Renewable Energy’s Secret

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The title is from an article in the Denver Post published in November 2015 which described bird deaths from the Iyanpah Solar Generating System in the Mojave Desert and wind turbines in Central California’s Altamont Pass. The article describes how two scientists published accounts of very large numbers of birds being incinerated when flying into the area of the solar system or killed when flying into the path of the wind turbines. A concerted effort was made by alternative energy companies to dismiss the data based on the accusation it was the result of “data dredging—teasing out statistical patterns that may not exist.”

A recent news report makes me suspicious there might have been some truth in the data presented by the two scientists. “The Obama administration is revising a federal rule that allows wind-energy companies to operate high-speed wind turbines for up to 30 years, even if it means killing or injuring thousands of federally protected bald and golden eagles…Under the plan…wind companies and other power providers could kill or injure up to 4,200 bald eagles a year without penalty—nearly four times the current limit. Golden eagles could be killed (apparently without limits) if companies take steps to minimize the losses…” The Fish and Wildlife Service Director said the proposal would “…provide a path forward for maintaining eagle populations while also spurring development of a pollution-free energy source that’s intended to ease global warming… (and) help the country reduce its reliance on fossil fuels such as coal and oil that contribute to global warming.”

I find it quite curious that the government is proposing allowing environmental damage to address environmental damage.

American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace

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american-dreamerI obtained this book through the interlibrary loan system with the single purpose of checking out an original reference for the book I’m writing about the Rocky Flats Plant during the Cold War. I was surprised that the book has over 600 pages, checked the page with the reference I wanted, and then began skimming it. Much to my surprise the book drew me in. For those unfamiliar with him, Henry Agard Wallace was a fascinating character. He grew up in a farm family that published a newspaper that focused on farming and political issues associated with farming. He was raised to be a completely moral Christian, and seldom allowed even the most vicious political attacks he would eventually suffer later in his public life to stir him to do more than offer a reasoned defense.

Most people probably know something about Wallace because John Nance Garner, Franklin Roosevelt’s Vice President for his first two terms, strongly opposed FDR running for a third term. (Garner had been chosen as the Vice President in a deal that allowed FDR to receive his first nomination by the Democratic Party. FDR and Garner were polar opposites, and my impression is that they detested each other and went out of their way to avoid the need to have any contact.) A large slate of candidates wanted to have the VP slot, but FDR chose Wallace.

FDR had chosen Wallace to be his Secretary of Agriculture during his first two terms despite the fact Wallace was a Republican. Party difference was immaterial, because Wallace was a strong Progressive. He also was a brilliant man who studied and comprehended the role of genetics in crop yields. He and his wife formed a hybrid corn seed business that eventually made them wealthy. The chickens he bred eventually provided a substantial portion of eggs to the nation and the world.

Some of the most interesting parts of the book are about the key role Wallace played in his position of Secretary of Agriculture in the New Deal during years when famers were being crushed by the Great Depression. Fans of small government will be astonished and disturbed at the growth and reach of his department. His first personnel action was to appoint Milton Eisenhower, Ike’s brother, head of information services with instructions “…to transform the department immediately into a vast action agency to restore parity of income to American farmers.” The primary focus of the many government actions taken under Wallace’s leadership was to improve farm income by the “…promotion of planned scarcity.” Wheat was the easiest crop for the new strategy, because many wheat growing areas were experiencing a crushing drought. “It would not be necessary to plow under growing wheat; nature had done it—unequally, cruelly, to be sure, but decisively…” Millers and bakers didn’t like the new processing tax that paid expenses for the new program until they understood they could blame the price increases on the government. Continue reading →

Spick and Span

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Wikipedia has a direct description of the origin of this expression. “The phrase “span-new” meant as new as a freshly cut wood chip, such as those once used to make spoons. In a metaphor dating from at least 1300, something span-new was neat and unstained.” Spick was added in the 16th century and may have evolved from the Dutch words spiksplinter nieuw, meaning “spike-splinter new.” The use of the expression became commonly used to indicate something is completely clean when the household cleaner “Spic and Span” was put on the market in the 1920s.

Rocky Flats Fear Continues

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There was a recent news article about the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge that reminded me anything about Rocky Flats will be vilified regardless of the facts. The article begins, “Millions of dollars in federal funds to help tie a major regional trail into the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge may be in jeopardy, as communities near the refuge wrestle with the troubled legacy of the former nuclear weapons plant.” Superior and Westminster have decided not to provide their share of the funds needed to support the $6.5 million in federal funds required for the project. The proposed project would “…build two underpasses and one overpass to provide people and animals access to the refuge across Indiana Street and Colorado 128.” The federal grant requires a minimum of $1.1 million from local communities, and Superior and Westminster have declined to provide their required portion of the total. A Boulder official said, “If they’re going to do this, they’re going to have to do additional soil sampling,” she said. “If there is nothing to be afraid of, why can’t we sample to assuage the public of concerns that this is something dangerous.”

I’ve advocated that one unintended consequence of building Rocky Flats Plant is that it resulted in protection of a large swath of high mountain prairie from development. Those who call themselves “environmentalists” should be actively advocating that the proposed project would allow many people to experience that beautiful protected vista. I doubt that it will be possible, because the usual fear mongers will work to attract sufficient negative press to stop the project.

The manager of the refuge commented that “The vision for the Greenway Trail was to connect open spaces… (and that ) He’s confident that with time and accurate information, most communities will buy in to the underpass-overpass project.” I’m less confident based on the Boulder official’s comment about the need for sampling to determine whether there is “…something dangerous.” I assure you that there will be plutonium detected in samples from the area of the proposed project. I also assure you that there would be plutonium detected in the backyard of that Boulder official’s home. There also would be plutonium in the backyard of anyone reading this posting regardless of whether they are in Colorado or any other state. The entire earth was contaminated with plutonium by the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, and there will be little difference in the results from the area of the proposed project or anywhere else on the planet.

I suggest officials should also sample the dust on their office desk and/or the dirt in the landscape around their offices to allow themselves to report a comparison in the amount of plutonium detected. I predict the results would be similar.

Faster that Greased Lightning

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Phrase Finder observes that this expression has long been used to conjure incredible speed. Lightning obviously occurs very fast, and the exaggerated “greased lightning” is used to imply it can be made to occur even faster. The expression has been around since at least since an article “…published in January 1833, which included the text ‘He spoke as quick as greased lightning’.”

Rocky Flats Museum Update

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Murph Widdowfield is the Board President of the Museum and recently sent an update. He first gave a brief history of the development of the atom bomb and how it changed the outcome of World War II. He then thanked “…the people who worked in the nuclear industry and the others who protected us during the period of the Cold War for their efforts, safety, and labor…”

He added a paragraph that I will quote in its entirety about progress on a visitor center at Rocky Flats. “I also want to tell you about the progress of a Visitors Center at Rocky Flats which will be built by US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on the Refuge.  A site selection contractor and USFWS have determined that the building will be on the North side of the refuge, with the entrance on Highway 128, a little West of McCaslin Blvd.  The building will not be large with most of the displays based on the refuge with a very small area for the Rocky Flats Cold War Museum.  Also, the new Green Way Trail from Rocky Mountain Arsenal through the Two Ponds Wildlife Refuge in Arvada, up to Boulder and then on up to Rocky Mountain National Park will cross over the northern side of the wildlife refuge although it will bypass the new Visitors Center.”

You can email the museum at info@rockyflatsmuseum.org.