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Something very striking happened to me last weekend, and I wanted to share it with you guys and hopefully share a little of the hope I have for the world.

So, last Thursday I was travelling through Indiana, on my way to an anime convention in Chicago. Now, the anime convention was cool, but after so many years of going to them they all start to blur together. But I think I will always remember this one for something that happened on the trip on the way up.

The first glimpse happened as we were driving along towards Indianapolis. On the freeway we passed a large flatbed truck, and it was carrying a long, twisty-shaped white object that puzzled us. What could that possibly be? Well, we figured we'd never know. You pass all kinds of strange cargo being carried on the interstate, it goes on its way and you go on yours, ne'er to cross paths again.

The second glimpse happened just past Indianapolis, as we were stopping to refuel the car. There were the flatbed trucks again! The long, white objects were no more decipherable from close-up than they were while we were whizzing along the highway. We shrugged, figured they must simply be going north like us, and went on our way.

And then it happened. There we were, tooling along I-65 through northern Indiana, when we rounded a curve and were suddenly confronted by these:

There were the long, white twisty objects – three of them to a tower!

My first thought was, "WOW!"

My second thought was, "Those are GINORMOUS!"

My third thought was, "Those are BEAUTIFUL!"

And in truth they were all three things. There were many, many more of them than this picture shows. They stretched off into the distance, as far as the eye could see, white, swanlike spires stretching out their fingers to catch the wind. And then the wind caught, the blades began to gently turn and they were kinetic art. And realizing what these things are intended to do made it mental art as well, because wind farms like this one can help us to migrate away from the dirty, unsustainable sources of energy we are currently addicted to.

This particular wind farm just went online, and all the energy it produces is being purchased by a local company, so it is not being wasted. There are five more wind farms scheduled to be created in Indiana. They say that wind farms like these could fulfil up to 20% of the state's need for energy.

I won't pretend that these guys are the complete solution to everything. They shouldn't be, in fact, because relying too much on one source of energy is bad. But it's part of a better solution than what we've currently got, and not only is it functional, it's beautiful. This wind farm is the sort of thing that could drive a person to poetry.

The world is changing. It will never be what it once was no matter how much we or the fae may wish it, but it's possible to make it a good place by accepting the necessity for change and by taking control of that change. If we can keep driving the future towards projects like this, either through personal effort or just by letting our congressmen and legislators know that we want projects like these in our own backyards, I think we can have hope both for ourselves and for a better, more sustainable world. This solution may not be perfect, but it's better than what we've got. :)

Aren't wind turbines beautiful?! One of the major complaints people _somehow_ have about them is that they're big and ugly. I have never in my life been able to understand that reason. Wind farms are so picturesque, beautiful, and awe-inspiring. Driving past them really is like taking part in poetry; the way they move and the slight sounds they make…

Even though I currently do not live in a house, I am always looking for alternative energy solutions for when I do. You can buy mini turbines that attach to you roof; vertical ones rather than horizontal turbines like those featured in wind farms are much more efficient for a single home.

There's also water energy! Hydropower is quite efficient (think dams!), though I'm not sure if it is very practical for normal folk if used individually. I've always wanted to have a water wheel…

The most surprising thing when it comes to alternative energy is that most of these have been used to hundreds of years! Water wheels have been used since the middle ages, and wind mills can date as far back as the 1st century AD (though not quite practical back then).

Amen!   I guess hydropower isn't for every area, obviously.   But there are options people can look into for each area.

Wind turbines are   much more constructive and less damaging than so much of our drilling and  water contamination.   Back in the 1930's and 40's, we had coal mining here- and it really raped the land so badly that  people need to buy mine cave-in insurance if they live in many of the areas around here.    In the 1970's they finally did something about the eyesore coal banks all over our area by planting trees to cover them– so that they wouldnt look like such an eyesore.

Even with the updated way they gas drill these days-   it causes so much harm to the environment.      They use toxic chemicals and millions of tons of water to do what they call "fracking"  where they force this water and chemical mix into the shale to break it apart to get at the hidden gas beneath.

This method requires alot of environmental overseeing because it can quickly go awry if the proper safety procedures are not in place..   In my State of PA..,  our governor has given the red carpet for unlimited gas drilling- to the delight of Gas company CEOs.., and our governor thought he would also give them a perk by not requiring them to have to pay any kind of severance tax –which is what they commonly have to pay as a back -up if things go wrong.

Already last year one of our nearby communities suffered well water contamination from this form of gas drilling which affected thier well water permanently,  and also destroyed trout streams .     It also requires a huge amount of water to drain out of ponds and resevoirs —which they use in the drilling process.

They are doing this in Colorado and already it is drying out their water supplies in those areas.   This is a big  concern for fisherman in our area even if by some miracle the gas drilling doesnt eventually end up contaminating groundwater and wetlands.    

Wind turbines are already implemented here successfully, but still —because of the bad economy– our governor sacrificed our beautiful woodlands and gamelands here in PA to the Big Gas companies.    The gas will not go to our State but will be used out of State–and even the employees that will be doing the drilling are all out of State employees.      Landowners are easily bought when $2 billion dollars is dangled in front of thier faces and they have a chance to trade in thier 2009 Toyota for a 2010 Hummer or Mercedes.