<And we thought Colorado had problems The Oil Drum Thursday open thread>
<Local Action for a Sustainable NYC The Oil Drum: Local MMS Comments>

Wind Powered Liberty: Victory

Posted by Glenn on February 22, 2006 - 7:43pm in The Oil Drum: Local

It's official, Lady Liberty will be running on wind power starting in March. Those of you who have been with me from the beginning will remember this classic PO-NYC post where I posed the idea for freeing lady liberty from the chains of fossil fuel:

What if we could power the Statue of Liberty with just Wind and Solar power?
...A Statue of Liberty that is energy independent and produces no harmful emissions into the atmosphere. This would be the best type of positive symbolism to assert America's path to energy independence....So who's with me? Let's start spreading the word and writing to some folks and get this idea circulated and see what happens.

And while I did get heavy traffic from many different sites including GE and I would love to believe that this all came about because of that one post, I realize that this idea is not completely novel. But it is still a victory for alternative energy and the "power" of a good idea who's time has come.

For more on this story head over to Greenbiz and Sustainablog.

Wind Powered Liberty: Victory

PDF version

16 comments

futurebird on February 22, 2006 - 9:58pm Permalink | Comments top
That is so hot-- I'd like to think it started here too. Hey! Now there's one light we can count on! What a symbol of hope.
louGrinzo on February 22, 2006 - 10:10pm Permalink | Comments top
Wonderful!  I'm sure there will been plenty of people who will deride this project as being "meaningless", but I think it's a very powerful and much needed symbol.

Not to mention the fact that Libby is one hot chick.

davebygolly on February 22, 2006 - 10:11pm Permalink | Comments top
I hate to be negative, but I fear that symbolism may be a substitute for substance in this case. There are SO many real things that could be done in the NYC area, most of which involve reduction in use of energy, not substitution of one form for another. NYC needs to aim at being an auto-free city within a fairly short time frame -- maybe 10 years. Yes, I know -- never happen, at least not by design. There also have to be immense possibilities for saving on electricity.
Halfin on February 22, 2006 - 10:17pm Permalink | Comments top
They should get rid of that torch and substitute a windmill. That'd look really cool.

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I wave my windmill in your general direction.

DuncanK on February 22, 2006 - 11:16pm Permalink | Parent | Comments top
I reckon one of these (check out the video) would look good instead of the torch! Only problem is, it wouldn't be lit up at night.  Would look amazing during the day, though.
Davidh on February 23, 2006 - 9:14am Permalink | Parent | Comments top
very sweet. I agree with both sides here, if this were to go along with some kind of general plan to reduce consumption (of everything) then it would be a real symbol. Without a general plan it is really much emptier. I guess its better than nothign though. But the complacency factor! ahhh!
joule on February 22, 2006 - 11:03pm Permalink | Comments top
Oh, I know that from a literal standpoint it's a matter of symbolism over substance, but in this case the symbolism is very important. For many people, particularly people like me whose grandparents wept and thanked God when they came up out of steerage to at long last see the Statue of Liberty, this is a powerful symbol of hope - a commodity that is short supply these days.

Now the wind power here isn't going to amount to beans, but the value in all this is that it will get the attention of far more people than all of the excellent but esoteric technical analyses that appear here on TOD.  

This is great opportunity for getting the energy problem front and center. The EROEI is this case irrelevant; the ATROAI (attention return on attention invested) is highly relevant.

This is one of the few good ideas I've seen in a long time, and I'd venture that it will have enornmous leverage in leading to all sorts of other things.

I consider myself to be about the most cynical person in the world, but I really like this one. Maybe I'm getting soft.

GreyZone on February 23, 2006 - 6:42pm Permalink | Parent | Comments top
I agree, joule. Sometimes the symbolic is massively important. I hope that this is one such time.
creg on February 22, 2006 - 11:42pm Permalink | Comments top
Congrats!
Leanan on February 23, 2006 - 12:24am Permalink | Comments top
Yay!

 

JLA on February 23, 2006 - 12:46am Permalink | Comments top
Congratulations!
Prof. Goose on February 23, 2006 - 1:34am Permalink | Comments top
See folks, these small grass roots movements, or even the efforts of a couple of people, CAN matter.  Well done peakguy.  Well done indeed.
Glenn on February 23, 2006 - 1:52pm Permalink | Parent | Comments top
The more I get into it, the more I see that you can actually accomplish stuff at the local level. We have a whole new generation of urbanists that are going to rock the established ideas on energy, transportation and use of public space.

I encourage everyone to simply start showing up at your local community coucils, neighborhood associations, etc. and start talking about ways to change your local infrastructure to meet a post-peak world.

Luis de Sousa on February 23, 2006 - 4:21am Permalink | Comments top
I don't want to retract this new yorkers' achievment, But I cannot resist saying (in bitter mood):

When the wind wont blow, Liberty will be in the dark.

fallout on February 23, 2006 - 3:14pm Permalink | Comments top
Batteries, matey! Yarrrrh!
Sunlight on February 27, 2006 - 4:55pm Permalink | Comments top
Great job Peak Guy! As a native New Yorker (long ago decamped for the Midwest) thanks for taking care of the Grand Old Girl, she stands for Energy Independence now too!!

Wind Powered Liberty: Victory

PDF version

16 comments