1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to stuff you should know, a production of I 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: and there's Charles w. Chuck Bryan over there, and Jerry's 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: here too, somewhere not just in spirit, but like digitally virtually. 5 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: She's like, um, Johnny depp in uh um no that oh, 6 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:37,920 Speaker 1: Pirates of the Caribbean. Yes, that's what Jerry's like. I've 7 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 1: been singing Judas Priests all day because of this. Instead 8 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:46,480 Speaker 1: of Turbo Lover, I'm singing hydro power. Oh that's pretty cool, man. 9 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:49,880 Speaker 1: Can you give us a little couple of verses? Um 10 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: me drove power? M what comes? And failed to mention 11 00:00:55,080 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: I'm wearing my leathers okay, just the leather of us 12 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: did no shared underneath? Yeah? And and nothing else but boots? 13 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: Some buttless chaps, that's awesome. Really, are there any is 14 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: there any need to make any other kind of chaps? 15 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: I mean, I think they usually don't have a butt, right, 16 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: You're just expected to wear something underneath. Maybe that's what 17 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,520 Speaker 1: it is, But then the whole thing just calling them 18 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:24,119 Speaker 1: buttless chaps is superfluous. Yeah, it's redundant, right Yeah. Um, 19 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: So since we started talking about buttless chaps. Since we 20 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: coined a new term, buttless chaps. I think we're the 21 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,400 Speaker 1: first people to ever use those two words together. Yeah, 22 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: people usually say the A word, right exactly. Uh, we're 23 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: clearly talking about hydro power, not just hydro electric power. Friends. 24 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: Hydro power. There's a lot of energy and that their water, 25 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: and we humans have have gotten pretty clever at figure 26 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: out how to extract it. Yeah, and this is something 27 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: that we used to use a lot more of in 28 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: this country. Um. Up until about the mid twentieth century, 29 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 1: we were using lots of hydro power, and it peaked 30 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: in about nineteen sixty. Now we're down to just about 31 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: six percent of our power being created through the use 32 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: of water. But there's still a lot of you know, 33 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,640 Speaker 1: hydro power plants in the US about the US has 34 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 1: a bunch, but we're also tearing them down along with 35 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 1: Europe at a rated about like one per week, these dams, 36 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: right yeah, Yeah, and we're tearing we're removing dams, demolishing 37 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: them faster than we're building them these days, which puts 38 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: hydro power, UM, specifically hydro electric power in a really 39 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: weird place in its history. But from all the research 40 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: that I'm I've done. I don't think it's going anywhere. 41 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: What I think is going on is that it's at 42 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: like this fork in the road, and it's trying to 43 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:47,919 Speaker 1: figure out what the best way to go is to 44 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: to to be sustainable and be as green as everybody 45 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: likes to think it is, even though spoiler alertic actually 46 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 1: not that green. Does everyone just standing around look at 47 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: each other, going kind of you, what do you want 48 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: to do something? Yeah, it's like trying to figure out 49 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: a restaurant as a group. Oh god, that's the worst. 50 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,399 Speaker 1: The best thing to do is to have a millennial 51 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: friend or two in your group, because they usually are 52 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: really good about tackling that stuff. Oh I thought you're 53 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: gonna say they're they're usually really bossy. No. But whenever 54 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: it's like a a sketch fest or something where there's 55 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: just a bunch of disparate people, I usually try and 56 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: get a millennial in the group decision making so I 57 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: can just go I'm an old gen x er. I'm 58 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: happy to go anywhere. So get on your yelp or 59 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: get out your Michelin Guide or whatever your kid to 60 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 1: do these days. Yeah, they all carry that that paperback 61 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: Michelin Guide with them the Penguin Classics version of it. Right. So, 62 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: hydro power around the world, though, is pretty popular, um, 63 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: some places more than others. I think Paraguay they are 64 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: far and away the leader if you're talking about anywhere, 65 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: because they're a Norway no surprise there at about nine 66 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: five along with Nepal and uh Tajiki stand and I 67 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: wanted to ask you this. You haven't here that China, 68 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: Brazil in the US lead major countries, and the US 69 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: is down to six percent, so the top three. I 70 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: assume we're third at six uh yeah, which just goes 71 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,000 Speaker 1: to show how much energy we put out only six 72 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: percent of his hydro and yet we um we're the 73 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: third in line of of um hydro electric production in 74 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: the world. China one or two uh one I believe, 75 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: and then Brazil. So Brazil and then it goes down 76 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:45,119 Speaker 1: to six. Yeah. An't that crazy? Yeah, it's a big drop. Yeah, 77 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,080 Speaker 1: But I mean that just goes to show like we 78 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: we've produced a lot, a lot of electricity and it's 79 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: just some of it is is um from hydro which 80 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: really boggles the mind that at one point, like you 81 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: were saying a third of our power came from hydro 82 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: electri production plants. It's just crazy, you know. Yeah, I 83 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: think it's down to about sixteen worldwide, right, yeah, five 84 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: years ago. Yeah, and then that actually represents a really 85 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 1: precipitous drop. UM. I think in too, like the mid 86 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 1: two thousands of the odds it was at like and 87 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 1: it dropped down to sixteent within maybe ten years or less. UM. 88 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: And the reason for that it's not necessarily that people 89 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 1: have stopped producing as much hydro power. UM, they've stopped 90 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: building as many new projects around the world and have 91 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: started opting instead, unfortunately for what's called thermal which is 92 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:44,359 Speaker 1: usually UM using a fossil fuel like coal, oil, natural 93 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: gas to heat some water to produce steam to make 94 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 1: a turbine spin to UM to run a generator basically, 95 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:57,279 Speaker 1: and UM, it's just cheaper, it's much more understandable. UM. 96 00:05:57,320 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: There's a lot of drawbacks to it, but it just 97 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: requires far less of an investment up front than building 98 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: a traditional hydro electric plant. Yeah, and we'll we'll get 99 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: you know, detail all those pros and cons later. But 100 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:12,919 Speaker 1: you know, if you wonder why people look to water 101 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: to begin with, you need only look at water. Uh, 102 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:19,720 Speaker 1: you know, stand beside any river, especially when this's got 103 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: some rapids. When you see those rapids funneling through a 104 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: small channel, it gets pretty intense, you know, uh, some 105 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: serious force going through there. And at some point someone said, 106 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:35,360 Speaker 1: maybe we can harness that. We're not exactly sure who 107 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,039 Speaker 1: the first people were, but um, of course some people 108 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 1: think the Chinese, the Han dynasty, they're always a good 109 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,600 Speaker 1: bet for for leading the way. Maybe the Persians or 110 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: maybe they actually do. Have writings from the third century 111 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: BC from Philo of Byzantium, may he made a great 112 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:54,919 Speaker 1: dough by the way he did. He was also the 113 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: guy who first um named the seven wonders of the 114 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: ancient world. Well, his dough one of them, right, He's like, 115 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:06,160 Speaker 1: you gotta try it. It's the flakiest, it's so good 116 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: and flakey. But yeah, there's a i think a description 117 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,480 Speaker 1: of a water wheel from from old Philo. Yeah, from 118 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 1: twenty three hundred or so years ago. So yeah, we've 119 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: figured out that, like you can, you can put water 120 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: to work. Um, we've known for a long time it 121 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: was using water as um basically a way to produce 122 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: mechanical energy, not electricity. Put a pin in that because 123 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: we're gonna get to it in like thirty five seconds. 124 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: But first we used water to um push water wheels, 125 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: like those charming things you've seen like a Thomas Kincaid painting. 126 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:44,640 Speaker 1: It's one of my favorite things. They're really wonderful. I 127 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 1: love them. They're about as coins as anything ever has 128 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 1: been in the history of the world. There's just something 129 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: so tranquil about it. But if you always loved them. 130 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: When I was a kid, I remember going to Stone 131 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: Mountain Park and they had the old grist mill there, 132 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 1: and I think I even kind of understood that. The 133 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: purpose and just how I think it's simplicity always really 134 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: just hit me right where in the in the fields 135 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 1: it is. It's one of those things Chuck that it was. 136 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: It is a very simple idea, but it was like 137 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: it's a home run right out of the gate. Like 138 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: basically what we do to produce hydroelectricity is almost an 139 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: unchanged version of you know, the water wheel. Yeah, I 140 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: mean it's got fancier over the years, but it's like, 141 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: and you know, we've talked about this with any type 142 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,880 Speaker 1: of power show that we've done, whether it was nuclear power. 143 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: I feel like we've done a lot of these. It 144 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: all comes down to producing that mechanical energy to spin something, 145 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 1: to spin a turbine. Yeah, so, um, you spin this 146 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: water wheel or turbine as we'll see. Um, and there's 147 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: a that spins on an axis. Well, if you insert 148 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: an axle into that axis, it will spin the axle, 149 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: and you can attach all sorts of cool stuff to 150 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,040 Speaker 1: that axle to make them spin too. Like you can 151 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 1: you can insert more wheels and have them pressed down 152 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: on stone as they rotate, so you can grind things 153 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,679 Speaker 1: or put turn turn. Yeah, you can mill flour. You 154 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: can grind paper into or wood into pulp and make paper. 155 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: You can change the rotation, the direction of the rotation 156 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: to like up and down. So now all of a 157 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,319 Speaker 1: sudden you have pistons that can pump bellows or pump water, 158 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 1: or do all sorts of cool stuff. So that was 159 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: a huge, huge advancement in the history of the world, 160 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:36,319 Speaker 1: and that's how things stayed for a couple of thousand years, 161 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: basically until the nineteenth century when we started to develop electricity. 162 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,679 Speaker 1: Somebody said, very quickly, oh, you know what, actually we 163 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,440 Speaker 1: could apply that age old water wheel idea to this 164 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: electrical generation. And that's exactly what they did. And actually 165 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: the first guy, the first hydro electric power provided power 166 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:05,040 Speaker 1: to a lamp at a house called called the Craigside 167 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: like lamp, Yeah, yeah, you love lamp lamp. It's in 168 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:17,200 Speaker 1: a town called Rothbury in Northumberland. And if I mispronounced Northumberland, 169 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:19,880 Speaker 1: I am not to blame on that. You cannot spell 170 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: a word Northumberland and expect anyone to pronounce it any 171 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 1: other way. I'm trying to decipher how it's really probably 172 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:32,520 Speaker 1: pronounced like probably christer Shire or something yeah, or like 173 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: nothing rum Bland or something like that I just inserted 174 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:40,719 Speaker 1: to be, So, however you pronounce it. A guy named 175 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: William Armstrong. He was like this amazing inventor who powered 176 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:46,439 Speaker 1: basically his whole house using water power. But one of 177 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:50,199 Speaker 1: the things he did was generate electricity too, that's right. 178 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: And then Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Michigan said, you know what, 179 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 1: I'm gonna one up you there because we have a 180 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: hydro generator at the Wolverine Chair Company factory and we 181 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: have sixteen street lights that we want to power. And 182 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,320 Speaker 1: I imagine all the criminals in town were like, oh, 183 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,439 Speaker 1: it's so much harder to commit crime with light at night, now, 184 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:16,280 Speaker 1: I know, especially dropped crime a little bit, I would guess. So, 185 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:18,959 Speaker 1: I mean, I'm sure they had like I'm sure yeah, yeah, yeah, 186 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:21,240 Speaker 1: I'm sure they had like the gas lights already, but 187 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: the electricals is true. Yeah, those gas lights, I think, Chuck. 188 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:27,600 Speaker 1: So we You know, we talked a lot about hydro 189 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 1: electric power in our Hoover Damn two parter, if I 190 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: remember correctly, Yes, but I think we also might have 191 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,199 Speaker 1: talked about in our Electric Chair episode. But I feel 192 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: like we may have misspoken and said that, Um, either Buffalo, 193 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 1: New York or Niagara Falls, New York was the first 194 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 1: city to use hydro electric power to power it's street lights. 195 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,839 Speaker 1: And that's just not true. It's actually Grand Rapids Michigan. Yeah, 196 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,600 Speaker 1: they were a few years later. I love how you 197 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 1: know a picture like this, The sketch version of this 198 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 1: is two engineers with the Niagara Falls behind them, reading 199 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:05,920 Speaker 1: a newspaper going, hey, he says he had Grand Rapids 200 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:10,560 Speaker 1: are using water to make light if only we had 201 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:14,959 Speaker 1: such a means to do so, and Niagara Falls behind him. 202 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: It is just like look at me. Yeah, so um, 203 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 1: that was just an excellent nineteenth century sketch that you 204 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:25,720 Speaker 1: just made. By the way, that's when sketch was at 205 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: its best. So I don't know, I would say the 206 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,760 Speaker 1: seventies seventies sketches would be they're they're pretty tough to 207 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 1: to contain with. By the way, I watched that John 208 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 1: Belushi documentary last night, very good, and it's amazing when 209 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: you look at the speaking of seventies sketch, to look 210 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:48,959 Speaker 1: at these archival photos of the like house parties and 211 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 1: apartment hangs where it's like Belushi and Bill Murray and 212 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:58,839 Speaker 1: Harold Ramos and Lorraine Newman, and I mean just like 213 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:02,040 Speaker 1: all the comedy heroes just sitting around like drinking and 214 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:07,160 Speaker 1: smoking weed. Now that I endorsed that thing, but I'd 215 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: like to be at that party, yeah, man, I mean, 216 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:11,600 Speaker 1: like I I loved seeing pictures like that for that 217 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: magic funny that party was and probably pretty great. Great 218 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: either that or else I'd just be like I, I'd 219 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: just be too nervous and socially anxious to talk to 220 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:23,760 Speaker 1: anybody and wouldn't have a good time at all. Well, 221 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:27,079 Speaker 1: the first, um, since we're on the sidetrack, the first 222 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:29,960 Speaker 1: kind of really famous hang I had like that was 223 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 1: I think one of my first Max Fun cons when 224 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:35,959 Speaker 1: I was sitting in a room with basically the original 225 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:40,240 Speaker 1: Upright Citizen's Brigade songs Amy Poehler and Andy Richter and 226 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 1: Andy Daily and all these comedy heroes, and I just 227 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: I was so afraid to even speak, but I was 228 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:50,200 Speaker 1: saying jokes in my head. And then two times I 229 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 1: said a joke in my head and Andy Richter said 230 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,240 Speaker 1: one of them, and another I think it was Matt 231 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 1: Waltz said another that was basically my joke. And I 232 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: was like, I'm gonna start talking nice and I did, 233 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:05,679 Speaker 1: and you did. Did you get applause? No? But they 234 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 1: didn't all turn around and look at me and go 235 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 1: who's this guy like I thought they would, just like, Oh, 236 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: we're all just people. And did they make you an 237 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: honorary a member of the Upright Citizens per game? No? 238 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,760 Speaker 1: Did you get a T shirt? I did get a 239 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 1: T shirt? Okay, I stole a T shirt. That's good. 240 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 1: Should we take a break? I think we should take 241 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: a break. All right, we need to get back on track, 242 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 1: and we're going to take a break and talk about 243 00:14:29,120 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 1: the types of modern hydro power right after this. Okay, 244 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,360 Speaker 1: Chuck so Um like you said a minute ago that 245 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: like flowing water has a lot of energy to it. 246 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: I found a couple of stats that I've just got 247 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 1: to share with everybody. Okay, let's let's hear it. Water 248 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: flowing at four miles an hour, just four. It is 249 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: very slow, like you you yawn basically when you see that, 250 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 1: it's like a walking pace. It can move a five 251 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: foot diameter boulder. Okay, Okay, seven miles prior has the 252 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: same force as an e F five tornado. And water 253 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 1: water flowing at twenty five miles prior has a pressure 254 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 1: equivalent of wind that's blowing at seven hundred and ninety 255 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: miles per hour, faster than the speed of sound. So 256 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: there's a tremendous amount of kinetic energy and flowing water UM. 257 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: And we have figured out over time how to maximize 258 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: that um. Like you said, the water wheel design is 259 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: basically like what we're what we're working with still today, 260 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,720 Speaker 1: but we've refined it so much that now we're producing 261 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:16,800 Speaker 1: these amazing turbines that spin super fast, and they're designed 262 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,280 Speaker 1: to like to to direct water and just the right way, 263 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: or water is supposed to go around them just the 264 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: right way, or drop on them. Or shoot from the 265 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:29,520 Speaker 1: side and slosh around like it's on a slip in 266 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: side or something. And um, we've come up with a 267 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:35,000 Speaker 1: lot of turbine designs basically, I guess is what I'm 268 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 1: trying to say that that have really improved on the 269 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:41,160 Speaker 1: water wheel. Yeah, those bulb types are pretty cool. Uh. 270 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:45,560 Speaker 1: That's those are watertight and it's basically an aerodynamic chamber 271 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: that's gonna you know, I talked earlier about when that 272 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: water channel narrows, how much more forceful it gets, And 273 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: that's what they do in this case. They focus and 274 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: narrow the water column and then put it to the turbine, 275 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 1: obviously at a at a much higher rate, right, Um. 276 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,000 Speaker 1: And I think that is an example of an axial 277 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:07,480 Speaker 1: flow where the flow of the water is parallel to 278 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:11,159 Speaker 1: the spin of the turbine. Or no, maybe that'd be radio. 279 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,479 Speaker 1: I can't remember. But basically there's axial radio and mixed 280 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: and most things are mixed. And a really good example 281 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: of a mixed turbine is the most widely used one 282 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:22,400 Speaker 1: called the Francis turbine, which was invented by a guy 283 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,920 Speaker 1: named James Francis back in the nineteenth century, and it's 284 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:29,879 Speaker 1: um it's fan blades basically are adjusted to that the 285 00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:34,359 Speaker 1: water spills down from above onto it, but as it 286 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: hits it, the fan blades directed downward into the side, 287 00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:41,919 Speaker 1: so the water ends up actually slashing around parallel to 288 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: the spin of the turbine and spinning it real good, 289 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: spens it real good, good Old Francis. Uh. If you're 290 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: talking about hydro electricity these days, Um, you're gonna spin 291 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,760 Speaker 1: that turbine. Axl's gonna spin the turbine, and it's attached 292 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: to a set of super powerful magnets that are turning 293 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 1: inside a copper coil, and that movement of the magnets 294 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,680 Speaker 1: is going to knock those electrons loose and get those 295 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 1: electrons flowing, and then all of a sudden, those electrons 296 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 1: flowing through the copper is a current. It's electrical current, 297 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 1: and then they pressurize that into a really densely packed 298 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: a C current that's really slow moving. And we talked about, 299 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:24,679 Speaker 1: you know, the invention of a C current, how that 300 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:27,160 Speaker 1: means you can just take it really really far away 301 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:29,440 Speaker 1: and still use it without losing a lot of energy, 302 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:31,960 Speaker 1: which is great because you can dump it into the 303 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,960 Speaker 1: electrical grid and say you were once water, now you 304 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:38,119 Speaker 1: are electricity, yeah, which is which is pretty cool. Like 305 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,760 Speaker 1: a lot of our power actually started out as flowing water. 306 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: I'd love that idea to me to um, but it 307 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,359 Speaker 1: goes to show like we really haven't changed that water 308 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 1: wheel designed very much. Instead of a grinding wheel or 309 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:53,560 Speaker 1: a bellows, we now just have some magnets that are 310 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,119 Speaker 1: attached to the turbine and they spin around inside of 311 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,960 Speaker 1: that that coil. And that's that's that. I mean, like 312 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: it's I know we talked about it in our episode 313 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: on electricity, UM, but I'm still to this day amazed 314 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:08,639 Speaker 1: that that's it's just so primitive, but it will. It works, 315 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:10,960 Speaker 1: So if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Basically is 316 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:15,160 Speaker 1: the big motto of the electrical production industry and donkeys 317 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: the world over said thank you, because now I don't 318 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 1: have to be right hooked to a thing and walk 319 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:23,400 Speaker 1: in a circle all day long unless they're making mes cow. 320 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:26,199 Speaker 1: As we talked about in our book, you got to 321 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,239 Speaker 1: use the traditional donkey. That's right. I hope they're well 322 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: taken care of. I am sure they are. If you yeah, 323 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:34,080 Speaker 1: if you have a donkey that makes mes cow for you, 324 00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: I'll bet you treat it really nice. Uh So. There 325 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:41,359 Speaker 1: are four main categories of hydro electric power plants these days. 326 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 1: The first one, the impoundment, is the one you kind 327 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,640 Speaker 1: of think of when you think of like the Hoover Dam. Um, 328 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:51,800 Speaker 1: this water is impounded. They stop that flow. It's impounded 329 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:55,119 Speaker 1: in a big reservoir. They release it through these gates, 330 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 1: through these tunnels called pin stocks that we talked a 331 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: lot about in the Hoover Dam episode. And it's gonna 332 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:05,760 Speaker 1: just you know, they're using gravity basically to make water 333 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:09,639 Speaker 1: fall and gain all this turn all that potential energy 334 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 1: into um whatever. The other kind of energy is the 335 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:18,919 Speaker 1: energy yeah, yeah, And so empowerment schemes make use of 336 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,680 Speaker 1: what's called the hydraulic head, which is basically the height 337 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 1: of the drop from say the gates where the water 338 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,960 Speaker 1: enters the pen stock to the point where that water 339 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 1: hits the turbine. And the higher the head, the higher 340 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,520 Speaker 1: the drop, the more energy you can get out of 341 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:37,959 Speaker 1: the water, the faster it makes the turbines spin. So 342 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,159 Speaker 1: that's why that's why dams are just so damn high 343 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,879 Speaker 1: and tall, because they have a really high hydraulic head 344 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: and you can just get a lot more electricity a 345 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:51,320 Speaker 1: lot more kinetic energy out of that falling water. Um. 346 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:53,400 Speaker 1: But as we'll see, that's actually kind of a problem, 347 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:58,399 Speaker 1: the fact that the high head um hydro power is 348 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: basically the state of the art. We need to advance 349 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,560 Speaker 1: past that just a little, a little taste, a little 350 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 1: foreshadowing right there. That's right. Then you've got I think 351 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,920 Speaker 1: my favorite one, which is diversion or the run of 352 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:16,080 Speaker 1: river hydro power, which is, um, this is using water 353 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,679 Speaker 1: that's already flowing. You got a river that's flowing, and 354 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,399 Speaker 1: someone came along and said, hey, this river's got some 355 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,960 Speaker 1: good action. Why don't we just divert some of this 356 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: and channel it off to the side and create some 357 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,400 Speaker 1: electricity that way and then just let that water dump 358 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,479 Speaker 1: back in and do its thing on downstream. Yeah, and 359 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:35,240 Speaker 1: so um, some of them do just divert some of 360 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:39,399 Speaker 1: the river to produce electrical power. Some like just stick 361 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: a whole plant in the river. But the key here 362 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 1: is is that they're not like you said, They're not 363 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:48,720 Speaker 1: like trying to keep the water blocked up behind a dam. 364 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 1: But there's still probably a drop because again, this hydraulic 365 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:55,920 Speaker 1: head is basically the key to hydroelectric power. Generation right now. 366 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,480 Speaker 1: I think the conduit, which is a subtype of the 367 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: diversion and conduit or canal, is pretty neat too, because 368 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 1: basically they use these water pipes that may be part 369 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 1: of a big irrigation system or some other kind of 370 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:10,960 Speaker 1: water project. You know, like we might as well stick 371 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: at turbine in that thing, because we're diverting that water 372 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 1: through a pipe anyway, right, so it might as well 373 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:19,880 Speaker 1: just capture some of the energy as it's passing by. 374 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,199 Speaker 1: I think that's a spectacular idea. Um. So those that's like, 375 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,120 Speaker 1: you've got impoundment diversion, and then another type is called 376 00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:30,480 Speaker 1: pump storage, and pump storage is very much like impoundment. 377 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: There's like an upper reservoir and pen stocks and you 378 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:35,159 Speaker 1: let the water flow through past the turbine and you 379 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:40,160 Speaker 1: generate electricity. But unlike impoundment, where when the water exits 380 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: it just goes downstream and keeps flowing. It's like, what 381 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,200 Speaker 1: the hell just happened? Um, you actually capture the water. 382 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:49,560 Speaker 1: I have to say, I've said damn in hell in 383 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,399 Speaker 1: this episode, and I I'm really pushing the envelope. If 384 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:54,520 Speaker 1: you ask me, I feel like Bart Simpson, Well, you 385 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:56,960 Speaker 1: said damn high. I took it to mean d a 386 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,360 Speaker 1: m high literally, but yeah, you're in trouble. You're saying 387 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:05,560 Speaker 1: thank you, thank you. Um so uh oh. In pump storage, 388 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,160 Speaker 1: rather than letting the water just exit and flow down river, 389 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 1: there's a lower reservoir too that captures the water and 390 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:14,639 Speaker 1: keeps it from flowing out and then um that's what 391 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 1: you do. You let the water flow from upper to 392 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,639 Speaker 1: lower during peak electricity hours or peak demand, so you 393 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:25,560 Speaker 1: can produce electricity, and then when it's not uh peak demand, 394 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,280 Speaker 1: people don't need as much electricity. You can use some 395 00:23:28,359 --> 00:23:31,480 Speaker 1: of that electricity that you've generated to pump the water 396 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,520 Speaker 1: from the lower reservoir back up to the upper reservoir, 397 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:36,399 Speaker 1: which is pretty awesome. It makes it basically like a 398 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:40,560 Speaker 1: rechargeable battery. It's pretty cool. We um spend a lot 399 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,920 Speaker 1: of time on Lake Sinclair here in Georgia, and the 400 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: dam is very close to where we are. There's two damns, 401 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 1: one at the north end, one at the south end, 402 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: and we go to the north end one and it's 403 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 1: just fun to go up there and watch when it's 404 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: going through. It's uh, I guess when they're releasing the 405 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,159 Speaker 1: most water because it's just crazy. Like the water in 406 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:03,160 Speaker 1: front of it is really choppy, but it's not going 407 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:05,720 Speaker 1: in any sort of pattern. It's just you'll see a 408 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 1: big swirling pool to your right, then another one in 409 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,560 Speaker 1: front of you, and like jet skis and boats are 410 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:13,919 Speaker 1: kind of like trying to fight against the current to 411 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:16,480 Speaker 1: get close and then get pushed back. It's it's it's 412 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,119 Speaker 1: really uh. I mean, I thought I was about to 413 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: say violent, but it's just uh. But it's not loud, 414 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,200 Speaker 1: so it doesn't seem violent. But it's churning that water 415 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 1: up and I think fish because the birds go crazy 416 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:31,719 Speaker 1: when this is going on. Manh Yeah, it sounds like 417 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,800 Speaker 1: utter chaos. It's it is, but it's quiet chaos. Oh 418 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: is it quiet? To me? In my head it sounded 419 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,080 Speaker 1: like really loud and whoshy and everything. No, it's not 420 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: really whishy. You just see the water churning and moving 421 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: and it's it's pretty cool. Why is it that if 422 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,200 Speaker 1: there's if there's a chance to do something dumb, somebody 423 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 1: on a jet skis going to try it. Have you 424 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:56,640 Speaker 1: ever noticed Yeah, jet ski I don't know. Jet ski 425 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: people are. They're different. There's certain breed they got, they 426 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 1: got a little bit of daredevil into my guess they do. 427 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:04,480 Speaker 1: I mean, some of those things are crazy. They go 428 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 1: like eighty miles an hour, and that's not safe. No, 429 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:09,400 Speaker 1: it's not. Um. One of the other last things about 430 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: pump storage, Chuck, is that they've figured out and I 431 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:14,359 Speaker 1: think I feel like we've talked about this before. I 432 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:16,480 Speaker 1: mentioned it that a really good thing to do with 433 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: a pump storage hydro electric plant is to actually use 434 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 1: excess energy from wind and solar that say you can't 435 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:28,360 Speaker 1: store anywhere. You use that to pump the water back 436 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: up to the upper reservoir. And it's basically like again 437 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:34,360 Speaker 1: recharging a battery using wind or solar, So you could 438 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:39,440 Speaker 1: conceivably power your whole pump storage hydro electric plant um 439 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,800 Speaker 1: using nothing but renewable resources. That's amazing. Yeah, I like 440 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 1: that stuff. I love like ecology almost as much as 441 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,400 Speaker 1: Earth science because you know, it ties into it so much. 442 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:54,560 Speaker 1: Just gonna cousins. Uh. Then finally have marine hydro kinetics, 443 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,520 Speaker 1: which we talked about. Do you remember the name of 444 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: the episode Can Oceans Power the World From? And that 445 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:06,320 Speaker 1: is using ocean currents and waves and tidal currents. I 446 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:08,760 Speaker 1: wondered if any of the Great Lakes could produce enough 447 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,439 Speaker 1: of a current to be useful or is it only ocean. No. 448 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:15,600 Speaker 1: I think anywhere that has any kind of wave action, 449 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,479 Speaker 1: title action or currents, you could totally you could totally 450 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 1: make use of it. And apparently there's there's tides and 451 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,320 Speaker 1: currents and in the Great Lakes. I had no idea, 452 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: but I remember somebody saying that recently. I just remember 453 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,200 Speaker 1: learning that when I saw Ferris Bueller in high school 454 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:36,159 Speaker 1: and there's that scene by, uh, what's the great lake 455 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:40,320 Speaker 1: there in Chicago? Was at like Michigan, I think superior, superior. Boy, 456 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:43,280 Speaker 1: we're getting crushed right now. I think let's just name 457 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 1: them all. It could be eerie. Maybe here on Ontario 458 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:50,439 Speaker 1: one of those. It's not Ontario. Um, but I just 459 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:53,160 Speaker 1: remember seeing that that scene by the lake and all 460 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,240 Speaker 1: those waves and stuff, and I was like, wait a minute. 461 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:57,160 Speaker 1: I thought they're in Chicago, Where the heck are they? 462 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 1: And someone said, no, that's that's a great lake and 463 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:02,680 Speaker 1: it has it can look like the ocean like that, 464 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:07,119 Speaker 1: And I mean, now, I remember I recall back to 465 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,919 Speaker 1: my boyhood when I would play in the lake and 466 00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:12,840 Speaker 1: I guess there would be waves, but it never occurred. 467 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:14,560 Speaker 1: To me that they just shouldn't be there, that they 468 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 1: were freaks of nature. What lake did you go to? Erie? Okay, 469 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: are you sure about that? I'm positive? Okay. Um, So 470 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: with the marine hydrogenetics they can and you should go 471 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:29,680 Speaker 1: back and listen to that episode. It's really good. But 472 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:33,199 Speaker 1: one type is if they build it, you know, a 473 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:36,359 Speaker 1: plant right along the shore there and it's got that 474 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,200 Speaker 1: turbine at the top and see water flows in and out, 475 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,399 Speaker 1: and they use that wave action in the title movement, 476 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:46,120 Speaker 1: uh coming and going to run that turbine, spinning that turbine. 477 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:49,200 Speaker 1: It all goes back to spinning that wheel. Yeah. I 478 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:52,280 Speaker 1: actually saw there was a University of Florida's study. UM 479 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:57,920 Speaker 1: that's that said Florida alone could probably produce ten gigawatts 480 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 1: of electricity from UM marine hydro kinetic schemes alone, and 481 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,840 Speaker 1: which is pretty substantial because all of the UM hydro 482 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,399 Speaker 1: electric output in the entire United States right now is 483 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,800 Speaker 1: thirteen gig a lot. So that'd be a pretty big 484 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:15,000 Speaker 1: addition actually if they could figure out how to do it. 485 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:19,359 Speaker 1: You know, I thought of another musician from Gainesville, Florida, 486 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,480 Speaker 1: the other day when I was listening to them, Stephen Stills, like, 487 00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:26,840 Speaker 1: I can't believe it forgot Steven Stills. Steve Stills, little 488 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: Stevie Stills is from which uh yeah, he's one of 489 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 1: my favorites too. Uh out of all of the Crosby, 490 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:40,040 Speaker 1: Stills and Nash people are just in general mm hmm, 491 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:42,880 Speaker 1: well yeah, I think out of all of I mean, 492 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:46,280 Speaker 1: Neil Young is the king, obviously, but Stephen Stills was 493 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:49,239 Speaker 1: in Buffalo Springfield with Neil Young, and he also had 494 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:52,440 Speaker 1: this great band that did a one off record band 495 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 1: called Manassas that was awesome. Okay, well what about out 496 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:00,160 Speaker 1: of Emerson Lincoln Palmer. I mean, if you're not a 497 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 1: a lake Man, then I don't know what you're doing 498 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,640 Speaker 1: in life? What about Bachman Turner? Overdrive? You gotta go 499 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:12,360 Speaker 1: with Overdrive? Okay, yeah, totally Overdrive was he was awesome. Sure, um, 500 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,360 Speaker 1: you you want to take a second break yet? I 501 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 1: think so, I think that is our new queue and 502 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:19,920 Speaker 1: I get really off track to stop the show and 503 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: then pick up again with the topic and new queue. 504 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:25,560 Speaker 1: All right, we'll be right back, everybody. We got to 505 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:59,479 Speaker 1: sort ourselves out. Okay. So if you're not just sorry 506 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:01,959 Speaker 1: eyed over hydro power right now, you clearly haven't been 507 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 1: paying attention to this episode, like we're mad at hydro 508 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: power is amazing, Like, um, it uses water is fuel, right, 509 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,480 Speaker 1: and water is a renewable resources. We're never going to 510 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:14,480 Speaker 1: run out of it thanks to the hydrologic cycle, which 511 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,720 Speaker 1: um replenishes the Earth's water all the time. The fact 512 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 1: that rivers flow thanks to the force of gravity, um, 513 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: and the rains swell their their flow, and um it 514 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: happens seasonally every season. You can kind of set your 515 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:33,479 Speaker 1: watch by. It's pretty amazing stuff. Um. And then the 516 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,600 Speaker 1: other fact that when we run this water, when we 517 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:41,080 Speaker 1: build like hydroelectric plants on rivers and things like that, 518 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:44,560 Speaker 1: when we use it as fuel, it doesn't exhaust the water, 519 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,200 Speaker 1: Like the water just loses a little bit of its 520 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:49,720 Speaker 1: kinetic energy for a second then but when it flows 521 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 1: out the other side, it regains it rather quickly. You know, 522 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: it doesn't need to be replenished. Um, it's not wasted, 523 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:58,960 Speaker 1: like you just stole a little bit of its kinetic 524 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:01,120 Speaker 1: energy and used it for something else than the river 525 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: was like whatever, I got it right back. So it's 526 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 1: a pretty amazing green source of energy. Um. You can 527 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:11,920 Speaker 1: understand why people have been so so cookie for it 528 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:14,880 Speaker 1: for a while. Plus it doesn't um expend any greenhouse 529 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:18,880 Speaker 1: gases in its production. Right, Yeah, if you hate greenhouse gasses, 530 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:24,920 Speaker 1: then you love hydro electric power because along with solar, uh, 531 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 1: nuclear and wind, um it has no emissions. And we've 532 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,720 Speaker 1: talked about nuclear there are some problems there, and you 533 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:36,360 Speaker 1: know wind and solar is great too. There's nothing that's perfect. 534 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:41,360 Speaker 1: There is a byproduct by producing solar panels and wind turbines, 535 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:45,600 Speaker 1: and you know there's ecological impacts with any type of 536 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:49,239 Speaker 1: energy production. UM, it's all about just making efforts to 537 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:54,680 Speaker 1: minimize those as much as possible, right. Um. The other 538 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:59,960 Speaker 1: thing about hydro electric power is that, UM there it's 539 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,440 Speaker 1: just simpler. Like when we're talking about thermal there's a 540 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,160 Speaker 1: couple of extraditional steps, which is like loading the fuel, 541 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:10,000 Speaker 1: lighting the fuel, basically burning to create steam to spin 542 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:13,400 Speaker 1: the turbine. This is just water passing by that spins 543 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:16,480 Speaker 1: the turbine. So because there's fewer steps and there's fewer 544 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,440 Speaker 1: machine or less machinery involved, UM, it's a it's a 545 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:24,160 Speaker 1: simpler technology, which means that ultimately, especially if you look 546 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:27,680 Speaker 1: at the lifespan of a hydro electric plant. UM, over 547 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:31,240 Speaker 1: time it's much more cost effective than a thermal power 548 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 1: plant for sure. It's just again it costs a lot 549 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:38,320 Speaker 1: more upfront to build one, but when they build them, 550 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 1: they usually build them to last usually decades longer than 551 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,719 Speaker 1: a thermal power plant too. Yeah, and then if you're 552 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:49,160 Speaker 1: in the in the business of creating power, you kind 553 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:53,680 Speaker 1: of love hydro electric power because it's instantaneous. Um. If 554 00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:57,200 Speaker 1: demand goes up, you can just spin that turbine faster 555 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 1: and allow more water to flow through, if you know. 556 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:02,280 Speaker 1: Sometimes it goes dormant and you turn it off, but 557 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:05,440 Speaker 1: if you need power, just get it going again. And 558 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:07,560 Speaker 1: it's not like it takes it doesn't have to heat 559 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,520 Speaker 1: up or anything. You're like, you're producing power and electricity 560 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:13,880 Speaker 1: the minute that things starts spinning. Yeah. Well, actually there's UM, 561 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:16,640 Speaker 1: there's measurements of the ramp up time. And for some 562 00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:20,120 Speaker 1: kinds of hydro electric power, it's less than a minute, 563 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:23,880 Speaker 1: about thirty seconds from zero to producing all the power. 564 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,960 Speaker 1: You're you're like, it's peak out power output. Um. Other 565 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,120 Speaker 1: kinds are five minutes. So I saw anywhere from thirty 566 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:31,800 Speaker 1: seconds to five minutes ramp up time. For things like 567 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 1: coal and oil, it can take half a day to 568 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:41,160 Speaker 1: a couple of days from starting from scratch to full power. Um. 569 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:45,200 Speaker 1: So that's a huge, huge bonuses if you're um an 570 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:49,040 Speaker 1: energy producer, you know. Yeah, So you know, we've kind 571 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:51,920 Speaker 1: of put a pin in the problems. And like I 572 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:54,480 Speaker 1: said a second ago, there is no type of power 573 00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:57,760 Speaker 1: production that is perfect. Um. Everything's going to have some 574 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:00,600 Speaker 1: sort of impact on the environment. And in a case 575 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 1: of hydro electric power, there are a few ways. And 576 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:05,200 Speaker 1: it's funny, you know, it sounds so great, but then 577 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:07,720 Speaker 1: when you start kind of reading through these things, it's 578 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,040 Speaker 1: you know, some of the air is let out of 579 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:12,640 Speaker 1: the balloon a little bit. But we have to cover 580 00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:15,080 Speaker 1: this stuff. Um, when you're gonna build a big reservoir 581 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:17,360 Speaker 1: for a dam, there's gonna be a lot of impact 582 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 1: on the environment. Um. Everything above that used to be 583 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:25,600 Speaker 1: shoreline and dry or maybe even marshy or forest land 584 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:29,319 Speaker 1: is gonna be an aquatic ecosystem pretty quickly, within about 585 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:32,600 Speaker 1: a year. And there's a lot of plants and animals 586 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:36,759 Speaker 1: and insects and reptiles and fish and birds that live 587 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:39,839 Speaker 1: in that area, and some of them can adapt, some 588 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:42,520 Speaker 1: of them move along and find a new home, and 589 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:44,759 Speaker 1: sadly some of them die out and they don't have 590 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:48,759 Speaker 1: a chance to relocate or adapt. Yeah. There, anytime they 591 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:51,600 Speaker 1: build a big damn project, you're probably going to find 592 00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:56,239 Speaker 1: within uh a year, two or a handful reports of 593 00:34:56,719 --> 00:35:00,640 Speaker 1: entire species that have gone extinct because of that damn project. 594 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 1: And a lot of people have kind of woken up 595 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:06,080 Speaker 1: over the last few decades, especially as UM as the 596 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: world has become much more environmentally conscious since the seventies, 597 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,200 Speaker 1: um and said, whoa, this is this is a big 598 00:35:13,239 --> 00:35:16,520 Speaker 1: deal here, actually um and hydro power, I think has 599 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:22,960 Speaker 1: kind of gotten away with trading on it. Yeah special 600 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:27,479 Speaker 1: special murder, interspecial murder UM, but hydro has gotten gotten 601 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:30,279 Speaker 1: away by trading on it's kind of green reputation. And 602 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,040 Speaker 1: finally people started calling it out and saying like, this 603 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:35,400 Speaker 1: is not acceptable. We have to figure out a better way. 604 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:37,879 Speaker 1: And that's kind of what I was referring to. We're 605 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:40,400 Speaker 1: not just kind of like that is almost entirely what 606 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:45,080 Speaker 1: I was referring to, where hydro um and we'll talk 607 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:47,480 Speaker 1: about the future in a second, but uh, it's at 608 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:49,279 Speaker 1: this point where it's like, how can we do this 609 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:54,000 Speaker 1: so that because this is an amazing green, renewable energy source, 610 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:58,200 Speaker 1: but it's also having devastating environmental impacts. So we've got 611 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:00,239 Speaker 1: to figure this out so we can keep doinging this, 612 00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:03,400 Speaker 1: but we've got to do it without you know, wiping 613 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:07,600 Speaker 1: out entire species every time we build a new dam. Yeah, totally. Um. 614 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:09,960 Speaker 1: The other thing that can happen beyond the animals that 615 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,759 Speaker 1: did mention plants, but all that above water vegetation up 616 00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:16,120 Speaker 1: there is going to be flooded, and that you know 617 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:19,040 Speaker 1: that those plants lived in certain kinds of conditions that 618 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:23,920 Speaker 1: wasn't um a lake bottom basically, and it's gonna decompose. 619 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:27,400 Speaker 1: It's gonna release methane and CEO two into the atmosphere 620 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:31,440 Speaker 1: during those drought periods when that reservoir evaporates, and then 621 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:35,480 Speaker 1: you've got all the downstream problems to stuff that was um. 622 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:39,319 Speaker 1: You know, instead of flooding these downstream ecosystems, it's kind 623 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:40,879 Speaker 1: of like the opposite of what's going on up top. 624 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:44,200 Speaker 1: They're gonna dry up and all those all that nutrient 625 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:49,959 Speaker 1: rich silt that's deposited downstream as the river flows uh 626 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:52,160 Speaker 1: is blocked by the dams, and that's gonna build up 627 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:56,399 Speaker 1: in the reservoir, causing problems for the dam itself and uh, 628 00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,839 Speaker 1: nutrient depletion downstream. So you know, it's kind of messing 629 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:03,759 Speaker 1: up both sides. Yeah, Um, and so even even for 630 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:09,799 Speaker 1: aquatic animals, it's it's a pretty big problem. Um, just 631 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:14,080 Speaker 1: building a dam is an obstacle for the fish that 632 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:17,400 Speaker 1: used to live there. So fish that um, you know, 633 00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:20,799 Speaker 1: used to swim upstream past where that dam is now 634 00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:24,440 Speaker 1: located to its breeding grounds and spawning grounds. Um, they 635 00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:26,480 Speaker 1: have a problem. They have a big problem getting around, 636 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:29,160 Speaker 1: and the hydro industry is looked into all sorts of 637 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:32,840 Speaker 1: different ways to help these fish get around more easily. 638 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:36,719 Speaker 1: So there's fish diversion channels, there's fish ladders, basically a 639 00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:40,440 Speaker 1: system of locks that the fish are meant to climb. Um. 640 00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:42,840 Speaker 1: You know, I think we talked about in the Hoover 641 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:47,160 Speaker 1: Damn episode that there's like fish air drops, trucking fish, 642 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:51,040 Speaker 1: fish cannons, all sorts of weird stuff. None of them 643 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:56,680 Speaker 1: none of them hold a candle to unobstructed treat of 644 00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:59,680 Speaker 1: a river, Like that's what you want. So that's another 645 00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:04,360 Speaker 1: channel lenge that's facing the hydro electric production industry. Is Okay, 646 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:08,400 Speaker 1: like basically anything we do is going to negatively impact 647 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:11,440 Speaker 1: the fish population, so that's a that's a big challenge 648 00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:15,239 Speaker 1: for them as well. A unobstructed river, though, is not 649 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,919 Speaker 1: nearly as fun as a fish cannon. No, I don't 650 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,080 Speaker 1: know about for the fish, but for you know, jet 651 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:24,560 Speaker 1: skiers hanging out watching them get shot upstream. I think 652 00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:26,560 Speaker 1: we I think we did research into fish cannons and 653 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:29,719 Speaker 1: they're they're okay, right, yeah, but I mean you've it's 654 00:38:29,719 --> 00:38:34,480 Speaker 1: got to scare the yeah, you know, I don't know. 655 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:37,000 Speaker 1: I don't know. I'm sure some of them do the 656 00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:42,960 Speaker 1: fish equivalent of jet skiers being shot. Come on, Brose, 657 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:47,880 Speaker 1: send me through again. Uh. There are also humans that 658 00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:51,560 Speaker 1: live in communities that live near where these dams are built, 659 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:55,040 Speaker 1: and they will get um what's it called when you 660 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:59,000 Speaker 1: have to force someone out of a place displaced? Yeah, 661 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:04,799 Speaker 1: but evicted the the actual moved along? Oh no, what 662 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:06,320 Speaker 1: do you call it that? When the government steps in 663 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:08,120 Speaker 1: and say, hey, we gotta move your house because we're 664 00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:11,960 Speaker 1: gonna build a school eminent domain. Yes, okay, Well they 665 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:14,759 Speaker 1: will come through and say, I'm sorry, community, but we're 666 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:17,480 Speaker 1: gonna build a damn here. You're gonna leave. Here's some 667 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:20,600 Speaker 1: money maybe to help you out with this, but you 668 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:23,040 Speaker 1: don't have a choice. We're gonna flood. And in fact, 669 00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:27,200 Speaker 1: all the lakes in Georgia are man made power producing lakes, 670 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:29,920 Speaker 1: and there were once communities in some of these places, 671 00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,360 Speaker 1: and there are stories of cars and houses at the 672 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:35,120 Speaker 1: bottoms of some of these lakes. Yeah, which is just 673 00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:38,120 Speaker 1: creeps filled to me. Man. I love looking at pictures 674 00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,239 Speaker 1: of that kind of stuff and thinking about it. But yeah, 675 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:43,000 Speaker 1: you know I've told you before, being in, you know, 676 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:46,120 Speaker 1: any of the Georgia lakes, I always am like, what 677 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:48,879 Speaker 1: is beneath me right now? You know, it's awesome. It's 678 00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:51,680 Speaker 1: thrilling but terrifying at the same time, like being on 679 00:39:51,719 --> 00:39:55,160 Speaker 1: a jet ski uh huh. And that's without even counting 680 00:39:55,160 --> 00:39:58,279 Speaker 1: the catfish that are the scariest creatures on the that's right, 681 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:01,520 Speaker 1: or the gar Good lord, man, I saw a car 682 00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:05,120 Speaker 1: last summer that I had never seen one in person before. 683 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:09,120 Speaker 1: It looks prehistoric, it really does. Yeah, They're they're very 684 00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:12,560 Speaker 1: scary looking and they'll they'll eat absolutely anything. You can 685 00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:16,480 Speaker 1: have a guard problem real quick. Uh So, the people 686 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:18,600 Speaker 1: that have been displaced, I think the World Commission on 687 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,680 Speaker 1: Damn's did a study and they estimated in the year 688 00:40:21,719 --> 00:40:25,759 Speaker 1: two thousand that damn said physically displaced between forty and 689 00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:29,360 Speaker 1: eighty million people all around the world. Yeah, that's so 690 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:33,640 Speaker 1: many people. I mean, it's just like you said, like, sorry, 691 00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:36,040 Speaker 1: you have to move. You don't like this is this 692 00:40:36,120 --> 00:40:40,760 Speaker 1: is going to be underwater, you know, very soon. Um. 693 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:43,360 Speaker 1: And then when you build the damn, even once you settle, 694 00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:46,520 Speaker 1: resettle the people who used to live in what's now 695 00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:52,040 Speaker 1: a reservoir. Um, the people downstream are are under constant 696 00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:56,040 Speaker 1: threat of the damn failing. When that happens, and it happens, 697 00:40:56,600 --> 00:41:00,000 Speaker 1: whole towns get flooded out, lots of people can die. 698 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:03,000 Speaker 1: I millions and millions and millions of dollars worth of 699 00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:06,759 Speaker 1: damage is done so um. And it's not like it's 700 00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:12,400 Speaker 1: not like that's just a remote possibility. Apparently. As of 701 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:17,480 Speaker 1: two thousand fifteen, the American Society for Civil Engineers identified 702 00:41:17,719 --> 00:41:22,960 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand, six hundred dams just in the United States 703 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:29,680 Speaker 1: that posed the highest hazard potential, the most critical for failure. UM. 704 00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:34,800 Speaker 1: Fifteen thousand dams right now are really menacing, like a 705 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:38,439 Speaker 1: a guy in a jet skis circling you. That level 706 00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:41,520 Speaker 1: of menacing. Yeah, and I think there was one too 707 00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:44,480 Speaker 1: many times. I think was that three or four? That 708 00:41:44,560 --> 00:41:46,960 Speaker 1: was like seven? Oh well, I was about to say 709 00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:48,799 Speaker 1: three is a magic numbers, so maybe six is twice 710 00:41:48,840 --> 00:41:52,960 Speaker 1: as good, but yeah, sevens too much. I think they're 711 00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:56,400 Speaker 1: about ninety thousand dams in the US, so that's fifteen 712 00:41:56,400 --> 00:42:00,640 Speaker 1: thousand of those ninety thousands are high hazard. And um, 713 00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:03,520 Speaker 1: you know, when you hear about government and politics, you'll 714 00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:07,160 Speaker 1: often hear uh talk of like, hey, the one thing 715 00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:08,799 Speaker 1: we can agree on, we've got to get together on 716 00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:12,399 Speaker 1: as infrastructure. This is what they're talking about, um, roads 717 00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:14,879 Speaker 1: and bridges and stuff like that. But part of it 718 00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:17,760 Speaker 1: is damns, And like, you know, one of the ideas 719 00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:21,239 Speaker 1: of moving forward is let's get in there. Let's I 720 00:42:21,239 --> 00:42:23,840 Speaker 1: think only twenty dred of the ninety thousand dams in 721 00:42:23,840 --> 00:42:27,560 Speaker 1: the US even produce electricity. So one of the ideas 722 00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:29,719 Speaker 1: is let's get in there, let's shore these things up, 723 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:32,200 Speaker 1: Let's take as many of them as possible that aren't 724 00:42:32,239 --> 00:42:36,759 Speaker 1: producing electricity since they're already there anyway, and retrofit them 725 00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:40,719 Speaker 1: to produce electricity, and they'll be safer and actually be 726 00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:44,719 Speaker 1: doing something other than just being a damn yeah, which 727 00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:47,120 Speaker 1: I mean, it's like that's that's just the lowest hanging 728 00:42:47,160 --> 00:42:49,120 Speaker 1: fruit you can think of right there. It's like these 729 00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:54,799 Speaker 1: damns already had their environmental impact decades ago, so it's 730 00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:58,680 Speaker 1: it's not as bad as you know, um, you might 731 00:42:58,719 --> 00:43:01,840 Speaker 1: as well like put into good use. And it's certainly 732 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:06,640 Speaker 1: preferable to to building another dam to generate power. It's like, 733 00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:08,680 Speaker 1: what are you even doing, Like, don't do that. Wait 734 00:43:08,760 --> 00:43:12,120 Speaker 1: until all of the damns that um needs shoring up 735 00:43:12,160 --> 00:43:16,080 Speaker 1: anyway are producing electrical power, then maybe we can look 736 00:43:16,080 --> 00:43:18,759 Speaker 1: into more damn projects. Apparently, that is not how the 737 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:21,640 Speaker 1: industry goes UM. Like I said, they kind of seem 738 00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:25,600 Speaker 1: to have traded on their you know, green energy um 739 00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:31,600 Speaker 1: uh image. But they're they're an energy sector. They're part 740 00:43:31,640 --> 00:43:34,360 Speaker 1: of the energy sector, and they do things they don't like, 741 00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:37,640 Speaker 1: things like government regulation, and they don't like things like, um, 742 00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:40,920 Speaker 1: you know, tribes or local governments having a say in 743 00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:43,640 Speaker 1: their licensing and all that stuff, so they lobby against 744 00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:47,359 Speaker 1: that kind of thing. They're you know, their corporations. So um, 745 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:49,880 Speaker 1: it's a real problem in the in the industry that 746 00:43:50,080 --> 00:43:54,480 Speaker 1: right now they seem to be largely in favor of 747 00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:59,319 Speaker 1: pressing back against environmental regulations or regulations that less than 748 00:43:59,360 --> 00:44:02,480 Speaker 1: the industry impact rather than saying yeah, you know, like 749 00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:04,600 Speaker 1: we really need to we really need to figure out 750 00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:06,600 Speaker 1: how to do this the right way. They're just trying 751 00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:08,760 Speaker 1: to squeeze as many nickels as they can out before 752 00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:13,439 Speaker 1: um they they are forced to do it the right way. Yeah, 753 00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:16,719 Speaker 1: this one in Turkey sounds like a real nasty one. 754 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:20,440 Speaker 1: They're building on the Tigris. It's gonna flood ninety miles 755 00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:24,719 Speaker 1: of the river plus a hundred and fifty miles of tributaries. Um, 756 00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:28,000 Speaker 1: big time damage to the ecosystems there. And we're talking 757 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:31,319 Speaker 1: ancient archaeological sites that are going to be wiped out, 758 00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:34,239 Speaker 1: people displaced. Uh. And a lot of people in the 759 00:44:34,280 --> 00:44:38,359 Speaker 1: international community have said, hey, uh, Turkey, why don't you 760 00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:41,279 Speaker 1: think about some different ways to do this, And Turkey said, no, 761 00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:45,080 Speaker 1: this is what we're doing. Uh, We're we're gonna push 762 00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:47,719 Speaker 1: forward with this. We have another one on the Euphrates 763 00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:52,160 Speaker 1: that has reduced waterflow UM to Iraq to its south 764 00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:57,320 Speaker 1: by this caused a loss of sixty acres of arable 765 00:44:57,400 --> 00:45:01,960 Speaker 1: land every year. Yeah, it's just such an astounding figure. 766 00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:04,680 Speaker 1: It's like, how is there any any land left? You know? 767 00:45:06,360 --> 00:45:08,640 Speaker 1: So there are fortunately a lot of people in the 768 00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:10,719 Speaker 1: industry who are, like the writings on the wall, like 769 00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:13,840 Speaker 1: this is just too good of an energy source to stop, 770 00:45:13,880 --> 00:45:16,520 Speaker 1: but it's having too big of an environmental impact to 771 00:45:16,600 --> 00:45:18,600 Speaker 1: just keep going for in this direction, so they're trying 772 00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:21,400 Speaker 1: to find ways to make it better. UM. One of 773 00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:24,480 Speaker 1: the inventions that I saw was called movable hep um 774 00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:28,400 Speaker 1: hydroelectric power plant. It's movable, uh, not that you just 775 00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:30,840 Speaker 1: move it wherever you want, like whenever you want, but 776 00:45:30,880 --> 00:45:35,520 Speaker 1: the actual the actual like plant itself can move up 777 00:45:35,680 --> 00:45:40,359 Speaker 1: or down basically casts. That's good. UM. It moves up 778 00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:43,480 Speaker 1: and down depending on how high or low the river is, 779 00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:47,160 Speaker 1: which is good because you know, seasonally river river height, 780 00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:49,680 Speaker 1: which has a huge impact on the amount of energy 781 00:45:49,719 --> 00:45:53,839 Speaker 1: it has. UM. You know ebbs and flows basically UM. 782 00:45:53,920 --> 00:45:57,279 Speaker 1: So if you can lower you know, your your your 783 00:45:57,280 --> 00:46:01,040 Speaker 1: power plant in the water further when the waters um low, 784 00:46:01,120 --> 00:46:03,719 Speaker 1: or raise it when it's high, you can also make 785 00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:09,080 Speaker 1: it easier for fish to go around above or under unobstructed, 786 00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:13,160 Speaker 1: which is a huge, huge bonus too. Yeah, there's another 787 00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:16,799 Speaker 1: UM couple of technologies that are very cool. One called 788 00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:19,680 Speaker 1: a v l H or u l H very low 789 00:46:19,719 --> 00:46:22,840 Speaker 1: head or ultra low head facilities. We talked about the 790 00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:26,360 Speaker 1: head as being you know, that volume of water plus 791 00:46:26,400 --> 00:46:29,120 Speaker 1: the amount of drop, and basically they just don't need 792 00:46:29,160 --> 00:46:31,759 Speaker 1: that much of a drop, um much less of an 793 00:46:31,800 --> 00:46:35,719 Speaker 1: environmental footprint. Doesn't require some big large dam or a 794 00:46:35,719 --> 00:46:38,960 Speaker 1: big concrete span to create that huge drop. The fish 795 00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:42,640 Speaker 1: can take that drop, which is you know, a big deal. Um. 796 00:46:42,719 --> 00:46:45,640 Speaker 1: And then these low velocity turbines. I really like this idea. 797 00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:48,640 Speaker 1: It's basically saying, hey, why don't we just concentrate on 798 00:46:49,320 --> 00:46:51,080 Speaker 1: or one of the things we can concentrate on is 799 00:46:51,120 --> 00:46:55,680 Speaker 1: making our turbines just super efficient and they don't have 800 00:46:55,800 --> 00:46:58,279 Speaker 1: to spend at nine d r p m s um. 801 00:46:58,320 --> 00:47:00,719 Speaker 1: They don't have to spend very fast at all. So 802 00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:04,000 Speaker 1: you can produce um, you know, maybe the same amount 803 00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:08,480 Speaker 1: of electricity without the need for those high pressure pin stocks. Right, 804 00:47:08,560 --> 00:47:11,160 Speaker 1: so the fish can just swim right through. They're morving 805 00:47:11,239 --> 00:47:14,640 Speaker 1: that slowly. UM. I think from what I saw, the 806 00:47:14,680 --> 00:47:18,600 Speaker 1: reason why everybody's not just going to the them the 807 00:47:18,760 --> 00:47:23,080 Speaker 1: low velocity turbines is because it's way cheaper to buy 808 00:47:23,160 --> 00:47:28,040 Speaker 1: and install and operate high speed turbines. But the fact 809 00:47:28,040 --> 00:47:30,160 Speaker 1: that people are thinking about this stuff and that they're 810 00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:32,960 Speaker 1: coming up with new designs, and they're proving that these 811 00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:37,360 Speaker 1: things can work. And we're also simultaneously, you know, publishing 812 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:41,400 Speaker 1: studies about the huge environmental impact that that this green 813 00:47:41,560 --> 00:47:44,200 Speaker 1: energy has. I think that those two things combined are 814 00:47:44,200 --> 00:47:48,640 Speaker 1: going to to kind of, um uh pick hydro back 815 00:47:48,719 --> 00:47:51,600 Speaker 1: up and brush it off and and actually make it green, 816 00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:54,279 Speaker 1: you know, in the near future. So I hope. So. 817 00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:57,400 Speaker 1: I mean, sometimes you gotta I know it's antithetical to 818 00:47:58,000 --> 00:48:01,920 Speaker 1: capitalism and ringing every last penny out of your company, 819 00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:04,560 Speaker 1: but sometimes you gotta bite the billet a little bit, 820 00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:06,880 Speaker 1: invest a little bit more in something that's better for 821 00:48:06,920 --> 00:48:09,960 Speaker 1: the world down the line, and still make gobs of 822 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:14,680 Speaker 1: money exactly nicely put chuck, thank you. Um, you got 823 00:48:14,680 --> 00:48:17,359 Speaker 1: anything else? I got nothing else? I don't either, man. 824 00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:22,319 Speaker 1: So that's hydro power. Um, look for another supplement edition 825 00:48:22,360 --> 00:48:26,319 Speaker 1: of hydro or probably somewhere down the line. Uh. And 826 00:48:26,400 --> 00:48:29,279 Speaker 1: in the meantime, until then, it's time for listener mail. 827 00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:35,520 Speaker 1: I'm gonna call this a little statistical analysis from a listener, 828 00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:38,080 Speaker 1: and this a little frightening to see how long it 829 00:48:38,120 --> 00:48:41,359 Speaker 1: takes to listen to our catalog. Oh boy, Happy New 830 00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:42,960 Speaker 1: Year to each of you. A huge thanks for what 831 00:48:43,040 --> 00:48:45,719 Speaker 1: you guys do UH to me, as too many other fans. 832 00:48:45,760 --> 00:48:47,560 Speaker 1: Your podcast never fails to bring a good laugh when 833 00:48:47,560 --> 00:48:50,240 Speaker 1: I'm down, take my mind off studies when I'm feeling stressed, 834 00:48:50,360 --> 00:48:53,080 Speaker 1: or to pique my interest on a fascinating topic when 835 00:48:53,080 --> 00:48:56,120 Speaker 1: I'm a little bored. UH. I listened every day, which 836 00:48:56,200 --> 00:48:58,920 Speaker 1: means many repeats, and I still never struggle to find 837 00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:01,000 Speaker 1: an episode to keep me interest did as you may 838 00:49:01,000 --> 00:49:03,440 Speaker 1: be aware, at the end of the year, UH, Spotify 839 00:49:03,520 --> 00:49:07,640 Speaker 1: gives a nice wrap up on individual listening habits. I 840 00:49:07,719 --> 00:49:10,640 Speaker 1: listened to over a hundred and ten thousand minutes on 841 00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:15,160 Speaker 1: Spotify Music and podcasts combine. In the year, I listened 842 00:49:15,160 --> 00:49:17,080 Speaker 1: to over five hundred episodes and stuff you should Know 843 00:49:17,680 --> 00:49:21,200 Speaker 1: at an accumulated twenty four thousand, two hundred and fifty 844 00:49:21,200 --> 00:49:27,200 Speaker 1: six minutes. My biggest streak, wow, was twenty nine episodes 845 00:49:27,239 --> 00:49:32,400 Speaker 1: and one day Anthony even says Wow. I want to 846 00:49:32,440 --> 00:49:34,040 Speaker 1: add I'm not often the type of person to fall 847 00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:36,520 Speaker 1: asleep listening to you all, but which would account for 848 00:49:36,560 --> 00:49:39,120 Speaker 1: a lot of playtime. So this is like daytime listening. 849 00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:42,160 Speaker 1: It sounds like like you'd have to be on speed 850 00:49:42,239 --> 00:49:45,279 Speaker 1: that day to listen to twenty nine episodes in one 851 00:49:45,360 --> 00:49:47,920 Speaker 1: bank and he's not on speed. Uh. You all have 852 00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:49,640 Speaker 1: helped me through some of the hardest times as well 853 00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:51,959 Speaker 1: as shared and some of the greatest times, all without 854 00:49:51,960 --> 00:49:55,319 Speaker 1: even knowing it. Especially this year with COVID and a 855 00:49:55,400 --> 00:49:58,080 Speaker 1: very stressful semester at law school. You truly help this 856 00:49:58,239 --> 00:50:00,440 Speaker 1: make make this year the best it could be. I 857 00:50:00,440 --> 00:50:02,239 Speaker 1: hope you had a relaxing holiday and a great start 858 00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:07,840 Speaker 1: to the new year. Chow Anthony, ps I love Speed 859 00:50:09,080 --> 00:50:14,600 Speaker 1: No eight Speed. That's that's great, Anthony. I'm good luck 860 00:50:14,640 --> 00:50:18,360 Speaker 1: with law school too. Um. I actually saw a couple 861 00:50:18,360 --> 00:50:23,160 Speaker 1: of people who topped his his total minutes. I think 862 00:50:23,280 --> 00:50:26,880 Speaker 1: somebody tweeted um, because like you can, you can tweet 863 00:50:26,880 --> 00:50:31,799 Speaker 1: that really easily or post it. I saw one and 864 00:50:31,880 --> 00:50:34,319 Speaker 1: I don't I'm sorry, I don't know what their name is, 865 00:50:34,360 --> 00:50:37,399 Speaker 1: but um, they had like fifty five thousand minutes listen 866 00:50:37,440 --> 00:50:40,040 Speaker 1: to stuff you should know the last year and that 867 00:50:40,200 --> 00:50:44,160 Speaker 1: nuts man. So hats off to everybody who listens to 868 00:50:44,239 --> 00:50:46,839 Speaker 1: us in general. But also if you listen to us 869 00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:50,239 Speaker 1: that much, we really appreciate you and hopefully, um we 870 00:50:50,360 --> 00:50:53,080 Speaker 1: never annoy you, Like hopefully one day it never just 871 00:50:53,120 --> 00:50:54,799 Speaker 1: clicks and you're like, I can never listen to these 872 00:50:54,800 --> 00:50:59,040 Speaker 1: guys again. Ever heard too much? You know, to be 873 00:50:59,080 --> 00:51:00,839 Speaker 1: careful out there, I guess is what I'm trying to say. 874 00:51:00,840 --> 00:51:03,920 Speaker 1: Everybody be careful. Uh. If you want to get in 875 00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:07,160 Speaker 1: touch with this, like Anthony did, we love hearing from 876 00:51:07,160 --> 00:51:10,879 Speaker 1: our friends. That means you. You can send us an 877 00:51:10,920 --> 00:51:17,600 Speaker 1: email to stuff podcast at iHeart radio dot com. Stuff 878 00:51:17,640 --> 00:51:20,040 Speaker 1: you Should Know is a production of iHeart Radio. For 879 00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:22,759 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 880 00:51:22,840 --> 00:51:25,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 881 00:51:29,120 --> 00:51:29,160 Speaker 1: H