4 ms·

Not difficult to imagine. I drove from Illinois to Arizona just last week. In west Texas, steady winds were turning hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of energ

Not difficult to imagine. I drove from Illinois to Arizona just last week. In west Texas, steady winds were turning hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of energy converters. Below those turbines were enormous fields of corn rivaling anything seen in southern Illinois. Ethanol? When the wind farms ended the feed lots began. Thousands and thousands of head of cattle being fed from hay piles five hundred feet long and two stories tall. Beyond that, a thousand head of black angus free grazing next to man-made water resevoirs a thousand foot wide. One thing you learn about Texans -- they know how to scale.

danielecook 7y ago
And the smell. Describe the smell for us.
- johnohara 7y ago
  Doesn't compare to the feedlots in El Paso which are easily 5x the size (or more), somewhat higher up from the river. The west Texas wind was blowing from the south/southwest at 15-20 mph. There was no detectable odor, even west of Amarillo when we stopped for fuel. Hot too. 103 degrees fahrenheit. Plenty of room to dissipate I guess. I was surprised however, by the amount of corn being grown. I don't remember seeing it just a few years ago. I could be wrong. It seemed out of place but was very healthy. 5-6 feet tall already.
  - dreamcompiler 7y ago
    > There was no detectable odor, even west of Amarillo when we stopped for fuel. I've driven by the Wildorado feedlot dozens of times, and I always put my A/C on recirc 5 miles before and after. The stench still gets into the car. Conditions must have been very unusual during your trip.
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  "Indescribable". I could smell Dodge City, KS, 20 miles downwind. OTOH, very cool brick streets, and best taquerias I've found anywhere in the States, with a very wide selection of meats.
huffmsa 7y ago
A big driver of this is the relatively non-existent zoning laws in most of Texas. It's broadly the case (and accepted and defended by people with lots of guns) that you should be free to do just about anything you want on land you own. Want to build windmills, run cattle, and operate a strip club in your backyard? Go for it. So you get all these ranchers who realized "shoot, cows only need space up to about 6 feet. I've got all that air not doing anything, might as well put up some windmills."
- dtornabene 7y ago
  this is....false. The "big driver of it" is state and federal subsidy, period. And as far as the zoning goes, that is a much much grayer picture than painted by this comment. For example, in the county I live, you couldn't sell liquor on one side of a highway, a highway which runs dead center through the county and town, because of religious influence on the approval and application of zoning laws. And blue laws are only a tiny part of it.
  - duckMuppet 7y ago
    The wind subsidies have been in place since the 90's... In fact there's strong evidence that such subsidies do more to inhibit energy innovation than promote its flourishing, especially since the govt picks and chooses winners/losers usually tied to certain contractors, groups or ideologies. You might be a socialist. You might be anti capitalist. You might want and need the govt to provide you (I assume you think we all need it as well) purpose and meaning, and to give you absolution methods. I'm good with all that. However, attempting to sell thinking individuals on the idea that without the government we'd all be living in wood shanties with coal stoves talking about technology is the devil is nonsense.. Texas has been an energy giant not because of govt, in spite of it. Please keep your ideas in California.. We've got enough of you guys in Austin.
    - dang 7y ago
      Personal/regional attacks are not allowed on Hacker News. Please don't post like that here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Also, please don't use HN for ideological battle. It's boring and predictable, and invites worse.

danielecook 7y ago

And the smell. Describe the smell for us.

johnohara 7y ago
Doesn't compare to the feedlots in El Paso which are easily 5x the size (or more), somewhat higher up from the river. The west Texas wind was blowing from the south/southwest at 15-20 mph. There was no detectable odor, even west of Amarillo when we stopped for fuel. Hot too. 103 degrees fahrenheit. Plenty of room to dissipate I guess. I was surprised however, by the amount of corn being grown. I don't remember seeing it just a few years ago. I could be wrong. It seemed out of place but was very healthy. 5-6 feet tall already.
- dreamcompiler 7y ago
  > There was no detectable odor, even west of Amarillo when we stopped for fuel. I've driven by the Wildorado feedlot dozens of times, and I always put my A/C on recirc 5 miles before and after. The stench still gets into the car. Conditions must have been very unusual during your trip.
dredmorbius 7y ago
"Indescribable". I could smell Dodge City, KS, 20 miles downwind. OTOH, very cool brick streets, and best taquerias I've found anywhere in the States, with a very wide selection of meats.

huffmsa 7y ago

A big driver of this is the relatively non-existent zoning laws in most of Texas. It's broadly the case (and accepted and defended by people with lots of guns) that you should be free to do just about anything you want on land you own. Want to build windmills, run cattle, and operate a strip club in your backyard? Go for it. So you get all these ranchers who realized "shoot, cows only need space up to about 6 feet. I've got all that air not doing anything, might as well put up some windmills."

dtornabene 7y ago
this is....false. The "big driver of it" is state and federal subsidy, period. And as far as the zoning goes, that is a much much grayer picture than painted by this comment. For example, in the county I live, you couldn't sell liquor on one side of a highway, a highway which runs dead center through the county and town, because of religious influence on the approval and application of zoning laws. And blue laws are only a tiny part of it.
- duckMuppet 7y ago
  The wind subsidies have been in place since the 90's... In fact there's strong evidence that such subsidies do more to inhibit energy innovation than promote its flourishing, especially since the govt picks and chooses winners/losers usually tied to certain contractors, groups or ideologies. You might be a socialist. You might be anti capitalist. You might want and need the govt to provide you (I assume you think we all need it as well) purpose and meaning, and to give you absolution methods. I'm good with all that. However, attempting to sell thinking individuals on the idea that without the government we'd all be living in wood shanties with coal stoves talking about technology is the devil is nonsense.. Texas has been an energy giant not because of govt, in spite of it. Please keep your ideas in California.. We've got enough of you guys in Austin.
  - dang 7y ago
    Personal/regional attacks are not allowed on Hacker News. Please don't post like that here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Also, please don't use HN for ideological battle. It's boring and predictable, and invites worse.