[pct-l] Windfarms and hydropower
Jeffrey Olson
jolson at olc.edu
Fri Jan 13 17:38:17 CST 2012
Read Cadillac Desert, then Where the Waters Divide. Then read When the
Rivers Run Dry, and then Water Follies. Dams and hydro-power and wind
energy are totally political and have little these days to do with
floods or irrigation or real "clean" power need...
Jeffrey Olson
Martin, SD
On 1/13/2012 4:31 PM, Timothy Nye wrote:
>> Jim, assuming the global warming theory is correct, it then makes the
>> misallocation of resources in favor of turbins and against dams even more
>> stark. Please bear in mind that I'm just using hydropower as one example.
>> Hydropower is in reality merely a byproduct of a reservoir whose main
>> purpose is water storage. With a reduced snow pack we would need greater
>> storage. I guess we'll need to erect more turbins so we can generate more
>> 'clean' energy to pump water in from Oregon or across the Great Basin.
>> California is already causing large tracts of farmland to lie fallow given
>> the absence of water for irrigation when the rains and snowpack fail..
>>
>> A cynic might suggest that a major reason dams are disfavored is
>> that they represent a major fiscal outlay that would go to a public project
>> which minimizes the opportunity to enjoy the political benefits. A dam
>> would not in turn generate 'campaign' contributions for the politicians
>> arranging the appropriation such as those that could flow from those
>> private entities that benefit from alternative energy projects, public
>> employment, etc.
>>
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