JAPAN IS STRUGGLING to deal with the after effects of the earthquake, the disastrous subsequent tsunami, and the ongoing battle to regain control of the nuclear power generation plant damaged by the earthquake. I am in constant admiration of the resilience of the the Japanese people and feel the dread of what this triplet of disasters may mean for the long-term well being of that beleaguered nation, already battling with a weak economy.
An incidental worldwide outcome is the renewed debate on the role of nuclear power generation. On the one side is the rising clamor of the 'told you so' folk telling us this course is fraught with evil consequences for the human race. They point to the Three Mile Island Incident (TMI), Chernobyl (undoubtedly a huge disaster), and all the nuclear waste lying about that we seem not to know what to do with. On the other side are the folk who think that nuclear power generation may be the true hope of mankind in world that is being smothered in greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels and who are increasingly dismayed at the turn this debate might take, given the difficulties presently experienced by the Japanese operators.
We humans are notably and curiously influenced by short lived disasters while continuing to be impervious to much worse prolonged conditions. We are shocked at the sudden death of hundreds in an airline crash (although we relatively rarely ride in aeroplanes) but happily drive around in motorcars despite the 42,000 or so (USA) motor fatalities per year. We are dismayed by reports of a dozen deaths from food poisoning but seen not to mind in the least eating 'fast foods' that form the basis of an epidemic of obesity and associated disease such as diabetes and which result in millions suffering premature death. We shudder at the risks being taken by those brave Japanese workers who are endeavoring to avert the release of radioactive materials into the atmosphere but easily forget deaths of hundreds of coal miners, the land degradation caused by mining coal, the thousands who suffer disease and die prematurely arising from emissions due to coal-powered generation of electricity. We like cheap power but seldom think about the attendant human costs.
All forms of generating electrical power have inherent risks. We learn from reviews of these disasters that cost cutting relating to safety in design and maintenance, in pursuit of maximizing profit or even just staying in business, can be more the cause of suffering and loss than inherent risk. Likewise, failure of the regulating authority also bears on this. Whistle blowers who draw attention to danger are most usually ignored and often ostracized.
I was an anti-nuclear power flag waver until I read what Dr. James Hansen has to say about the possible future role of nuclear power as the next generation of reactors become available. Sometimes called 'fast breeder' reactors, these are seen to be fail-safe in that they switch themselves off instead of allowing a runaway path to melt down. They are likely to be 99% efficient in using nuclear fuel (vs. 1% for present reactors) and to be able to 'burn' a wide range of fuels, including much of the current stockpile of nuclear wastes. These latter represent a power resource that may last 10,000 years. Anxiety in the US about nuclear power peaked after TMI, the film 'The China Syndrome' (a story about a disastrous meltdown at a nuclear power plan and a widely popular film) had been released only 12 days before. Long term reaction to these two events eventually influenced President Clinton to withdraw proposals to proceed with Generation Four reactor development.
So what to say about all this? We have coal reserves for perhaps 200 years, natural gas for maybe 20 years. Oil will become more difficult to mine, bio fuels tend to compete with food production (not an especially good thing in an increasingly hungry world) and the cost of energy, the fundamental basis of our economies, will likely rise very quickly over the next decade. Probably it is too late to avoid by any action the less severe effects of global warming due to energy production and it is difficult to estimate the onset of more serious effects. It seems to me that most climate scientists have given up on chances of effective action by humans to avert these consequences. I suppose that, driven by the rising cost of energy, increasing difficulty of meeting increasing demand, and enhanced awareness of the human costs associated with burning stuff to get energy, we may be forced to consider the nuclear alternative.
In the meantime, I doff my hat toward those brave few who seek to contain an impending disaster in Japan and hope that this will support a more reasoned approach to the problems of generating sufficient power and the role of nuclear power and along with geothermal approaches. And even if they fail.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
NOT A GREAT WEEK FOR THE WORLD
EVERYONE HAS FOCUSED ON THE 'QUAKE IN JAPAN. It will be perhaps years until we know the full extent of this disaster, possibly many thousands of lives lost. It is hard to imagine that almost half a million folk have been evacuated from one region. We watch the news with bated breath, wondering if possible melt down of nuclear reactors will have been contained.
A week of rain here in BC, producing some flooding, seems inconsequential by comparison.
Despite this horrendous news and the continual rain, the mundane here has been quite bearable. My trip from Glacier National Park, via Spokane and Seattle, went well with even more marvelous scenery. I managed to find what once was a favorite coffee shop, when I made the trip from Eastern Washington to Seattle fairly often, for a latte and pastry. I did take a turn off too early by faithful TomTom, having regard to the needs of my tum-tum, quickly got me back on track. Wow, only 200 miles to go!
I am staying with my good friend Brian, once a student of mine, then a colleague in the field of mental health services, then a house companion, and finally now a leader in the reform of services for disabled folk. I arrived in good time to keep a date to watch his daughter Vanessa ride her horse in a barrel racing event, then to watch the High School production celebrating the life and work of Irving Berlin (a wonderful review of his life involving acting, song, and great young talent) in which his other daughter, Katrina sang a part (very well, despite a cold).
Today, watching Katrina in a very different role...participating in Autocross. She is one hot driver! The course was covered in water up to three inches deep in places. I hitched a ride with two drivers and got four wild rides around the course. What fun!
I am spending some of each day studying a book related to my 'perfect cabin' project, Green From The Ground Up, A Builder's Guide (by David Johnston and Scott Gibson). There is a lot to understand and know about in the design of this project. This is an excellent book and lays out the building of a house as a system. I have two or three more books on order though which to wade yet. I have in mind a block of land and find it difficult to wait until I can get to tramp about it and to see if it is indeed still on sale. Meanwhile, miles to travel, friends to greet, and promises to keep.
A week of rain here in BC, producing some flooding, seems inconsequential by comparison.
Despite this horrendous news and the continual rain, the mundane here has been quite bearable. My trip from Glacier National Park, via Spokane and Seattle, went well with even more marvelous scenery. I managed to find what once was a favorite coffee shop, when I made the trip from Eastern Washington to Seattle fairly often, for a latte and pastry. I did take a turn off too early by faithful TomTom, having regard to the needs of my tum-tum, quickly got me back on track. Wow, only 200 miles to go!
I am staying with my good friend Brian, once a student of mine, then a colleague in the field of mental health services, then a house companion, and finally now a leader in the reform of services for disabled folk. I arrived in good time to keep a date to watch his daughter Vanessa ride her horse in a barrel racing event, then to watch the High School production celebrating the life and work of Irving Berlin (a wonderful review of his life involving acting, song, and great young talent) in which his other daughter, Katrina sang a part (very well, despite a cold).
Today, watching Katrina in a very different role...participating in Autocross. She is one hot driver! The course was covered in water up to three inches deep in places. I hitched a ride with two drivers and got four wild rides around the course. What fun!
I am spending some of each day studying a book related to my 'perfect cabin' project, Green From The Ground Up, A Builder's Guide (by David Johnston and Scott Gibson). There is a lot to understand and know about in the design of this project. This is an excellent book and lays out the building of a house as a system. I have two or three more books on order though which to wade yet. I have in mind a block of land and find it difficult to wait until I can get to tramp about it and to see if it is indeed still on sale. Meanwhile, miles to travel, friends to greet, and promises to keep.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
WELL, HERE YOU SEE two views of the Park. At this time of the year, while the Park is huge (shared between the US and Canada) there is not a lot one can get close to. Even in the warmest season. there really is only one road through the park but, just now, this was only plowed for seven miles or so.I was clambering down to take a photo when one of two nice folk out for a walk in the snow near the Park Office offered to take one for me, so you can see I really was there today. In the middle ground is the lake along the East side of which runs the road. Some miles along the way, I was able to clamber down to the lake shore to get the next picture. I had to sit on some very cold, dry snow to get
my footing at one point. Later I was able to warm my posterior before a fire but the old rear end did get a bit chill. So the time in the Park was short but the scenery endlessly and awesomely beautiful.Thus was the beginning of as perfect a day as one might wish. I was starting to feel somewhat cold, despite the heat in the car, and began to think of a spot of lunch back at the Belton Chalet just outside the West entrance to the Park. This proved to be a good idea as a warming fire burned a cheering welcome in the bar. This, along with excellent coffee, a pint of the local stout, and a bowl of buffalo chillie soup made with black beans, warmed my body and soul. The good folk at the Chalet told me of a ski center just down the road so off I went to find some skiing.
Eight kilometers of groomed trails set on the side of some hills awaited me and I had great fun for an hour or so, meeting some nice folks along the trails, as one is wont to do amongst the XC skiing crowd. 'Crowd' is overstating it; I virtually had the trails to myself most of the time. I was making great progress on seeing the park and getting in some skiing as well.
Toward Kalispell, I intended to get the car all gassed up for the final 650 miles to Fort Langley on the morrow and also the have the road grime washed off the hard working Altima. Seeing a gas station offering gas at $3.08 per gallon, the lowest price I had seen, I drove right in. The pump asked me did I want a receipt and did I want a car wash? So the two got done at the same place. Sometimes it all just works out without any effort.
After a well presented steak at Applebee's and a tall Sam Adams Pilsener, I replaced the headlamp bulbs (one was out), then headed back to the motel. Another hot bath (Oh Bliss) the day was done except for packing the car and this posting.
Just about a perfect day.
I hope you all had a great Sunday also.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
DAY ONE: BASALT TO BILLINGS
Is about 650 miles or twelve hours driving if you drive for economy and keep under the speed limit. The car had quite a bit of sticky, semi-frozen snow all over it first thing in the morning which took a bit of cleaning off. The route was basically Basalt to Rifle (done in slight blowing snow) and from there, if one might be pardoned the phrase, one shoots straight up northwards climbing to the high, semi-desert plains from the Colorado River. The scenery, all covered with a coat of fresh snow, is spectacular, driving along narrow country roads with steep hills rearing up on both sides until one gains the plateau of the western divide. At this time of the year, watch out for wild life, deer and elk, at the side of the road. Scavenger birds (crows, turkey vultures, and even the occasional eagle) at the roadside attend the remains of unfortunate beasts struck by cars. “Don’t stop for them or swerve,” advised the man at the store where I bought coffee, “better to just hit them rather than skidding out of control on the icy snow.” Luckily, although I caught sight of a herd of elk away off in a field, I suffered no such chance encounters.
From Colorado it is basically up the middle of Wyoming, crisscrossing the Great Divide variously at 6,500 to 7,250 feet of elevation at the edge of the Great Plains, the prairie stretching away to the East until the wide Mississippi and bounded by the Missouri to the North. At the high points, the western half of the road is covered with blown snow. The outside temperature is about 34 deg F making for slippery driving conditions. There are lots of historic points to notice, including the westward trail leading across the Rockies. About here the guides to the pioneers on the Oregon Trail began to look for Beacon Rock to the West of this road, signifying the end of the prairie and the beginning of the hazardous crossing of the Rockies to be accomplished before the onset of Winter. Those faithful readers of this Blog may recall, some four years back, that I stopped a little West of Beacon Rock, shivering in the wind and rain, making my way down from the Great Tetons and Yellowstone National Park toward Basalt. I gave their memory a moment, wondering at the courage and fortitude of those early pioneers who had walked all the way from the East, with their wagons and cattle.
Crossing over into Montana, soon there is the National Memorial Park commemorating the Battle of the Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last Stand. One also crosses Sandy Creek alongside of which is the place where Custer’s men massacred an entire village of women and children thereby evoking the revenge they suffered a few days later at Little Big Horn.
This is vast, empty country marked by rolling hills and sudden outcrops of rocky crags, beautiful but also unforgiving and deadly. It is so far from Washington that one wonders how an army might be controlled at such an immense distance. Its stark, unending emptiness reminds me of driving through the Australian interior, mile after mile and hardly another car to be seen. This is now the second time that I have driven through this country around the end of Winter. As with the first time, I am lucky as the weather is mainly fine. The snow can be really bad up here and most roads have gates that are closed when bad conditions obtain and notices to warn that one must return to the nearest town and of heavy fines for the foolish who venture on.
I have my trusty GPS mounted high on the windscreen, just to the left of the rear vision mirror, so the route is clear. Entering into Billings, however, once the sun has set and darkness asserts, it becomes a little like an instrument approach into a strange airport. I faithfully follow its direction and arrive at my motel without error. Nearby a friendly barmaid provides two beers, chicken wings, and cheering company for just $12.50!
And so to this story and now to bed.
DAY TWO: BILLINGS TO KALISPELL
Only one thing is more boring than this posting…driving West along I90 between Billings and Missoula!
My GPS showed 122 miles to my next turn off as I persevered along mainly straight thoroughfare.
THEN…my TomTom spoke to me. ‘Dong, Dong!!’ it said. Immediately my eyes flew to the gadget. It was displaying a remarkable message, ‘I have just discovered a route that is eleven (11) minutes shorter. Do you want to change your route? YES NO’
Of course, I pressed the YES button. Wonder of wonders, now it showed I only had 47 miles to go to my next ‘turn off’. Now I am definitely ‘turned on’ by my TomTom which took me off on rural roads passing though wonderfully beautiful country and to a pleasant conversation with the operator of a gas station with a huge plastic cow out front. Example of local directions, ‘Just take a left at The Cow’. Like many Montanans, she had lived a long time somewhere else, Oregon in her case; she sold me coffee and muffin for $2!!
A word of advise, Trust your TomTom
Is about 650 miles or twelve hours driving if you drive for economy and keep under the speed limit. The car had quite a bit of sticky, semi-frozen snow all over it first thing in the morning which took a bit of cleaning off. The route was basically Basalt to Rifle (done in slight blowing snow) and from there, if one might be pardoned the phrase, one shoots straight up northwards climbing to the high, semi-desert plains from the Colorado River. The scenery, all covered with a coat of fresh snow, is spectacular, driving along narrow country roads with steep hills rearing up on both sides until one gains the plateau of the western divide. At this time of the year, watch out for wild life, deer and elk, at the side of the road. Scavenger birds (crows, turkey vultures, and even the occasional eagle) at the roadside attend the remains of unfortunate beasts struck by cars. “Don’t stop for them or swerve,” advised the man at the store where I bought coffee, “better to just hit them rather than skidding out of control on the icy snow.” Luckily, although I caught sight of a herd of elk away off in a field, I suffered no such chance encounters.
From Colorado it is basically up the middle of Wyoming, crisscrossing the Great Divide variously at 6,500 to 7,250 feet of elevation at the edge of the Great Plains, the prairie stretching away to the East until the wide Mississippi and bounded by the Missouri to the North. At the high points, the western half of the road is covered with blown snow. The outside temperature is about 34 deg F making for slippery driving conditions. There are lots of historic points to notice, including the westward trail leading across the Rockies. About here the guides to the pioneers on the Oregon Trail began to look for Beacon Rock to the West of this road, signifying the end of the prairie and the beginning of the hazardous crossing of the Rockies to be accomplished before the onset of Winter. Those faithful readers of this Blog may recall, some four years back, that I stopped a little West of Beacon Rock, shivering in the wind and rain, making my way down from the Great Tetons and Yellowstone National Park toward Basalt. I gave their memory a moment, wondering at the courage and fortitude of those early pioneers who had walked all the way from the East, with their wagons and cattle.
Crossing over into Montana, soon there is the National Memorial Park commemorating the Battle of the Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last Stand. One also crosses Sandy Creek alongside of which is the place where Custer’s men massacred an entire village of women and children thereby evoking the revenge they suffered a few days later at Little Big Horn.
This is vast, empty country marked by rolling hills and sudden outcrops of rocky crags, beautiful but also unforgiving and deadly. It is so far from Washington that one wonders how an army might be controlled at such an immense distance. Its stark, unending emptiness reminds me of driving through the Australian interior, mile after mile and hardly another car to be seen. This is now the second time that I have driven through this country around the end of Winter. As with the first time, I am lucky as the weather is mainly fine. The snow can be really bad up here and most roads have gates that are closed when bad conditions obtain and notices to warn that one must return to the nearest town and of heavy fines for the foolish who venture on.
I have my trusty GPS mounted high on the windscreen, just to the left of the rear vision mirror, so the route is clear. Entering into Billings, however, once the sun has set and darkness asserts, it becomes a little like an instrument approach into a strange airport. I faithfully follow its direction and arrive at my motel without error. Nearby a friendly barmaid provides two beers, chicken wings, and cheering company for just $12.50!
And so to this story and now to bed.
DAY TWO: BILLINGS TO KALISPELL
Only one thing is more boring than this posting…driving West along I90 between Billings and Missoula!
My GPS showed 122 miles to my next turn off as I persevered along mainly straight thoroughfare.
THEN…my TomTom spoke to me. ‘Dong, Dong!!’ it said. Immediately my eyes flew to the gadget. It was displaying a remarkable message, ‘I have just discovered a route that is eleven (11) minutes shorter. Do you want to change your route? YES NO’
Of course, I pressed the YES button. Wonder of wonders, now it showed I only had 47 miles to go to my next ‘turn off’. Now I am definitely ‘turned on’ by my TomTom which took me off on rural roads passing though wonderfully beautiful country and to a pleasant conversation with the operator of a gas station with a huge plastic cow out front. Example of local directions, ‘Just take a left at The Cow’. Like many Montanans, she had lived a long time somewhere else, Oregon in her case; she sold me coffee and muffin for $2!!
A word of advise, Trust your TomTom
Thursday, March 3, 2011
TWELVE DAYS OF BASALT
HARD TO BELIEVE...I have been with my daughter, Bronwyn, and my granddaughter, Stephi, for almost a fortnight (two weeks for US readers).
At the last posting, I had not yet been out to ski. Here we are at 6,500 feet or so and Aspen is another 1000 feet of elevation. I like take three or four days of mild exercise and plenty of sleep to get accustomed to this higher air. Fortunately, I was able to meld my New Year's resolution of taking some exercise before breakfast with the dog's need to start her day with a walk (that is Sheila, Stephi's Aussie kelpie, Queensland blue heeler cross, who is just a bundle of energy). I got four days of skiing around a local golf course and liked it so much that I kept my promise to myself to take a couple of skating lessons (on skis, that is).
In the place of the Pro Shop is an excellent Cross Country (XC) Ski School and shop that conducts a Skate 101 program at noon each day. Monday was my first lesson and I am glad to report that I made very good progress and decided to take a second lesson the next day. Thanks to my two excellent and relentless teachers, I surprised myself no end! Needless to say, the tin knees are getting better every day (In Aussie speak...'You little ripper!').
Tonight (Thursday) I am all packed to set out for Fort Langley, BC. This will be via Billings (Wyoming) and then to Glacier National Park in Montana, just below the Canadian border and East of Idaho. I expect to ski there two days if conditions permit. As the scenery is spectacular (as I am told) expect a couple of photos.
Then it will be on to Spokane, Seattle and, finally, Fort Langley where the British laid claim to the fur trade in the Northwest (competing with the French and the Russians).
I plan to return to Basalt via Seattle and Portland, a round trip of just over 3,100 miles. Wish me luck, please. Here I will continue for about two weeks (fortnight to you Aussie readers, just to balance things out).
This has been a great time. Stephi is just the smartest young woman and a great writer, amongst other things (including skiing); one of her books, 'If You Gave an Elephant a Mini', is just hilarious. Here is a video of Stephi doing her mogul run in the comps at Arapaho Ski Basin. Be well and have fun, each of you reading this posting. Roberto
At the last posting, I had not yet been out to ski. Here we are at 6,500 feet or so and Aspen is another 1000 feet of elevation. I like take three or four days of mild exercise and plenty of sleep to get accustomed to this higher air. Fortunately, I was able to meld my New Year's resolution of taking some exercise before breakfast with the dog's need to start her day with a walk (that is Sheila, Stephi's Aussie kelpie, Queensland blue heeler cross, who is just a bundle of energy). I got four days of skiing around a local golf course and liked it so much that I kept my promise to myself to take a couple of skating lessons (on skis, that is).
In the place of the Pro Shop is an excellent Cross Country (XC) Ski School and shop that conducts a Skate 101 program at noon each day. Monday was my first lesson and I am glad to report that I made very good progress and decided to take a second lesson the next day. Thanks to my two excellent and relentless teachers, I surprised myself no end! Needless to say, the tin knees are getting better every day (In Aussie speak...'You little ripper!').
Tonight (Thursday) I am all packed to set out for Fort Langley, BC. This will be via Billings (Wyoming) and then to Glacier National Park in Montana, just below the Canadian border and East of Idaho. I expect to ski there two days if conditions permit. As the scenery is spectacular (as I am told) expect a couple of photos.
Then it will be on to Spokane, Seattle and, finally, Fort Langley where the British laid claim to the fur trade in the Northwest (competing with the French and the Russians).
I plan to return to Basalt via Seattle and Portland, a round trip of just over 3,100 miles. Wish me luck, please. Here I will continue for about two weeks (fortnight to you Aussie readers, just to balance things out).
This has been a great time. Stephi is just the smartest young woman and a great writer, amongst other things (including skiing); one of her books, 'If You Gave an Elephant a Mini', is just hilarious. Here is a video of Stephi doing her mogul run in the comps at Arapaho Ski Basin. Be well and have fun, each of you reading this posting. Roberto
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