less energy than my PC but for now it has to stay running but I do turn my monitors off instead of waiting for the power save feature to do it for me. I may run into the door on the way out of here and stub my toe but I will be back to complain about more stuff another time, even if I have to limp in here.
THINK GREEN
DON'T FAX IT - EMAIL IT
IF IT'S YELLOW LET IT MELLOW - IF IT'S BROWN SEND IT DOWN
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS WHEN YOU AREN'T IN THE ROOM
TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER AND MONITORS WHEN NOT IN USE
USE MOTION SENSOR LIGHTS OUTSIDE & INSIDE YOUR HOME AND BUSINESS
TURN OFF THE SURGE PROTECTOR WHEN YOU DON'T NEED THE EQUIPMENT TO BE ON
INSTALL AN ELECTRONIC THERMOSTAT ON YOUR HVAC SYSTEM AND SET IT TO REDUCE USAGE WHEN YOU AREN'T HOME
INSTALL TANKLESS WATER HEATERS AND RECYCLE YOUR OLD TANK
INSTALL LOW FLOW TOILETS
RECYCLE AND REUSE WHENEVER POSSIBLE
CAPTURE YOUR RAINWATER AND USE IT TO WATER THE LAWN WHEN IT ISN'T RAINING
THE PLANET HAS A COLD. IT'S TURNING INTO PNEUMONIA. DON'T LET IT DIE
DON'T FAX IT - EMAIL IT
IF IT'S YELLOW LET IT MELLOW - IF IT'S BROWN SEND IT DOWN
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS WHEN YOU AREN'T IN THE ROOM
TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER AND MONITORS WHEN NOT IN USE
USE MOTION SENSOR LIGHTS OUTSIDE & INSIDE YOUR HOME AND BUSINESS
TURN OFF THE SURGE PROTECTOR WHEN YOU DON'T NEED THE EQUIPMENT TO BE ON
INSTALL AN ELECTRONIC THERMOSTAT ON YOUR HVAC SYSTEM AND SET IT TO REDUCE USAGE WHEN YOU AREN'T HOME
INSTALL TANKLESS WATER HEATERS AND RECYCLE YOUR OLD TANK
INSTALL LOW FLOW TOILETS
RECYCLE AND REUSE WHENEVER POSSIBLE
CAPTURE YOUR RAINWATER AND USE IT TO WATER THE LAWN WHEN IT ISN'T RAINING
THE PLANET HAS A COLD. IT'S TURNING INTO PNEUMONIA. DON'T LET IT DIE
