An interesting article in the LSJ about the fashion industry, and how it is growing here in Lansing. The Runway project is at the center of that growth and success. I find this very unexpected and really great. Lansing is very good at making things so it is a natural "fit"!
This is just a point of interest [I hope] while traveling up to my cabin up north on US 127 I have been watching a new array of windmills being erected between Alma and Mt. Pleasent on the eastern side. They are much larger than the older array near Ithica and tower above the tree lines and fields. They make the older windmills look small! I understand that these windmills will be producing electricity that will be free and clean after the cost of building them is paid, but they really impact the scenery for quite a long way of 127, it's just a bit shocking to see these giant things, along with the giant silo farm in Ithica the landscape is being industrialized and it takes me a while to get used to it.
I'm not a fan of wind farms, they pollute the landscape. I understand that they be necessary as a stop-gap measure to reduce co2 emissions in the short term but windmills and large solar farms are not a good solution for our energy needs as their output is sporadic, they take up a ton of space and they're ugly. Solar will probably be used far into the future on roofs and walls and in other cases like solar carports, but I don't see wind being major source of power in the long run at all.
Here's to hoping the recent round of optimism about fusion proves warranted because fusion is what would really save the day.
I hope you are correct in saying perhaps they will not be there very long. They seem to have gone up very quickly and easily maybe they can come down as fast. I just went by there today and the new ones are so huge, and I have not heard anything like out east when they try to build these farms locals make a huge fuss. Here I guess the farmers are making money so their good but they sure fill the sky.
Just went by these new turbines today. I'm actually a big fan of them. I love driving by them and just seeing them stretch out for miles. Not as crazy about solar in Michigan. I feel like wind power has good potential for Michigan though. I hope that these will start to actually get to a point where they aren't subsidized any more.
In a sculptural sense, they are graceful if not gigantic, and I understand and applaud the reason they are there. I am hoping they do not go further north then Clare, where the landscape changes to "Up North".
I recently saw a report from South Florida that sea level rise is starting to affect the expensive homes and their values, on the local waterways and canals. The report said that some are having a difficult time selling their homes and have had to lower the price to below what they paid. Meanwhile, homes on higher ground inland are seeing their values go up. and new high-end developments are being built west of I-95! What I am thinking is that many people like me will want to move away from the ocean. I lived out in the middle of the ocean for a very long time, it's nice but got very stressful when my house was threatened by nature about every four months. It is my hometown but Lansing is also a place that less susceptible to climate change, one of many reasons I moved here. We have water we have far fewer days of excessive heat and only short and infrequent droughts. Perhaps this will be an area that will see an increase in populations and development when people figure out it is a safer place to live than on the ocean or in the desert.
I am wondering how most folks feel about the electric rental scooters that have invaded many corners of the city. It looks like fun, but I don't think I will be hopping on one any time soon. I have this both sides feeling, one side they are fun and useful for young people. But on the other side, there are not any other businesses that get to place their product on every corner downtown, the scooters end up spread out everywhere and all fall over onto the sidewalks during windy weather. I can not see them being used very often during the winter. It is not a big deal but it does seem a bit unfair and they look bad spread out everywhere. But! don't let me stop anybody's fun!
I rode one in Detroit and thought they were fun and were a quick way to get around downtown. They make the "last mile" a lot easier, for someone who is getting off a bus or other transit and wants to get to their destination quicker. It was nice to go from one place to another and made it fun, and was also pretty reasonably priced. I think they're fine, but I agree that they won't be too useful in the winter. I expect they will have a plan for the winter, possibly bringing them inside so they don't get destroyed by snow plows.
I personally have found them a nuisance in other city's that have had them in a while. More so because cities do require them to use the street in the CBD which can cause a hold up in cities with narrower streets - not exactly an issue in Lansing. My other complaint, and perhaps judgmental, but often the people I see using these are people who could stand to walk a little more. I say that as someone who is working on it myself. However, @Jared, I can see how it also helps with convenience. People don't always have the time to walk it nor is it convenient to always take a bike with you.
Overall, I'm personally on the fence, though I do see them as an eyesore showing up even on the outskirts of town. Safety is also a concern, although it's part of the companies guidelines, I can definitely say I've seen my fair share of users not obeying the user rules. I'm sure as time goes on this, and local regulations, will help to control this. I think right now there are way too many littering the streets but who knows, maybe that will change. I wish they could also just limit their use to downtown and surrounding areas.
Comments
An interesting article in the LSJ about the fashion industry, and how it is growing here in Lansing. The Runway project is at the center of that growth and success. I find this very unexpected and really great. Lansing is very good at making things so it is a natural "fit"!
This is just a point of interest [I hope] while traveling up to my cabin up north on US 127 I have been watching a new array of windmills being erected between Alma and Mt. Pleasent on the eastern side. They are much larger than the older array near Ithica and tower above the tree lines and fields. They make the older windmills look small! I understand that these windmills will be producing electricity that will be free and clean after the cost of building them is paid, but they really impact the scenery for quite a long way of 127, it's just a bit shocking to see these giant things, along with the giant silo farm in Ithica the landscape is being industrialized and it takes me a while to get used to it.
I'm not a fan of wind farms, they pollute the landscape. I understand that they be necessary as a stop-gap measure to reduce co2 emissions in the short term but windmills and large solar farms are not a good solution for our energy needs as their output is sporadic, they take up a ton of space and they're ugly. Solar will probably be used far into the future on roofs and walls and in other cases like solar carports, but I don't see wind being major source of power in the long run at all.
Here's to hoping the recent round of optimism about fusion proves warranted because fusion is what would really save the day.
I hope you are correct in saying perhaps they will not be there very long. They seem to have gone up very quickly and easily maybe they can come down as fast. I just went by there today and the new ones are so huge, and I have not heard anything like out east when they try to build these farms locals make a huge fuss. Here I guess the farmers are making money so their good but they sure fill the sky.
Just went by these new turbines today. I'm actually a big fan of them. I love driving by them and just seeing them stretch out for miles. Not as crazy about solar in Michigan. I feel like wind power has good potential for Michigan though. I hope that these will start to actually get to a point where they aren't subsidized any more.
In a sculptural sense, they are graceful if not gigantic, and I understand and applaud the reason they are there. I am hoping they do not go further north then Clare, where the landscape changes to "Up North".
I recently saw a report from South Florida that sea level rise is starting to affect the expensive homes and their values, on the local waterways and canals. The report said that some are having a difficult time selling their homes and have had to lower the price to below what they paid. Meanwhile, homes on higher ground inland are seeing their values go up. and new high-end developments are being built west of I-95! What I am thinking is that many people like me will want to move away from the ocean. I lived out in the middle of the ocean for a very long time, it's nice but got very stressful when my house was threatened by nature about every four months. It is my hometown but Lansing is also a place that less susceptible to climate change, one of many reasons I moved here. We have water we have far fewer days of excessive heat and only short and infrequent droughts. Perhaps this will be an area that will see an increase in populations and development when people figure out it is a safer place to live than on the ocean or in the desert.
I am wondering how most folks feel about the electric rental scooters that have invaded many corners of the city. It looks like fun, but I don't think I will be hopping on one any time soon. I have this both sides feeling, one side they are fun and useful for young people. But on the other side, there are not any other businesses that get to place their product on every corner downtown, the scooters end up spread out everywhere and all fall over onto the sidewalks during windy weather. I can not see them being used very often during the winter. It is not a big deal but it does seem a bit unfair and they look bad spread out everywhere. But! don't let me stop anybody's fun!
I rode one in Detroit and thought they were fun and were a quick way to get around downtown. They make the "last mile" a lot easier, for someone who is getting off a bus or other transit and wants to get to their destination quicker. It was nice to go from one place to another and made it fun, and was also pretty reasonably priced. I think they're fine, but I agree that they won't be too useful in the winter. I expect they will have a plan for the winter, possibly bringing them inside so they don't get destroyed by snow plows.
I personally have found them a nuisance in other city's that have had them in a while. More so because cities do require them to use the street in the CBD which can cause a hold up in cities with narrower streets - not exactly an issue in Lansing. My other complaint, and perhaps judgmental, but often the people I see using these are people who could stand to walk a little more. I say that as someone who is working on it myself. However, @Jared, I can see how it also helps with convenience. People don't always have the time to walk it nor is it convenient to always take a bike with you.
Overall, I'm personally on the fence, though I do see them as an eyesore showing up even on the outskirts of town. Safety is also a concern, although it's part of the companies guidelines, I can definitely say I've seen my fair share of users not obeying the user rules. I'm sure as time goes on this, and local regulations, will help to control this. I think right now there are way too many littering the streets but who knows, maybe that will change. I wish they could also just limit their use to downtown and surrounding areas.