Some people are obsessed with the weather. They are glued to the Weather Channel and hang on every word of the local meteorologist. Instead of reporting real news, as every snow storm or cold snap approaches, network and local news stations hype endless stories featuring newscasters shivering outside, show you how to layer clothing, or instruct you to carry a snow shovel in your car.

I tend to avoid all that. Since I don't have cable TV, the Weather Channel is out. And I have long given up watching network news. I do check the internet, however.

The Weather Channel's website makes weather watching easy, and you can find out some interesting statistics on averages. You can also check weather in other areas of the country. That is where the fantasy comes in.

Since my husband and I are over 50, our thoughts sometimes turn wistfully to the retirement years. Our weather patterns seem to be back to the typical colder, snowier winters of Wisconsin, and that makes me wonder if I still want to endure them at age 70? 

So I have been checking a few locations on the Weather Channel website. Two of them are Thermopolis, Wyoming and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Thermopolis because of its proximity to Yellowstone National Park--that one is for us, and Chattanooga because they are the site of the new Volkswagen car plant--that one is for my son. I believe both of these states have no income tax. Once in a while I check Juneau, Alaska. They pay you to live in Alaska!  

Here is where the fun comes in (for me, anyway.) You would think Tennessee would be warmer than Wyoming, and Wisconsin warmer than Alaska, wouldn't you?

Nope! Today, while we had a high of -1 today and 8 degrees tomorrow, Thermopolis, Wyoming is the warmest with a high of 43 today and 45 tomorrow. Juneau, Alaska is next warmest at 38 today, 40 tomorrow, and surprisingly, Chattanooga, Tennessee is coldest with 26 today and 31 tomorrow.

As I have been checking these highs several times a week, the results are pretty consistent.  

Probably, I will never leave Wisconsin, but the weather website can be useful for planning a vacation too. Would this be a good time to go to Disney World? (If I won their free vacation contest.) How about Williamsburg in July? Start looking at what their weather is like. It could save you from making an expensive mistake.

Hope you have a little fun with fantasy weather forecasts of your own. I enjoy them.

By the way, even Fairbanks, Alaska had a high of 31 and Anchorage was 42 today. To feel warm, try looking at Hibbing, MN. Today's high was -7.

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

Links: 

Back in the 1970s, we were in an energy crisis. Because oil supply was limited and prices high, many alternative fuels and energy generating operations were talked about and tried. Capturing methane gas from rotting garbage was a popular idea at the time--I think it was even featured in Mother Earth News. (My husband and I were subscribers.) I don't remember if many people actually tried it though. Today, oil prices are up again and people are looking for alternatives.

I recently saw an interesting electricity generating operation on Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs show. Host Mike Rowe paid a visit to Fair Oaks Farm in Indiana where Mike helped with all sorts of dirty, grimy, icky, jobs in that "Dairy Cow Midwife*" episode. Mike literally rolled up his sleeves and even got in up past his elbow to help a cow deliver her calf. (Haven't seen that since watching All Creatures Great and Small!)

The segment ended with Mike shoveling manure for the farmer's methane gas generating operation. The Post Tribune reported, "Rowe worked with the farm's anaerobic digester, which produces methane from cow manure, and produces electricity for several of Fair Oaks' farms."

Wow! What a great idea! Four big tanks held the cow manure and produced enough methane gas to power the generators for electricity production. I have no idea what the pay back or life cycle is of the equipment, but the concept is intriguing.

The anaerobic (with oxygen) digesters break down the manure. In the process, nutrients are extracted from the manure, leaving a effluent that is a very nutritious soil fertilizer. Methane gas is produced as a by-product. The methane is then captured and used to generate electricity!

I found this Midwest Rural Energy Council website that explains this type of operation:

Anaerobic digesters convert the energy stored in organic materials present in manure into biogas.  Biogas can be fed directly into a gas-fired combustion turbine.  The type of turbine most often used for small-scale electricity production is the microturbine.  Combustion of biogas converts the energy stored in the bonds of the molecules of the methane contained in the biogas into mechanical energy as it spins a turbine.  The mechanical energy produced by biogas combustion in an engine or microturbine spins a turbine that produces a stream of electrons, or, electricity.  In addition, waste heat from these engines can provide heating or hot water for use on farm.

As energy prices continue to climb, alternative ideas that were discarded before might be tried again. New technologies will be tried too. No need for mandates and regulatory laws. People will naturally gravitate towards these innovations--especially if they are cheaper to operate than gas/oil fueled standard methods.

Kilowatts from cow pies? Good thinking!

*Dirty Jobs repeats its episodes throughout the year--hope you can catch this one. 

Links: