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P. Gordon Kennedy
Four Star Member
Age : 20
Joined : 13 Jan 2008
Posts : 535
Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
 |  Subject: Re: Saving Energy  Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:04 pm | |
| | Carol Troestler wrote: | I got up in the night and heard birds chirping, and realized I had left the porch door open. Okay, not so many outside lights on. We really need dryers here. Our clothes would all freeze solid in the winter. There are many solar panels along the highways for lights.
In Wisconsin we have a 100 year old private river management company, not government run, which has done a great job with hydroelectric energy along the whole Wisconsin River system. Of course, since the floods there have been many questions about over-managing the river where more natural flood plains are needed. We live above a hydroelectric dam and the river here is kept at a constant level so there is always water for energy, but that meant all the water that should have stayed here went down and is now flooding the Mississippi.
Carol |
Where I live, virtually all the electricity is generated by hydroelectric dams. The city of Crystal Falls, where I live owns and operates a more than 110 year old dam that still provides about a third of the city's electricity. The city buys the remaining electricity from the Wisconsin Electric Power Company, which uses several dams in the area to generate electricity.
Here's a picture of the Crystal Falls Dam
And here I am in front of one of the floodgates
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P. Gordon Kennedy
Four Star Member
Age : 20
Joined : 13 Jan 2008
Posts : 535
Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:12 pm | |
| | Abe F. March wrote: | Like anyone else, I love that warm feeling of clothes coming out of a hot dryer especially in winter. I also like the softness and fragrance of the clothes from those clothes softners.
Having to place clothes drying racks in my cozy room with the woodstove is an inconvenience, however since the drying cycle is enhanced by the hot oven, it drys overnight. A side benefit is that the wet clothes provides needed moisture in the room.
Yes, I've become old-fashioned. The things I'm doing now was a natural process when I was young. For those much younger, I'm sure the things I'm discussing must sound terribly inconvenient, and some of them are. But in keeping with conservation, I mention these things only as ideas. Practicing conservation also saves money and that is also important - at least to some of us. It is not how much one earns but how much one keeps from what they earn that is important.
I've met many wealthy people and most of them were extremely frugal. I've met many poor people and most of them were spendthrifts. Gorden can work out the math on that. |
If we conserve resources and use resources as efficiently as we can, it'll help bring about a better life for all of us. Conserving energy and resources means spending less money, which means having more money left over to buy things we want (not that we should be extravigantly wasteful). Conserving resources means less demand, which should equate to lower prices if supply remanis constant, but unfortunately, the greedy corporations and cartels would probably cut supply to keep the prices and their profits up.  |
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Carol Troestler
Four Star Member
Joined : 08 Jun 2008
Posts : 354
Location : Wisconsin
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:32 pm | |
| Gordon,
It looks a lot like our dam. Our dam is very old and I went to a fascinating talk on how it was built. What a project back about 100 years ago, having to build a railroad to get the equipment out, and then the whole project being washed away by a flood and having to start over. The whole system brings in a lot of good energy. I hope they have been storing up the latest excess.
There is a small dam on our lake 200 miles north of here connected to the whole system. Many of the dams are now run by computers which can be a scary thought sometimes. There have been many travelers down the Dam Road since the floods began, checking to see the heavily flowing water.
Carol |
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P. Gordon Kennedy
Four Star Member
Age : 20
Joined : 13 Jan 2008
Posts : 535
Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Mon Jun 30, 2008 11:55 pm | |
| Thankfully, our dam is still run by human beings not computers!  |
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Pam
Five Star Member
Age : 42
Joined : 02 Feb 2008
Posts : 1358
Location : Nova Scotia, Canada
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:44 am | |
| Don't think I would have been brave enough to stand in front of the flood gate Gordon...just in case... 
Great thread!
_________________
Pam Robertson 
http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com |
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Carol Troestler
Four Star Member
Joined : 08 Jun 2008
Posts : 354
Location : Wisconsin
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:25 am | |
| There is a big siren that goes off at our dam before they let water out. There are people that come up from Chicago without knowledge of how the whole thing works and camp out on islands and sand bars that disappear when the dam is open. It is a dangerous river down there and one to be taken seriously.
Carol |
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P. Gordon Kennedy
Four Star Member
Age : 20
Joined : 13 Jan 2008
Posts : 535
Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
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zadaconnaway
Five Star Member
Age : 61
Joined : 16 Jan 2008
Posts : 1930
Location : Washington, USA
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:09 am | |
| Mr. Kennedy, you're a wealth of information. And the photos are quite good as well.
We line dry sometimes, but with our weather it is not the best of options. Usually, we end up hanging things over the backs of chairs over night, or using the dryer. The summer months are when we use the line the most.
I remember trying to line dry my daughter's diapers in January down Alabama way. They would freeze to the line, and I would have to iron them to get them completely dry. Of course, our laundry got done in the kitchen sink, then hung out to dry, since we couldn't afford the laundromat. Army pay for the grunts left much to be desired, especially when you had kids and bills.
In Az. it was a snap. One load was dry by the time I could get the next batch wrung out!! Boy, those were the good old days! 
_________________
Zada Connaway
Mother's Journals: parts 1, 2 and 3 ISBN # 1-4241-6969-0
http://www.zadaconnaway.com/ |
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Pam
Five Star Member
Age : 42
Joined : 02 Feb 2008
Posts : 1358
Location : Nova Scotia, Canada
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:47 pm | |
| LOL Zada--I just watched my neighbour hanging diapers and in the humidity today, and can see them getting ironed too!
_________________
Pam Robertson
http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com |
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Carol Troestler
Four Star Member
Joined : 08 Jun 2008
Posts : 354
Location : Wisconsin
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:47 pm | |
| In 1962, when my husband left in a jet loaded with sidewinder missiles with the reality of war looming large, especially on the base where we lived a third of the mile from the runway with the constant drone of planes taking off for 48 hours, I was alone with not quite two-year-old twins and a six-week-old baby. I know, I missed that section of my college bio major classes. Anyway, I had a washer, thank goodness, but not a dryer and diapers from three babies were always being hung to dry. And energy efficient I was. The day before my husband left, his knowing he would as he had been in Key West on the hot pad ready to take off to fight MiGs and had seen the photos of the missiles, we got our Nash Rambler station wagon filled with gas and loaded the pantry and freezer with groceries. When he returned two months later I still had a half a tank of gas in the car. All that will be read someday in my successful Cuba book, along with lots of history, I hope.
Love, Carol |
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P. Gordon Kennedy
Four Star Member
Age : 20
Joined : 13 Jan 2008
Posts : 535
Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Sat Jul 05, 2008 1:20 am | |
| | I'm not sure if most people realize this, but a tremendous amount of energy could be saved if people lowered their thermostats by one or two degrees in the winter and raised them by a couple of degrees in the summer. Also, having a well insulated house can dramatically cut down on your energy useage. In a typical house, as much as 30% of the energy used to heat/cool it escapes due to leaks and/or insufficient insulation. Yet another way to save energy in your home is to get a new furnace if your's is old. Older furnaces can have efficiencies of 70% or less, but new ones can be more than 90% efficient. While you're at it, lowering the tempreture of your water heater a few degrees can also save energy and saving energy saves you money. |
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Abe F. March
Five Star Member
Age : 69
Joined : 26 Jan 2008
Posts : 1229
Location : Germany
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Sat Jul 26, 2008 4:04 pm | |
| Our waterways could be used more to eliminate some of the transport on the highways. Today I was watching an historical narrative about New York State on German TV. The Erie Canal is one of our historic waterways, connecting the great lakes with New York City. In 1817, Gov. Clinton of NY authorized the spending of 7 million dollars for the construction of a canal 363 miles long. By 1882 the tolls were abolished since the canal had already paid for itself. It ceased to function as a major waterway transport in the 1980’s. Road transport was the primary cause.
Re-instating more economical means of transport while helping our environment is available. I would assume that our other waterways could also be used to handle much of the transport.
_________________
"To Beirut and Back"
http://www.freewebs.com/abemarch |
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P. Gordon Kennedy
Four Star Member
Age : 20
Joined : 13 Jan 2008
Posts : 535
Location : Crystal Falls, Michigan
| | Subject: Re: Saving Energy Sat Jul 26, 2008 5:30 pm | |
| | It would take much less energy to transport goods via ship or barge over the nation's waterways than it does to use trucks. Barges and ships can transport much more cargo than trucks and use less fuel to transport a given weight of freight than trucks. Besides, reducing the number of trucks on the road would help reduce traffic congestion. Bring back the barges and ships, it's a good idea and while we're at it, we should bring back the trains too. A train can transport a given amount of freight about 10 times further than a truck on the same amount of fuel. |
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