Harrisville and Wind
Boyd said:
I just don't know how practical it is to do that on a small scale. I remember about 30 years ago when I moved to upstate NY. Windmills were very popular then and I saw a bunch of them sprouting on private properties. I think there were some tax incentives which made this popular at the time. I was very interested in it myself, and did a lot of research, even going so far as playing around with designs for "do it yourself" windmills.
As the years passed, interest waned when they didn't really deliver the kind of savings people expected, not to mention maintenance issues. Maybe the scales have tipped enough now to make it viable though?
BTW.... why are we discussing windmills and artesian wells in the "Harrisville Ruins" thread in the photography forum
Boyd,
Last questions first. I am interested in Harrisville: How long it was active, "viable," etc. My father took me there many, many years ago, but I don't remember much from the visit. Some of the people I've interviewed mentioned the site in connexion with the artesian well --- and how it "intrigued" them, and how it attracted their attention as youngsters. I read Father Beck's account of the well, but could not "picture" it in my mind. Because of my disability, I don't "get around" much, and when I do, the places/people I visit are very important to me/my research. Harrisville is not on my "short list." However, many of you have visited the place. Guy has "Then and Now" photos of the well, and through the kindnesses of the list members, I, too, have had the opportunity of revisiting Harrisville.
I think differently than most people: Part of it has come from many years of training... When I "approach" a subject (or a problem) mentally, I view it in "3--D." It's somewhat like looking at a cut diamond from the back end: The pointy, back end represents the ("original")subject or the problem, and the cut facets on the front end represent connexions to various "areas" that relate in some way to the subject, or the problem... Some of the facets are rather tenuous, and their connection to the subject or the problem may only seem "obvious" to me,
i.e. they require some explanation...
Artesian Wells interest me: always have.
Artesian wells run constantly: 24/7/365; and some of them have done so for a century or more. We are talking about fresh, potable, water: Water that is flowing out, "unchecked" and virtually unused from our underground acquifers.
Rampant overdevelopment of the region, coupled with draughts, possibly caused by climate changes attributable to pollution and deforestation further threaten our water supply. In the 1950s the "pressure head" of the Cohansey Kirkman acquifer, measured offshore, where it emptied into the ocean, was purported to be in excess of 50 feet. Today, we are experiencing a "negative pressure head," caused by severe drawdown, which has allowed salt water to intrude into our acquifers. The problem is so severe that some drinking water wells in Cape May have been closed, and desalination (reverse osmosis) plant(s) have been erected! As a result, the price of fresh water has increased dramatically, and it may exceed the price of fuel, if something is not done soon!
I inquired if list members knew of other artesian wells. I inquired about the water quality, the depth of the wells, the rate of flow, and the "fate" of the flow. If the running water flows immediately into the bay, or into a fast--moving stream or river, it is not being "economically" utilized. However, if it flows into a pond, or into a slow--moving, or winding stream, it has a greater chance of being absorbed into the soil, and may ultimately help to recharge its "acquifer of origin."
Man has the "curious" perception that things that are "put out of sight" are of little or no concern to him. Correction: They most definitely are! Treated wastewater effluent, which contains salts, heavy metal ions, virus particles, spores and dangerous "non--digested" organic molecules of all sorts, is summarily "disposed of" in the nearest stream or estuary. This is not good: It has a negative impact on the flora and fauna. Furthermore, the millions and millions of gallons of water that have been removed from our acquifers has become "sullied" with pollution and, as such should not be used to recharge our water supply --- unless we institute tertiary wastewater treatment, especially (and particularly) reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis requires a lot of energy. Furthermore, the waste stream from the reverse osmosis process will require "energy intensive handling and inactivation." In addition, if water obtained from reverse osmosis plants is to be used to recharge our acquifers, energy will be required to pump the treated water into The Pines where it will be able to absorbed by the environment...
Huntington Beach, California, is considering building a reverse osmosis plant to satisfy the burgeoning need for fresh water. The proposal is highly contentious, and the issue of energy resources is part of the debate.
If we consider building a reverse osmosis plant, we, too, may well enter into the same debate. Electric energy derived from traditional power plants, or from nuclear power plants is not "clean energy." Power plant owners are hesitant to upgrade their plants to remove pollutants.
Wind energy is an alternate source of energy. It has its own "problems," but some of them may be "small" in comparison, if we were permitted to erect small, delocalised "wind farms" in "The Pines"...
Some people are interested in erecting wind generators on their properties. Again, there are "issues" with this desire. However, maintenance issues notwithstanding, the generated energy could impact our environment in a positive way...
I have been very interested in wind generators for more than four decades. It was perhaps in the mid--60's that I first read about "home grown" wind generators in
Mother Earth News. They seemed to be too "clunky" then, and I was dubious with regard to their efficiency. Whether or not today's "crop" of wind generators are economically feasible is well outside of my knowledge base. However, from recent reports, especially with regard to the recent increases in energy of all sorts, wind energy may well become/or may already have become an economic and environmentally safe alternative energy source.
Interested in your own, personal "wind generator"?...
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=257512
ebsi