Once a week I like to share with you some of the places we see as we travel around the country. Three weeks ago we hooked up our Fifth Wheel to the truck and hit the road again. (You can see the picture of our rig in the left sidebar.) We traveled from our son’s place in Northern California, across the northern section of the country, and on to Southern Indiana where our youngest daughter Cerrin lives.
It’s only been two years since we traveled that area but we saw a few changes. Corn was one change. There is a lot more corn being raised and I’m assuming that is from the increased production of ethanol. I didn’t see as many cattle grazing or feed lots as I normally see. Are we eating less burgers? The most dramatic change was the introduction of “wind farming”.
This one in Utah was the most spectacular with the mountains in the background. Whole fields are now “planted” with these gigantic windmills. The machines convert the wind into electricity. They are approximately 300 feet tall with just three propellers. They are quite fascinating to watch. I did a little research because I was curious as to how they work. Here’s a simple diagram.
The wind farms are not without controversy. Many see them as an eyesore. They have also had a negative impact on the wild bird population. For me, they were a lot of fun to watch. They are so graceful. I’d rather watch the wind machines than an ugly power plant. Somehow it seemed poetic to see that we are capturing the wind and making it work for us in this new way.
Join me next Sunday for another look at one of our Favorite Places.
NORTHERN CALLIFORNIA
I know some people who work in GE’s wind division, so I know about the controversy. I got a book yesterday that you might be interested in – The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
I’m all for the wind farms! I’m hoping that Ohio will be investing in this soon. Thanks for sharing your description and thoughts. I hope that you are having a wonderful time with your daughter.
I love your diagram of how they work! We pass them whenever we drive from Tucson to San Diego and I can never figure out (a) how they work and (b) why they’re not turning! Now at least I have part of the mystery solved!
I wonder if they can still use all that land to raise cows or crops still.
Another thought I have is why cant they put them on top of the big buildings to get power to the buildings in the city.
I will never forgive Andy for not pulling the car over so I could take a picture of the wind farm we encountered heading out to Yosemite from SF. It was like something out of the X-Files. Very cool. Although here in MA they are battling over putting them out in the ocean off the Cape – and although I support it, I can see why some people wouldn’t want their ocean view suddenly changed with one of these out their window.