This weekend, I touched base with a friend of mine who noticed my pictures of Nevada. She asked me why I left certain places out that were worth seeing, in her opinion, and so I asked what sites she referred to. Keep in mind, this girl grew up here, whereas I did not, and so she actually hasn't been to them in many years.
Nevada Senator Harry Reid proudly attaches himself to geothermal power. His blind fascination with this type of electric power at the exclusion of all else is responsible for the lack of pictures from a few of the sites I really wanted to visit in my travels. Since he's not telling you the whole truth about the projects (probably because he doesn't really know the truth), it's time you knew.
The problems with geothermal energy are legion. Geothermal energy is obtained one of two ways:
Nevada Senator Harry Reid proudly attaches himself to geothermal power. His blind fascination with this type of electric power at the exclusion of all else is responsible for the lack of pictures from a few of the sites I really wanted to visit in my travels. Since he's not telling you the whole truth about the projects (probably because he doesn't really know the truth), it's time you knew.
The problems with geothermal energy are legion. Geothermal energy is obtained one of two ways:
- Cap off a natural vent where the magma beneath the crust comes close enough to the surface to heat groundwater to a boil (i.e. where a volcano might form)
- Drill down into the earth and tap the heated aquifer beneath the surface
Either way, I do not see how either one of those is really a good idea. If you cut holes into the earth in order to tap geothermal energy, how is that better than mining for coal? If you cap off the geysers, how will that affect Pressure and Temperature balance (think what would happen if Yellowstone exploded)?
The other problem with geothermal power that puts it on par with all of the so-called dirty means of power generation is that it involves vented gas. A superheated gas, or even supercritical fluid in some cases, comes with high energy rates and unpredictable kinetics. These heated gases escape into the atmosphere along typical convection currents, and since they're heated beyond the 98F at which our respiratory exhaust leaves our body, the rate of effusion into the atmosphere is higher than our basal metabolic rate, or even that of an internal combustion engine (mine operates near 220F whereas the geysers are much hotter). Plus, these geothermal vents usually include other, less palatable gases like sulfides and sulfates (think how Yellowstone smells when you visit, phew). These are the same pollutant compounds that are allegedly bad in coal.
Finally, and perhaps most dastardly, the geothermal craze renders the landscape no longer beautiful. Take for example:
Beowawe, NV
Nightinggale, NV
Tracy-Clark, NV
NGP: a drilling initiative ("My God man. Drilling holes in his head isn't the answer..." --Leonard McCoy Star Trek IV)
Steamboat near Reno, NV
Dixie Valley, NV
Or the list of NV projects under Nevada Power in summary
Point being, these used to be places people went to see things. I will try to remember to post pictures of what I was able to screen out of these places, but you have to ignore the glaringly ugly buildings that capped what was worth seeing there and have caused other problems.
I used to work at the Tracy-Clark/USA Parkway exit on I-80, and the road ices over with fog from the exhaust from the power plant. The water near the plant is so hot that no fish live hear it. It's a hazard, not in and of itself, but because we stepped in and messed with it.
Basically, Geothermal power is not a panacea. Not that oil is, but there's a really good reason we don't still use steam engines.
The other problem with geothermal power that puts it on par with all of the so-called dirty means of power generation is that it involves vented gas. A superheated gas, or even supercritical fluid in some cases, comes with high energy rates and unpredictable kinetics. These heated gases escape into the atmosphere along typical convection currents, and since they're heated beyond the 98F at which our respiratory exhaust leaves our body, the rate of effusion into the atmosphere is higher than our basal metabolic rate, or even that of an internal combustion engine (mine operates near 220F whereas the geysers are much hotter). Plus, these geothermal vents usually include other, less palatable gases like sulfides and sulfates (think how Yellowstone smells when you visit, phew). These are the same pollutant compounds that are allegedly bad in coal.
Finally, and perhaps most dastardly, the geothermal craze renders the landscape no longer beautiful. Take for example:
Beowawe, NV
Nightinggale, NV
Tracy-Clark, NV
NGP: a drilling initiative ("My God man. Drilling holes in his head isn't the answer..." --Leonard McCoy Star Trek IV)
Steamboat near Reno, NV
Dixie Valley, NV
Or the list of NV projects under Nevada Power in summary
Point being, these used to be places people went to see things. I will try to remember to post pictures of what I was able to screen out of these places, but you have to ignore the glaringly ugly buildings that capped what was worth seeing there and have caused other problems.
I used to work at the Tracy-Clark/USA Parkway exit on I-80, and the road ices over with fog from the exhaust from the power plant. The water near the plant is so hot that no fish live hear it. It's a hazard, not in and of itself, but because we stepped in and messed with it.
Basically, Geothermal power is not a panacea. Not that oil is, but there's a really good reason we don't still use steam engines.
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