The changing face of Iowa: wind turbines

It’s windy in Iowa. (I didn’t have to tell you, did I?)

It’s hard to miss Iowa’s new wind turbines. They continue to spring up in Western Iowa along Interstate 80 in areas including one called Windy Hills. The turbines are on both sides of I-80 in Adair , Cass , and Pottawattamie Counties. 

Today we find that Mid-American Energy has over 100 turbines in Pottawatamie County alone where many of the pictures above were taken at the Walnut Wind Project.

Money is blowing in the wind.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists each turbine will net the landowner $2,000 -5,000/year in royalties. That’s great news in counties where the average farm is near 440 acres and the crop value per harvested acre has been running between $205 – 225/acre.

How are we doing in terms of absolute capacity compared to the rest of the country? We’re doing well; currently we are even with California in absolute capacity. DOE puts us 3rd in the nation; citing Dirk Lammers Yahoo says 2nd, where Texas is first. 

•  Iowa has 2862 MW of capacity (with our population of 3 million that’s about 1 kW/person)
• California has 2868 MW with their population of 36 million
• In Iowa we’re producing 10% of the nation’s wind power. I’m impressed!

Resources for further information

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (US DOE)
• energy matters (Australia)
• Wind Power A to Z
• You Tube videos on wind energy

photos by James G. Lindberg

Obama: Starting quietly in Iowa

It started pretty quietly.

There were hundreds of early, up-close-and-personal chances to meet Barack Obama including

• a house party in Ida Grove
• a meet-the-candidate session at the VFW Post 5240 in Dakota City
• a visit with diners at the Maid-Rite restaurant in Newton
• a box lunch for about 100 at the Des Moines Public Library

You can see a list of most of the events, but it doesn’t include the box lunch at the Library – Friday, May 11, 2007. Organizers had trouble getting enough people to fill the room. But there were many more events in Des Moines. In July Obama and his family were back in Des Moines for a 4th of July picnic at Beaverdale Park. More people were there, maybe 400, but Iowans were still able to shake hands and speak to Barack and Michelle Obama face to face. At the end of July he was in Union Park and numbers were greater, perhaps 500. In early October at the Convention Center there were over 1,000, and the chances of speaking personally were less. By November at the Jefferson Jackson banquet, his team of organizers stuffed plenty of vocal, passionate people into Vets Auditorium; by that time I felt that Obama would win the Democratic caucuses. By December when Oprah came, 18,000 came to Hy-Vee Hall even without a free lunch. The rallies were getting big and loud. Leading up to the caucuses there were many more Iowa events including some in Des Moines: Scottish Rite Temple; Roosevelt High School. Iowans did their homework; we knew him well. Then came the Iowa caucuses, he won, and it got quiet in Iowa again.

In the two years that Barack Obama visited and campaigned here, he took us seriously; we took him seriously. He left a lot of himself in Iowa; he took some of Iowa with him. He got a fair hearing and a favorable reception among Iowa Democrats, and the door to the nomination was a little more open.

And when it was clear that he was going to secure the nomination, on May 20, 2008 he came back to say thanks.

Couldn’t we claim that he is just a little bit Iowan? I know he was born in Hawaii, but I’d like to think of him as a Hawaii-owan. How about you?

Just vote!

The voting booths are ready, the poll workers in place.

The ballots are printed.

You have heard and studied the positions on each issue.

Now the nation and the world are waiting for your best judgment.

-

OK, then.

Just vote.

photo by flicker by momboleum

Acceptance comes with age

I’ve been traveling a bit lately, and I was talking by phone to a North Dakota boy Tuesday. Here are the three sentences that this good Republican named Stan had to say about the prospect of the election of Barack Obama:

First,

• “It looks like the young guy is going to win.”

He followed that with,

• “Well, that’s all right.”

And ended by saying,

• “We’ll just give him a chance and see what he can do.”

Acceptance comes with age.

Stan is in his late 80s and he has lived a lot of American history, gained a lot from living in America, and given a lot back. He has known

• hard work on a Great Plains farm
• the Great Depression
• service in WWII as a technical trainer at Chanute Air Base
• marriage
• a long career as a government accountant and his wife as a teacher
• a modest income and sound judgment in how it was spent
• homes (one at a time, not multiple homes)
• retirement in Arizona and
• declining health

Now in his sunset years he and his wife were having difficulty keeping up with the physical demands of their home, so they moved into an assisted living facility, and they put their house in Arizona on the market. You guessed it. A full year later their house is still on the market with little hope for a sale. There is no bailout in sight for these loyal Americans – veterans of the Great Depression and World War II. Why haven’t we heard these Americans mentioned by John McCain in the same sentence as Joe the Plumber? Why we haven’t heard them mentioned by Sarah Palin in the same sentence as the parts of the country she calls pro-America? Couldn’t those “maverick” Republicans at least refer in passing to the aging Americans who have started with nothing and are seeing 60 years of hard work and careful living disappear either slowly or quickly? To add insult to neglect, if McCain were elected these uncomplaining, aging, loyal Americans would be saddled with McCain’s proposed cuts to Medicare.

Celebrate, Stan. It looks like the young guy is going to win.

photo by flickr by rileyroxx

Maybe it’s age, maybe not

I have been surprised by the new John McCain. In my view he has changed in appearance and in character. During the 2000 Presidential primaries, he seemed to possess somewhat higher standards of behavior than he does eight years later.

• His statement, “I’m John McCain, and I approve this message” has become a euphemism for distortion and a focus for comedy.
• Not too long ago McCain thought that his “little white lie” to David Letterman about rushing back to Washington was somehow not significant or would never be exposed. Guess again. It was exposed quickly. Watch and listen to Keith Olbermann.
• Now we learn that McCain’s campaign will turn completely negative in a desperate attempt at election. If my TV had a stomach, it would need an airsick bag.
• I am not alone in having lost the respect I once had for John McCain. Arianna Huffington calls McCain’s fall Shakespearean.

At one point near the end of the first Presidential debate while a dignified Barack Obama tried vainly to make a statement, John McCain repeatedly interrupted his attempts by speaking, pausing, starting again, pausing – effectively stifling Barack Obama’s attempt to speak. It must have been a pretty important comment or McCain would not have suspended civility to prevent Obama from being heard. Was that rudeness or was it the inability to engage in dialogue? Imagine your President meeting with advisers during a crisis. At such a time not everyone will agree. Would you want a President who cannot engage views other than his own? Would you want a President who would try to intimidate those with conflicting views? Would you want the most powerful person on the planet to start interrupting and speaking over anyone who would offer another point of view?

I have more respect for Barack Obama who has the ability to look someone in the eye, hear what is being said, engage the thought without violence, and to respond appropriately.

photo by flickr by Chesi – Fotos CC