While awareness and understanding of human caused climate disruption appears to have increased significantly in recent months and years, I believe we still have not yet grasped the scope of the challenge, the benefits of the solutions, nor the magnitude of the effort we must mount to meet our circumstances. A Denver Post Op-Ed article yesterday by John Podesta and Timothy Wirth expresses this view when they write:

“The size and urgency of this task require a president willing to make it the top domestic priority in the White House — not pigeonholed as an energy initiative or environmental initiative or even as a security initiative, but made the centerpiece of his economic agenda. Indeed, it will demand that the president refocus the mission and responsibility of all relevant government agencies and convene them in a new National Energy Council in the White House.”

The amount of energy in wind increases as the cube of its speed, so a 10 mph winds has 8 times the energy as a 5 mph wind. This is why wind power developers look for sites with high wind speeds. Of course, the reliability of the wind is also important in siting a wind turbine. As it turns out, there is a wind power site near to almost all of us, that has very reliable, very high wind speeds—about 1 kilometer straight up. Wind near the Earth’s surface is slowed down by drag across the surface, so as one goes further away from the Earth, wind speeds, and wind consistency, increase.

While only about half a mile away, it is difficult to site a wind turbine at such altitude. Kites offer a way of accessing the significant energy source so near at hand. Many ideas have been developed over the years but none have taken off. There are a few cargo ships testing large kite assists that show promise (see Kite Ship and Sky Sails). A new entrant, Makani Power, is appearing over the horizon. Headed by Saul Griffiths, and funded by Google, the company brings a new approach, passion, and creativity to the challenge. Saul is also involved in a number of other interesting and innovative projects, which can be surveyed at his web site. A presentation he gave at TED in Feb 2008 can be seen here. The amount of energy available is as enormous as the cost promises to be low. Stay tuned.

Today, Climate Progress reported on an proposal raised at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas this week. Essentially, the suggestion is to create regions that are entirely energy independent to demonstrate both the feasibility, and the significant economic advantages available.

In particular, the reports cites a California study that indicates that a solar-thermal power plant would provide “ten times the economic benefit of a comparable coal-fired power plant”.

This week’s Forecaster has an article on “big box” developments in Falmouth and Cumberland. It reports that the Falmouth Town Council rejected a development recently, and is now considering another.

I think the interest of large developers poses a great opportunity to reduce—and reverse—sprawl in our region. Developing a street-front-and-sidewalk oriented downtown has many economic, climate, and quality of life benefits as developed at sites such as the Congress for New Urbanism, and Dover, Kohl and Partners.

If we draw large developers into Falmouth, rather than rejecting them, and require that they contribute to the reconstruction of the Falmouth Shopping District in a new image, it could be a win-win all around. It seems to me that it is not so much the fact of the big box store itself, as it is the parking lot and automobile orientation of the land-use design that is the problem. Let’s use the big-box interest, and capital, to help rebuild our downtown in a new and vibrant form.

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