I had to place some open house directional signs early this morning for a home I have listed in Plymouth. Since my day was starting early, I thought it best to get them out before dawn broke. As I was heading north on S56, I noticed in the distance a large number of red blinking lights dotting fields farther to the north. It caused me to wonder where those lights were coming from and suddenly realized they were the red lights on top of the windmills. I didn’t realize that there have been so many of them constructed east of Hwy 65. There are likely as many there as there are on the west side of the I35.
I read several times in the past that Iowa was considered one of the top rated States for windmills due to the amount of wind we get on a yearly basis. I would be the first to vouch for that since having lived here all my life, I rarely experienced a calm day. I remember seeing a print that was created back in the 60s that was captioned on the bottom with Mason City being referred to as The Windy City of North Iowa. Yes there have been days when the downtown intersections are like wind tunnels. You walk around a corner and find that you have to steady yourself due to a gust of wind pushing you back.
I’m glad that Iowans are doing their part in making green energy a reality and less dependent on fossil fuels. Between harnessing the wind and processing and refining bio-fuels, we are certainly well on track in doing our fair share of creating less of a dependency on foreign oil. Seeing how Putin is attempting to incite strife in the Baltic and Eastern Europe, it is best our country continues to become more self-sufficient. Threats of turning off the oil and gas supplies are simply ways of coercing governments to bend to totalitarian regimes. In looking at the amount of unrest that is taking place all over the globe, I hope that our country continues to take a realistic approach to making our nation as independent as possible rather than allow ourselves to be co-dependent on countries that have visions of imperialistic expansion at the expense of weaker and more dependent nations.
Every time I see high-tech Green self-sufficiency as at work, I give a big thumbs up to the inventors, planners, builders, and workers who turned dreams into realities. Seeing those windmills in the distance this morning caused me to hope that we all continue to be thankful for the resources that technology has put to work for us. We are not finished, but rather just beginning to become the most self-sufficient State in the Union. It would be a good thing for us to be branded, Self-Sufficient Iowa.
