Letter: We've become confused by our smartness
One must wonder if we have gotten so smart that we have become confused by our own smartness.
Take wind farms for electricity: Bigger became better as larger windmills generated more output. Seemed like a very good engineering approach to make them bigger using materials already being used. Yes, it was until the windmills started having blades fall off and turbines fail to turn due to weight and size. Fixing the problems isn’t easy or cost effective as they must replace parts with the same parts that failed. Or leave the windmills down, not generating anything and take the time to rebuild the failed towers. Tell that to the folks who depend on that power source after you shut down alternative sources.
Take transmission capabilities: Power plants were usually close to the areas needing power. Not so with solar and wind sources. There is no magic in the delivery of power across the country as one only has to drive down any highway and see the structures with the transmission lines crisscrossing the landscape. Even the most ardent supporters acknowledge we have a major problem getting alternative power to where people need it with enough to support appliances, air conditioning, heating, lights and yet to be a major user of power, the electric vehicle. Remember the cities had power before rural America was electrified.
Take the idea of blocking the sun: This idea can be compared to an earlier time when scientists thought they could change the weather by intervention and salting of clouds. It proved to be useless as even with the best planning the results were less than effective.
Take the idea of building reefs out of old tires: Sounded like a win-win situation, help the fish and get rid of the old tires. The environmental impact is now being felt as the natural reefs have been damaged, and the fish aren’t moving into the old tires. And now there are thousands of tires to be cleaned up.
How about this for an idea: Leave the electric vehicles in the cities where the 360-mile distance before charge is acceptable. Leave rural America have the choice to keep the gas and diesel vehicles that are capable of being dual purpose personal vehicles and work vehicles. There isn’t an electric truck, an electric tractor or piece of farm equipment needed to feed the country being made that is workable in rural areas.
I have written this before: Save the planet but starve the people. That seems to be idea of many smart people or maybe just like some other bad ideas the consequences weren’t thought out.
Duane Mara, Montgomery
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Letter: We've become confused by our smartness
