We Need Some modern Industrial Revolutionists (to coin a term).
They were part of the industrial revolution, railroad barons and no they were not "nice" men but they did a whale of a job for the US. It wasn't military action at last that tamed the west. It was the railroad. We need some moder versions to build the solar and wind farms and the power lines (I get tire of overused words like "infrastructure") to supply the places that need the power. (The History Channel provided this article.)
May 10: General Interest
1869 : Transcontinental railroad completed
On this day in 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah, and drive a ceremonial last spike into a rail line that connects their railroads. This made transcontinental railroad travel possible for the first time in U.S. history. No longer would western-bound travelers need to take the long and dangerous journey by wagon train, and the West would surely lose some of its wild charm with the new connection to the civilized East.
Since at least 1832, both Eastern and frontier statesmen realized a need to connect the two coasts. It was not until 1853, though, that Congress appropriated funds to survey several routes for the transcontinental railroad. The actual building of the railroad would have to wait even longer, as North-South tensions prevented Congress from reaching an agreement on where the line would begin.
One year into the Civil War, a Republican-controlled Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act (1862), guaranteeing public land grants and loans to the two railroads it chose to build the transcontinental line, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. With these in hand, the railroads began work in 1866 from Omaha and Sacramento, forging a northern route across the country. In their eagerness for land, the two lines built right past each other, and the final meeting place had to be renegotiated.
(Just imagine how "terrible" it would be for competing solar or wind farm "barons" to build more capacity than we thought we needed. Would that be great or what? You know we'd soon use it for peak periods and increased economic activity.)
Harsh winters, staggering summer heat, Indian raids and the lawless, rough-and-tumble conditions of newly settled western towns made conditions for the Union Pacific laborers--mainly Civil War veterans of Irish descent--miserable. The overwhelmingly immigrant Chinese work force of the Central Pacific also had its fair share of problems, including brutal 12-hour work days laying tracks over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On more than one occasion, whole crews would be lost to avalanches, or mishaps with explosives would leave several dead.
(This gargantuan effort is sure to encounter some challenges and require taking some risks as well. Calling all men of courage!)
For all the adversity they suffered, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific workers were able to finish the railroad--laying nearly 2,000 miles of track--by 1869, ahead of schedule and under budget. Journeys that had taken months by wagon train or weeks by boat now took only days. Their work had an immediate impact: The years following the construction of the railway were years of rapid growth and expansion for the United States, due in large part to the speed and ease of travel that the railroad provided.
(Our great grandfathers showed us that big jobs can be done. They're waiting on the other side to pat us on the back or kick us in the pants. Which way do you want to be greeted?)
May 10: General Interest
1869 : Transcontinental railroad completed
On this day in 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah, and drive a ceremonial last spike into a rail line that connects their railroads. This made transcontinental railroad travel possible for the first time in U.S. history. No longer would western-bound travelers need to take the long and dangerous journey by wagon train, and the West would surely lose some of its wild charm with the new connection to the civilized East.
Since at least 1832, both Eastern and frontier statesmen realized a need to connect the two coasts. It was not until 1853, though, that Congress appropriated funds to survey several routes for the transcontinental railroad. The actual building of the railroad would have to wait even longer, as North-South tensions prevented Congress from reaching an agreement on where the line would begin.
One year into the Civil War, a Republican-controlled Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act (1862), guaranteeing public land grants and loans to the two railroads it chose to build the transcontinental line, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. With these in hand, the railroads began work in 1866 from Omaha and Sacramento, forging a northern route across the country. In their eagerness for land, the two lines built right past each other, and the final meeting place had to be renegotiated.
(Just imagine how "terrible" it would be for competing solar or wind farm "barons" to build more capacity than we thought we needed. Would that be great or what? You know we'd soon use it for peak periods and increased economic activity.)
Harsh winters, staggering summer heat, Indian raids and the lawless, rough-and-tumble conditions of newly settled western towns made conditions for the Union Pacific laborers--mainly Civil War veterans of Irish descent--miserable. The overwhelmingly immigrant Chinese work force of the Central Pacific also had its fair share of problems, including brutal 12-hour work days laying tracks over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On more than one occasion, whole crews would be lost to avalanches, or mishaps with explosives would leave several dead.
(This gargantuan effort is sure to encounter some challenges and require taking some risks as well. Calling all men of courage!)
For all the adversity they suffered, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific workers were able to finish the railroad--laying nearly 2,000 miles of track--by 1869, ahead of schedule and under budget. Journeys that had taken months by wagon train or weeks by boat now took only days. Their work had an immediate impact: The years following the construction of the railway were years of rapid growth and expansion for the United States, due in large part to the speed and ease of travel that the railroad provided.
(Our great grandfathers showed us that big jobs can be done. They're waiting on the other side to pat us on the back or kick us in the pants. Which way do you want to be greeted?)
Tags: benefits, grid, power, railroad, rails, risks., transcontinental, worth
Views: 7
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by BurgessKJ on -
Industrial workers, and even engineers are right here.... We are ready to 'put up', for whomever will risk the capital finances.
We are ready, willing, and ABLE. What America needs now is the corporate commitment to back up what our workers are ready to get done.
We need to get 'executives (those self-designated to make decisions) to GET OUT OF WALL STREET OR WASHINGTON (DC), and see what the rest of the country and workers CAN DO, and what real clients NEED.
The time for talk passed over a year ago NOW IS THE TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP.
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Permalink Reply by Nicole Nilo on
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Mr Burgess, if you know of any companies or communities that want to start moving forward instead of just whining on sites waiting for someone else, an organization or the government to get something done. Reach out to us. We are also tired to posts, posts posts and useless virtual marches by people who should be looking for a job instead of creating bus work.
Nicole
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busy work sorry
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Permalink Reply by Paul on -
Hi Nicole,
Buyers are great, but unless those buyers are looking to "buy in" then they are just window shoppers. Of the 16,000 are any of them real leaders with real resources?
If you can show me _ONE_ buyer ready to go to contract on say 10MW of CSP generation, I'll put 200 people to work on the task! Then once the ground is broken I'll be able to fulfill the wants and needs to the other 15,999 buyers with their "all talk, no action" commitments to the cause.
The engineers, the inventors, the workers are *not* the obstacle to progress... The Lawyers and the $$$ folks are the problem.
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Permalink Reply by W. Dan Chance on -
Burgess, If I had the resources to "make it happen", you would be one of the first men I would call on to create the new grid from scratch. I have met many here on PP. Alas, the best I can offer at the moment is a big mouth but I'm trying to use it like dynamite to inspire others who may know where to place an effective charge and to do so. Please keep trying to find an energy niche. The country needs you. Oh thanks for sharing. It encourages me to know that men like yourself are scufflin' around stirring things up. If the moneybags will ever get their heads out of their balance sheets and stop worrying about what they've lost, they'll see that they can get it all back and more by putting their money on the NEXT winners, SOLAR and WIND in both public grid and private varieties.
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Permalink Reply by BurgessKJ on
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Thank you too. Please keep up the good work. Within the next few weeks my family and I will be homeless, through government and (mostly) corporate inaction, and a fundamental lack of jobs.
As the good citizens of the PP Army know: LESS THAN NINETY SQUARE MILES OF SOLAR COLLECTORS, OR 300 SQ M. OF WIND TURBINE 'FARMS' COULD POWER THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES FOR 12 HOURS EACH DAY, AT THE COST OF LESS THAN WE SPEND ON FOREIGN OIL IN THE SAME PERIOD.
So, instead of doing what I already know how to do: engineer, build, and install massive network systems (energy, or otherwise), I will be going forth looking for handouts, instead of what we really need: JOBS WHERE WE CAN EARN MORE THAN THE MINIMUM SUBSISTANCE OF LIFE.
My resume' & curriculum vitae are available online elsewhere, through my profile links.
One homeless, I will 'travel-to' potential jobs, but can this country stand the strain of MILLIONS of people doing that? The LAST thing I wanted to do was use more foreign oil & fuel products, to find mere subsistence income. My home (for now) is in the MIDDLE of the SOLAR CORRIDOR, and THOSE JOBS SHOULD ALREADY BE HERE, or at least 'in the pipeline.' SO FAR THEY ARE NOT.
There are hundreds, even THOUSANDS of equally capable veterans, factory & Auto manufacture workers waiting on food stamps, unemployment insurance (although what 'they' haven't told you yet, is that money is already dried-up, and barely trickling out to those in need), and SOCIAL SECURITY WHICH YOU WILL NEVER SEE (because it's already spent, and there is very little to replenish it...)!
FEW OF US WILL EVER HAVE THE CHANCE TO APPLY OUR SKILLS
... and the few jobs here are being shipped off-shore, near-shore, or foreign nationals are being imported to take what's left (both Illegal, and 'legally').
Dan, if there's one thing you or anyone else here want to pass on, beyond the confines of Pickens Plan, please convey these words to the press & public:
Ladies, Gentlemen, and Mr. President (if you're out there) in two weeks it will be too late for my family. We will be homeless, in spite of my career experience, efforts and willingness to work & earn my own way out of this mess.
In far less time than it takes the Senate & House of Congress to figure things out, it will be to late for the rest of U.S.
PLEASE DO SOMETHING TODAY, NOT TOMORROW
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Permalink Reply by BurgessKJ on
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ADDENDUM:
The only two Solar firms I could find making major plans in the entire Western United States are ISREAL & CHINA. The one local manufacture of PV, started a few years ago here in Tucson, is German, and they sell their products almost ENTIRELY TO EUROPE!
HEY AMERICAN ENTERPRENEUR WAKE UP!!!
Detroit is laying off THOUSANDS of highly skilled, extremely productive manufacturing engineers, machinists, fabricators & laborers. We're going to need someone HERE to build all of those turbines, PV cells & film, new battery technologies, and collector assemblies & arrays.
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So I say again,
Where is anyone from Pickens Plan and when is a real meeting geared for real results going to be setup? maybe after we start using congo drums for communications because we spent all of our time thinking about it instead of doing something about it.
Nicole
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Permalink Reply by BurgessKJ on
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I don't know about you, but I AM looking for work, and trying to find related re-training for RE projects. In fact, I've been looking for almost TWO years, since long before the 'financial crisis' Wall Street (finally) declared, because even back then I knew it.
Since long before the Pickens Plan came about I've gone to high-tech or trade-shows, and met with Generation 2.0 architects & industrialists, to learn & support renewable energy.
Thirty years ago I was at Congressional hearings to promote Solar Power Satellites, before those too got 'shot down' (by a very young Arlen Spector, and his senior cohorts in crime). Since then I served a full career in the military, and got related degrees.
(We could lift SPS 'birds' like that TODAY (no waiting: they're laying off at NASA & Boeing...), but that's besides the point.)
As for practical application: I have built communications systems all over the world, and the energy to support them, capable of surviving nuclear war. I was one of the FIRST cell-system installers in India & Thailand (for the U.S State Department), and believe me when I say we HAD to set up UPS & Solar power sources for those, as the whole of Southwest Asia & Indian sub-continents have UN-reliable commercial power grids.
I not only believe in renewable energy (especially solar power), but I HAVE ALSO ENGINEERED, BUILT & INSTALLED THESE SYSTEMS. Not talk: accomplished. Often in places you would have trouble getting a donkey into; which in many of these places was the only reliable freight load-bearing transportation.
I AM A MAN OF ACTION. Unfortunately, while experienced, I am without the financial resources to fund it myself... which is why guys like me (and there are tens, or even hundreds of thousands of us) are forced to try to persuade those who DO have the means to finally take action.
It wouldn't be 'whining' if there were receptive executives out there listening & taking action. Congo drums? I don't know about those, but Bongo drums and acoustic guitars go nicely with bonfires & beach parties, where WINE (& Beer, NOT 'whine') are served with smiles and a pleasant good time.
:-D
As we used to say in my Combat Engineers unit: PLAY HARD= WORK HARDER!
I am planning a 'working' (job-seeking) trip to either San Francisco, or Raleigh (yes; that's bi-Coastal) via Phoenix AZ & Denver CO very soon. Probably early next month. You want to meet? Fine, I will meet with you wherever you want, with as many PP players as you can drum up.
This is not for more talk, but to get down to brass-tacks, and start DOING something, anything, both economically, but especially pertaining to Renewable Energy projects.
As I mentioned above, to paraphrase it for clarification: IT IS TIME FOR AMERICAN INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRENEURS TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP :::NOW:::
For too many American workers, and the families relying upon them, it is already too late. All are not lost yet, but ACTION HAS TO BE TAKEN to help the rest. For those, the only way to help is to jump-start the industries, to restart the 'true' economic base of America: MANUFACTURE & PRODUCTION.
... After all, better late than never, if we are to KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
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Permalink Reply by neil cox on -
Hi Burgess: A few like you have been responsive to technical details on the Pickens forums. You have inspired me to try again to get some enthusiasm here in Jacksonville, Florida. I will be about 15 miles NE of Raleigh, NC July 25 through the Aug 17, so perhaps Raleigh Pickens plan can meet with us.
I heard that the military electronics are hardened to EMP = electromagnetic pulse. Has this spilled over to civilian electronics? If not, our power plants and grid are very vulnerable.
The Obama government seems to be starting studies which will delay any real action for a year or more. My guess is USA will be a third country in a year unless we get some real ACTION.
You can get recent details on SSP = space solar power at http://www.spacesolarpower.wordpress.com Some fresh ideas will likely stimulate SSP = SPS. Neil
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Permalink Reply by BurgessKJ on
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You are correct about studies: THEY ARE A DELIBERATE WASTE OF TIME, ENERGY, AND BUDGET.
EITHER TAKE ACTION, OR CHOOSE TO DO SO IMMEDIATELY.
The time for 'studies', 'surveys' or other delaying tactics came & went years ago.
Along with many other people, engineers & citizens alike, I knew THIRTY YEARS AGO that SPS (Solar Powered Satellites) were a better idea.
Frankly even land-based solar collectors would be a great help. Here I live (until evicted for lack of income within a few weeks), in the MIDDLE of the U.S. Solar Corridor.... and over %75 of Arizona energy is generated in COAL FIRED PLANTS. Much of the rest is Nuclear, which is nice, but still ultimately non-renewable, and potentially hazardous. Not as dangerous as Coal plants, but still of considerable public concern & debate.
Do we have the engineers, workers, and technology to build a new Solar Infrastructure? YOU BET! Given the funds & authorization to hire, I COULD START BUILDING SO FAST YOUR HEAD WOULD SPIN...In a year, Americans would wonder why it had not been done 30 years earlier...
But without government or corporate support, none of it is possible.
...and let's face it: those few with jobs already, and adequate income DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE URGENCY. Unfortunately, those are also the same people we are relying upon to support our efforts, fund a cause that WILL HELP EVERY U.S. CITIZEN.
Saying this in Pickens Plan is just 'preaching to the Choir', but it seems no one else is listening. Certainly they are not responding with action. ...And so goes a once proud nation....
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