The Virgin, the Dynamo and the Darkness
When Henry Adams traveled to Paris for the Great Exposition in 1900, he had an epiphany about the century that was just dawning. Walking into a room of electricity-generating dynamos, he realized that...
View ArticleMorning Read: Is it possible to silence a wind farm?
One of the big debates over wind farms and their development in small North Country towns is noise. Now the St. Lawrence county community of Morristown is considering strict new standards for limiting...
View ArticleMorning Read: Wind farm impact on property values debated
The Watertown Daily Times is reporting that a Chicago-based appraiser finds that a new wind farm planned near Cape Vincent could cause some homeowners to see their property values drop by as much as...
View ArticleMorning Read: More wind power control shifts to Albany
The Watertown Daily Times is reporting that Governor Cuomo has signed legislation that gives more authority to Albany, and less control to local communities where big wind farms are being considered....
View ArticleMorning Read: North Country municipal power project dissolves into name calling
The Watertown Daily Times is reporting this morning that plans to develop a municipal power system for 24 North Country towns is “dead in the water” and accusations are flying. The project was designed...
View ArticleCanadian official says wind turbines too loud
A memo written last year by a senior environmental official with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment says that wind turbines are permitted to produce too much noise. The Ottawa Citizen reports that...
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Morning Read: Cape Vincent election favors anti-wind candidates
The Watertown Daily Times is reporting that a slate of wind farm opponents fared well in this month’s town supervisor race, with Urban Hirschey defeating pro-wind candidate Harvey White by a more than...
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Could energy be the North Country’s next big thing?
The last couple of weeks, I’ve listened in as Tony Collins, head of Clarkson University and co-chair of the North Country Regional Economic Development Council has talked up the opportunities of a sort...
View ArticleHealth Canada drafting national guidelines for wind turbines
Clean, renewable power from abundant natural sources. Remember when that seemed like something that just required harvesting? Lately wind power can’t shake persistent debate. In Canada, critics charge...
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Are you comfortable using Canadian energy?
If you live in the Northeast, there’s a good chance that at least some of the time your life is running on Canadian electricity. Canada also provides a growing chunk of American petroleum imports —...
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A twist of colored glass, a North Country river, a hard, fascinating life
It’s strange where life takes you. Matt Foley, who I profiled today, runs a couple of hydro-power dams in the Adirondacks, in Wadhams in Essex County and St. Regis Falls in Franklin County. He got his...
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Morning Read: Snail power!
Who needs hydro dams and nuclear power plants! Pah on those hydrofracking projects! I say snails are the power source of the future. Okay – actually this is serious stuff, an effort by Clarkson...
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Rethinking the pros and cons of government regulation
At the Department of Regulatory Agencies in Denver. Photo: Jeffrey Beall via Flickr, Some rights reserved. Most of us who have lived in New York state — let alone the Adirondack Park — knows what it’s...
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Are you on board with alternative, local energy?
This week, we’ve been kicking the tires on the regional push for more locally produced, renewable energy. This idea lies at the heart of a vision for the North Country’s economic future shared by many...
View ArticleBattle over Canadian hydro power embroils NY politicians
A big fight is brewing over plans by the Canadian firm TDI to build a $2 billion power line that would feed low-cost, low-carbon hydro electricity from Quebec to consumers in New York City. The project...
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Breaking: Cuomo says NY will miss fracking deadline
Fracking pipes. Photo: Emma Jacobs Governor Andrew Cuomo today confirmed that New York will miss the November 29th deadline to finish its health review on hydro-fracking. Speaking on 1300-AM, WGDJ...
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Environmentalists send mixed message on energy
Fracking pipes. Photo: Emma Jacobs One of the defining debates of our time is the painful intersection between energy, the economy, and the environment. The good news is that it turns out our planet...
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Energy from “flammable ice” raises hopes and fears
“Flammable ice”–a burning methane hydrate chunk. Photo: US Geological Survey The search for energy resources continues hot and heavy. Because – like it or not – those who live in the developed world...
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