Petra photos up: http://ping.fm/2IboN
This cooling tower to me looks like a nuclear plant, but apparently it is actually coal-fired. Overlooks US 12 in Michigan City, Indiana, very near the state line.
Not my photo, but I have seen the same view. When you are driving east from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, the power plant is all you see as you pull into town, framed perfectly by the trees next to the highway.
I wonder how much those houses would rent for?
Just got word that my son-in-law briefed President Obama last week!
Democracy, I think, is a wonderful thing. We "ordinary people," not only the sons and daughters of the privileged and wealthy, are able to attain official positions of some influence if we work hard enough, are smart enough--and, of course, are willing to accept a lower salary than is offered on, say, Wall Street or much of Corporate America.
I am trying to think who is the "most important" person I ever met personally. Probably it is Bob Dole, once the Senate Majority Leader and both a Republican Presidential and Vice Presidential nominee. I interviewed him in connection with a governmental report; he was gracious and helpful.
Dole was an "ordinary person," too: during the Great Depression, his parents moved the family into the basement of their home and rented out the other floors. He also suffered injuries during the Second World War; I recall that we shook hands with our lefts.
The Robert J. Dole Institute at the University of Kansas was created to promote the spirit of bi-partisanship.
Good for Bob Dole, and good for my son-in-law. And I am proud, too, to once have been a part of the governmental process, the machinery of democracy.
The discussion about wind farms has made me realize how much I tend to dislike outdoor "visual clutter" in many of its forms. Things I don't like include:
--cell towers, if too frequent or prominent, and of course they are getting more so
--litter, of course.
--large windfarms (as discussed)
--suburban/rural "sprawl" (ditto)
--traffic congestion, especially truck traffic
--actually, in a lot of ways, big cities (which I used to enjoy; my wife can't stand them now, either, and she grew up in New Jersey!)
--large windfarms (as discussed)
--suburban/rural "sprawl" (ditto)
--traffic congestion, especially truck traffic
--actually, in a lot of ways, big cities (which I used to enjoy; my wife can't stand them now, either, and she grew up in New Jersey!)
I'm opposed to the "uglification of America." I am for scenic beauty, and I support good design.
Now, who would think that putting a big billboard like that along a lovely road helps their political cause?
But worse of course are the jungles of billboards near, say, O'Hare airport. Few of these are "informational," unless of course you make your main decisions on what liquor to drink or kind of car to buy while moving along in heavy traffic. Rather, they are ugly and distracting; they make the roads less safe.
In Britain, we saw few such in the countryside. I believe property owners are restricted to a single sign identifying their business: some rule like that.
I don't like "noise pollution" either, perhaps especially horn-honkers: a major gripe! But I think my visual sense is probably stronger.
Relatedly I guess, I like Apple computers. Great interfaces! The term "visual clutter" is often used in relation to interfaces. Designers work hard to reduce it.
Who wants a pilot to have a cockpit where he/she doesn't see the key indicators, can't find the right controls? Where things aren't in their expected place? Where they don't do what they "should?" Where they operate "backwards?"
On The Other Hand--for reasons I can't explain, I don't mind a messy desk. Actually, even more than that, I think that all of the important work, certainly all of the creative work, is done by people with messy desks! In this instance, I am not against "clutter," but for it.
Here's another thing I saw sprouting in the cornfields (in addition to housing developments). Wind farms, they are called.
Some farmers had signs in their lawn protesting, but others obviously have sold land for this purpose. Apparently each windmill takes 1-3 acres. I saw dozens in southern DeKalb County (IL), but none in adjacent Lee County, on the roads I followed.
The company involved is apparently based in Florida. One woman I spoke with said that they would rather have their wind-farms in Wyoming, but there is some problem apparently with transmission over that great a distance. (Which doesn't sound right to me, but that is what she said).
In principle, wind power (and solar power) sound ecologically fine. In practice, it sure is ugly! But, when it is on a ridge line in the eastern mountains, and visible in every direction for many miles, it is even worse!
And in some places there have been problems from killing birds.
On the other hand, I guess farmers are having trouble making a living with crops alone.
I do wish our new house had a solar panel on the roof. Really, I think it should be required.
But on the other hand, I am glad there are no wind turbines nearby. Having a high former landfill is bad enough! And traffic, traffic is pretty bad, too.
