this article discusses the possible implementation of current tidal power machines, which harvest energy through the movement of tidal flow. the figures in this article look really good, stating that in one instance, that: "Britain could generate up to 20 percent of the electricity needed from waves and tides... ...12000 megawatts per day"
while i always entertain the idea of the hydro-electric harvest as being the much lesser of two evils between that and burning coal, the problem that people always seem to fail to address whenever they suggest that damming a river is a cleaner kind of energy, is how the process effects the ecosystem. this article actually does, address the conflict, but in a way that makes the project's opposition look a little like bad guys.
in a quote from the article, a statement by Ronald F. Smith:
''We had eight fish biologists against it, and no one on the other side advocating for clean air''
this presents one of the biggest paradoxes of alternative energy, without even discussing the topic. the biggest problem here, is when special interest groups of the left, are so specialized that they can't align their efforts. its particularly interesting to note, that "no one on the other side [was] advocating for clean air" and why the hell not? i mean really, there's no reason why this issue wouldn't have any supporters in a place as polluted as NYC. Yet, I would also stand on the side of the biologists, in questioning how this process would affect local ecology. it sounds to me, that the project itself isn't getting enough publicity, not that it doesn't have any supporters. I haven't lived in New York long enough to get an idea about the level of environmental complacency by the city's inhabitants, but it seems pretty unlikely that nobody is interested in cleaner air. this article is a good start, so what's the process of getting people engaged in the topic?
in terms of this project, and the implementation of the turbines in the east river, i think said river's ecosystem has been disrupted beyond the point of this project having any long term effects. although i am not an environmental biologist, in contrast to other energy solutions, i think that being able to harvest energy from the east river would be very useful. In many cases, however i think that the implementation of a system that disrupts natural wildlife, should be rethought and redesigned, but efforts are steps in the right direction.
