Tidal energy farm proposed for Vineyard Sound

The Martha's Vineyard Times ^ | June 8, 2006 | Aubrey Gibavic

[saganite]

I wonder if Teddy will find an aesthetic objection to this?

[Westlander]

The swimmer will do the dog paddle, thus generating enough juice to light up the East Coast.

[Enchante]

I wonder if anyone's trying to do this for the Bay of Fundy (New Brunswick, Canada) or any of the other places that have really intense tidal surges? At the Bay of Fundy billions of gallons of seawater charge in and out of the narrow bay with each change of the tide.

http://www.bayoffundy.com/highesttides.aspx

"The force created by these mighty waters is equal to 8000 locomotives or 25 million horses at the Minas Channel."

[GSlob]

"I wonder if Teddy will find an aesthetic objection to this?"
Nope. The whole thing is critically dependent on him - he generates tides each time he takes a plunge in water for a swim. It has been designed to flatter his vanity and make him useful, at least for something.

[saganite]

So you're saying they could tap the power from his tidal surges? Why not go for the triple header and tap the hot air from his mouth and the natural gas from--well, you know.

[goodnesswins]

"...but submerged to harvest power from the flow of the tide."

Now, that would be fantastic.....with ALL THE OCEANS we have....sheesh....it would be good to put them to work giving us energy besides rain, hurricanes, and such.

[Westlander]

Has any consideration been given to the helpless empty bottles of scotch sucked into the intake gate needed for the swimmer ?

[capt. norm]

Oh no! They're messing with the tides.

Where are all the enviro-whackos on this?

Interfering, even in a small way, with the flow of the tides will have an effect.

Newton's third law: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".

A modern day corollary is: "There's no such thing as a free lunch".

The whackos are having a negative effect on the very things they are trying to "save".

On a related note, I was noticing that the portion of the Valdez spill in Alaska that they "cleaned up" is in bad shape while the places they didn't get to have recovered just fine.

[saganite]

Empty bottles have served their purpose. If they contained scotch they would be worth saving. If they contained bourbon they would be worth risking life and limb for.

[Jean S]

I'm betting that Ted Kennedy is behind this. He and his family have been fighting the proposed wind farms, those would ruin their view. This is a perfect alternative for them, they won't have to look at windmills but they're still "saving the environment".

[GSlob]

By running too far ahead of one's derriere one risks falling on one's face. The things you have mentioned are all planned, but one thing at a time. First he needs to be acclimatized to daily swims [a bottle of scotch as a reward, maybe? He's not a dolphin, so piece of fish is out of question].

[capt. norm]

I'm betting that Ted Kennedy is behind this.

Especially if those huge turbines had a special chute for disposing of "political inconveniences".

(That Chappaquiddick thing won't work again, they're catching on to that one)

Like the mega-version of the garbage disposal unit in your kitchen sink "Away goes trouble down the drain". He could lease it to the Mafia and, who knows.

[randog]

"The way the world is right now, we're going to have to find some way to collect natural energy and convert it to something that people can use."

I think someone beat you to the idea, Einstein:

[KarlInOhio]

Nope. The whole thing is critically dependent on him - he generates tides each time he takes a plunge in water for a swim.

Not very efficient. You have to burn gasoline to raise corn, wheat, barley and rye. You then convert those to ethanol to fuel the Kennedy family and especially Fat Ted.

It would be more efficient (and safer for Massachusetts drivers) to just burn that gasoline instead of making ethanol and pouring it down Ted throat.

[GSlob]

Imagine - a dolphinarium, Ted swimming around. A trainer with a whiskey bottle appears on a platform 10-15 feet above the water. Ted flips, jumps out, grabs the bottle and splashes back in the water. The tide generates energy alright, plus all the admission tickets - children at half-price.

[rottndog]

PHOTO: Verdant Power LLC

Tidal energy turbines work like windmills underwater, using the daily motion of the ocean to produce electricity. This scaled drawing shows three of the six turbines Verdant Power hopes to test this summer in New York City's East River where the speed of the tidal current reaches 6 miles per hour.

What they are working on for New York City

[VeniVidiVici]

"I don't want to get into a contest with wind," he said, ...

Thank God as there is already enough from the politicians in Mass.

[COEXERJ145]

Reminds me of something on Seaquest DSV.

[nutmeg]

bookmark

[qam1]

The company says a mile-long series of submerged 15-foot diameter turbines can capture and convert that energy efficiently enough to produce up to 10 megawatts of electricity.

Palo Verde Nuclear plant puts out 3,733 megawatts

We need more nuke plants, not these feel good but completely trivial projects.