Love the windmill plan, just cant do it at the rice lake dump because of airport right there. (sorry, i sound like a dick)

I think Don Ness formed a group to discuss the issue of sustainability, and they had a meeting today.

It takes more than fabricators and welders to make these kind of windmills. Most are made by large bearing companys. It would cost millions just to make one here. Not to mention the technology in the turbines and generators is still unreliable. And where are you going to get the people. Its hard to find a real good machinist or fabricator here much less a bearing designer. And how do you assume this produces positive Karma? You would have to consider every piece, were they came from, Who put it together and what was the motivation of all involved before the Karmic impact could be understood.

CHECKING TO SEE IF THIS WORKS TODAY

The Knight Creative Communities Initiative has several subgroups working in Duluth on stuff like making meaningful work in the area, social equity, etc. One of these groups is focused on sustainability--calls itself Sustainable Twin Ports--they meet regularly and are working on several projects that relate to your post. I believe Don Ness has been at least aware of the work of these groups.

I teach a senior anthropology seminar at UMD, and each year we work on researching sustainability practices and possibilities for our area. Drop me a line if you have specific ideas about how to use the creative/intellectual energy of 20 undergraduates with passion and skills and interest to contribute to this community's necessary steps forward on sustainability.

My e-mail: [email protected]

I should have said that Don Ness is not the person who formed the Sustainable Twin Ports group (which is the group I believe Beverley mentions in the post above as meeting on Monday). The Knight Initiative is something the Knight Foundation and the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation got going. It's driven by dozens of people and institutions in Duluth and Superior.

Never thought about the airport. Truth is you don't want windturbines in populated areas and also all the studies I've read indicate Duluth doesn't have enough wind. Of course the fact that there are people out there developing turbines that work on buildings and in low wind situations is a good enough reason to totally reject the possibility for Duluth. I'm sure that products like Bill Beckers Aeroturbine in Chicago or Finlands Windside or U.K.'s Windsave or the urbane turbane from the Dutch company Ecofys wouldn't work in Duluth because we different here. You don't need bearing engineers, they already have that stuff figured out and you don't make that here anyway . Of course those three companies that opened in Iowa this year making towers and blades are lucky to be around people that have the skills to do this level of manufactureing. All we have are companies like Bend Tec . As far as welders and fabicators you get the job and I'll have twenty good welders there on Monday. As far as the karmic thing, I do believe the benifits from renewables far outways the carbon input if you compare it to oil or coal. I'm glad to hear Mayor Ness is having meeting on sustainability. I know he knows what it is, the question is whether he can overcome the negative culture of many in Duluth.

Sorry y'all, I'm new here -- I know where Rice Lake is but where is the Rice Lake dump? Is it a landfill?