I too was a paperboy…and “Carrier of the Month” twice. Was a terrific experience and taught many valuable life lessons about responsibility and accountability. I loved having and saving money and the independence that brought. Not bad for 12-13 years old.
And actually, my experience visiting the newsroom at the Yonkers Herald Statesman when interviewed for the profile of my award kindled my fascination with journalism.
"A recent essay from New York’s former governor, George Pataki, argues that solar energy is great, unless the panels are being sited in the lovely lakeshore town where you’ve retired, in which case solar is unsuitable."
This public policy issue perfectly demonstrates, in my mind, the tension between two environmental objectives: one, facilitate energy production that’s sustainable and renewable, reducing carbon emissions and two, conservation of our natural resources to prevent exploitation, destruction, and neglect.
Both sides of the issue have legitimate concerns. For me, the question is not which side is right, but rather, is there a consensus or compromise that can be achieved to facilitate both objectives?
I think to do that, both sides need to be open to finding a middle ground instead of standing resolutely on their own side.
I agree with Pataki, to some extent, on several points but I think the general thrust misses the point.
If we want a stable and efficient grid we need to generate power closer to the end users. There is loss in transmission, and there is cost and inefficiency in building new infrastructure far from the users.
Within the Park the problem is compounded by having vast areas with very few users and infrastructure vulnerable to falling trees. And we have a lot of trees. Rural users are vulnerable and suffer long waits for repairs so they invest in individual and less efficient infrastructure like generators. While individual rooftop arrays are inefficient as stand-alone generators, an array of scores of rooftop arrays along with smallish infill arrays in or near hamlets and local microgrids might resolve much of the inefficiency in the long term, while providing safer, more resilient communities within the Park.
And wouldn’t it be great if your power went out and you could run your home for several hours on a battery backup and not have the sign of a power outage being 40 people firing up their gas or diesel generators?
Aren’t a lot of our power stations fairly far from users now? But maybe that’s your point. Also, I think the trees would be cleared around a solar installation, one of the reasons some people object.
Yes, power typically has been generated very far from the largest users. While wind blows where it blows and dams are built at appropriate geologic locations (tho there could be huge advances in microhydro) the sun shines everywhere. I’m not going to address fossil fuel or nuclear.
As for clearing trees, along with farms hamlets within the Park are about the only places without a lot of trees. And you can put a fair amount of solar on a school and bus garage, maybe a row at the top of the bleachers at a sports field. Carport structures at the Post Office, or any parking lot, which would also be helpful in making snow plowing easier…there is plenty of room
I think the economic incentive is to put up the greatest volume at the least expense without concern for longterm efficiencies, benefits, or detriments.
There is a serious energy delivery problem that doesn’t get the scrutiny it deserves - the massive use of energy used by technology.
For many years conservation and efficiency, advancements in technology like LED lighting, have allowed for economic growth without need for more sources of power, and that has been great for the environment while also being good for people.
But now we’ve invented ways to use power at an unfathomable scale in order to create crypto value out of thin air, meme coins, and AI which could have many useful applications but a ton of energy and CO2 is being used to make faked images and videos.
It seems like we are destroying the planet in order to move to Mars because the planet is being destroyed.
I believe it was The Land Desk that wrote about this same answer to the solar issue. Why NOT use commercial building roofs - bus garages - carports? Apparently that answer has escaped the "powers that be"! Seems to me its a good idea.
And yes - the absolutely unfathomable scale of the needs of crypto fails to get the attention it should. Wonder why that is (sarcastically)
Vast fields of solar are the quickest, most cost effective way to build out solar in the short term. Industry tells government bodies the most expedient way for them is the best, and other ideas “can’t be done.” And then when it is useful for some particular situation all of a sudden the “can’t be done” way can be done. Many years ago I asked a GF official why they don’t put solar on their old dump on Luzerne Rd. They said solar people said it can’t be done, but a year or 2 later I saw a very similar array - in Afghanistan. Because Afghanistan was apparently better at the technology of building a framework to hold panels.
That is why government should structurally protect the values of the people. Not the electorate, the people.
I don’t know where you live but in many local counties we have a supervisor system of government which incentivizes parochialism over the greater good.
I lugged the Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus and the Burlington Free Press between the ages of 11 to 15. It taught me some life skills...customer service, banking and book keeping skills, time management (my dad was my end of route customer and expected his paper at a particular time...no lolly gaging!), making good on errors, working in adverse conditions, rain & snow. It was great exercise and a great way to meet people. The income it provided allowed me to have things that my folks deemed to expensive for their budget. I still have my Times-Argus bag and my collection book. I'm sure there are other opportunities today that can build character in boys and girls...it's sad this one has disappeared.
My question is: when was the last time you saw any 12-16 year old deliver newspapers??? I've been home for 10 years, and before the demise of the Post Star I had it delivered and it was an older woman who ran my route from her car! Sooo, what's the "big whoop" folks? My brothers were paperboys and that was great....a different world, a different time. AND, we don't even have a paper anymore....Happy Sunday
Pataki is okay with electrical poles and wires every 200 feet, though? And since he doesn't live near it, a coal-fired electrical plant is okay since only social injustice saves him from the reality of how his electricity gets produced. Just returned from Europe. Wind farms are EVERYWHERE and Scotland, home of coal mining, already transitioned to renewables--EARLY, before the legislative deadline, because they care about saving the environment for more than rich landowners. Huh.
HAHAHAHA...I had a finnicky mailman in San Francisco, and he did the same thing...what happened there was he was moved to a different route. Perhaps you could suggest he carry some treats, and throw then in the years whenever Ringo or any other dog starts to bark? There's always more than one way to "skin a cat"...hahaha
I remember seeing some show that featured different solar panel system designs, wonder what is available now. Perhaps there's a design that's less "offensive"
Haven’t thought about paper routes in years. In addition to teaching life skills to young boys before the glass ceiling was broken for the paper routes carriers, it was a great part of community back in those days. My brother had a route for awhile which I recall was not his favorite chore in the winter. I enjoyed hearing about his different customers and the “crab” who all the kids were afraid to ask for payment. A different kind of bark, I guess. Thanks for reminding us of this little piece of American history.
And, thank you both for this newsletter which I read assiduously. It’s a delightful, thought provoking and refreshing mix of topics that isn’t available anywhere else. You rock
2 years ago we took a cross country trip to Colorado. All along the way we could see giant windmills, sometimes just a row or two, sometimes many, many more. Those red states may not be “woke” but it certainly seems like red state farmers know upon which side their bread is buttered. The corn and soybeans grew around them, and I’m sure whatever payment they got from the windmills being there was welcome revenue. I thought they were like strange and beautiful sculptures, magnificently futuristic. And they were turning, turning, turning, because of the wind that is almost always blowing. Would an unbroken prairie full of tall grass and wildflowers be even more beautiful? Sure. But that wouldn’t be what was there anymore, windmills or not. And the world we live in requires energy. I guess we don’t get enough constant wind to make them practical here in large numbers, but for out there they made so much sense. We also passed a factory that made the nacelles, which is the box at the top where the gears and machinery that actually make the electricity are. So even more benefit to those states.
Solar panels can be put anywhere that gets sunshine. While I don’t think wild lands should be used for them, there is a lot of land even in the Adirondacks that is already being used for something else that you could add solar panels too. Put them in in such a way that the land underneath is still usable now and in the future when and if the panels are removed. Both windmills and solar panels are a whole lot better for the planet than oil and coal. Mr. Pataki could adjust his thinking to see that beautiful is as beautiful does.
I grew up in the Boston area and delivered the Boston Globe. A sack full of Sunday Globes was a work out on the shoulder. The primo gig where I lived was The Parkview Apartments, over a hundred subscriptions in a climate controlled building. I never worked my way up to the one. I did deliver in the morning to homes and then sold the afternoon edition at an intersection. After Thursday collections, I'd go the the local office on Saturday to settle up. They'd throw all the coins in a machine and tally it up. I think it's been quite some time since I've actually seen a kid delivering a newspaper. It used to be a right of passage.
Thanks for this Will - paperboys and solar farms are two things close to my heart.
I always had a soft spot for Pataki as he increased arts funding which Mario Cuomo had gutted, helped us get the Wood Theatre over the finish line, and in his retirement seems an old school Republican Conservationist, the types who were key in launching the environmental movement. So when I read his essay I paused to consider his argument, but at the end of the day he’s wrong. No development comes without a cost, and in this case the pros simply outweigh the cons.
And when I was a paperboy for the Muskegon Chronicle in Michigan I had the opposite experience with harmless nepotism - my two older brothers had the route that my house was on for 5 years, but when it came time to pass the route to me I was two months shy of my my 12th birthday and I couldn’t take it over. Imagine my surprise when my best friend, whose birthday was two weeks after mine and whose father worked for the paper, got the route and I got one a mile away. No matter, it made sense to my 12 year old brain, and we remained best friends until he passed away a few years ago.
I too was a paperboy…and “Carrier of the Month” twice. Was a terrific experience and taught many valuable life lessons about responsibility and accountability. I loved having and saving money and the independence that brought. Not bad for 12-13 years old.
And actually, my experience visiting the newsroom at the Yonkers Herald Statesman when interviewed for the profile of my award kindled my fascination with journalism.
Pataki: Another me, me, me, mine Republican heard from.
I think he has plenty of people from across the political spectrum who agree with his op-ed. Same with social/ economic class.
"A recent essay from New York’s former governor, George Pataki, argues that solar energy is great, unless the panels are being sited in the lovely lakeshore town where you’ve retired, in which case solar is unsuitable."
This public policy issue perfectly demonstrates, in my mind, the tension between two environmental objectives: one, facilitate energy production that’s sustainable and renewable, reducing carbon emissions and two, conservation of our natural resources to prevent exploitation, destruction, and neglect.
Both sides of the issue have legitimate concerns. For me, the question is not which side is right, but rather, is there a consensus or compromise that can be achieved to facilitate both objectives?
I think to do that, both sides need to be open to finding a middle ground instead of standing resolutely on their own side.
I agree with Pataki, to some extent, on several points but I think the general thrust misses the point.
If we want a stable and efficient grid we need to generate power closer to the end users. There is loss in transmission, and there is cost and inefficiency in building new infrastructure far from the users.
Within the Park the problem is compounded by having vast areas with very few users and infrastructure vulnerable to falling trees. And we have a lot of trees. Rural users are vulnerable and suffer long waits for repairs so they invest in individual and less efficient infrastructure like generators. While individual rooftop arrays are inefficient as stand-alone generators, an array of scores of rooftop arrays along with smallish infill arrays in or near hamlets and local microgrids might resolve much of the inefficiency in the long term, while providing safer, more resilient communities within the Park.
And wouldn’t it be great if your power went out and you could run your home for several hours on a battery backup and not have the sign of a power outage being 40 people firing up their gas or diesel generators?
Aren’t a lot of our power stations fairly far from users now? But maybe that’s your point. Also, I think the trees would be cleared around a solar installation, one of the reasons some people object.
Yes, power typically has been generated very far from the largest users. While wind blows where it blows and dams are built at appropriate geologic locations (tho there could be huge advances in microhydro) the sun shines everywhere. I’m not going to address fossil fuel or nuclear.
As for clearing trees, along with farms hamlets within the Park are about the only places without a lot of trees. And you can put a fair amount of solar on a school and bus garage, maybe a row at the top of the bleachers at a sports field. Carport structures at the Post Office, or any parking lot, which would also be helpful in making snow plowing easier…there is plenty of room
I think the economic incentive is to put up the greatest volume at the least expense without concern for longterm efficiencies, benefits, or detriments.
There is a serious energy delivery problem that doesn’t get the scrutiny it deserves - the massive use of energy used by technology.
For many years conservation and efficiency, advancements in technology like LED lighting, have allowed for economic growth without need for more sources of power, and that has been great for the environment while also being good for people.
But now we’ve invented ways to use power at an unfathomable scale in order to create crypto value out of thin air, meme coins, and AI which could have many useful applications but a ton of energy and CO2 is being used to make faked images and videos.
It seems like we are destroying the planet in order to move to Mars because the planet is being destroyed.
Only guess who is going to be left behind…us common folk!
I believe it was The Land Desk that wrote about this same answer to the solar issue. Why NOT use commercial building roofs - bus garages - carports? Apparently that answer has escaped the "powers that be"! Seems to me its a good idea.
And yes - the absolutely unfathomable scale of the needs of crypto fails to get the attention it should. Wonder why that is (sarcastically)
Everything is about the quick buck.
Vast fields of solar are the quickest, most cost effective way to build out solar in the short term. Industry tells government bodies the most expedient way for them is the best, and other ideas “can’t be done.” And then when it is useful for some particular situation all of a sudden the “can’t be done” way can be done. Many years ago I asked a GF official why they don’t put solar on their old dump on Luzerne Rd. They said solar people said it can’t be done, but a year or 2 later I saw a very similar array - in Afghanistan. Because Afghanistan was apparently better at the technology of building a framework to hold panels.
Sometimes these "great" minds just cant see beyond themselves! Notice that?
Yes.
That is why government should structurally protect the values of the people. Not the electorate, the people.
I don’t know where you live but in many local counties we have a supervisor system of government which incentivizes parochialism over the greater good.
You go, Ringo!
I lugged the Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus and the Burlington Free Press between the ages of 11 to 15. It taught me some life skills...customer service, banking and book keeping skills, time management (my dad was my end of route customer and expected his paper at a particular time...no lolly gaging!), making good on errors, working in adverse conditions, rain & snow. It was great exercise and a great way to meet people. The income it provided allowed me to have things that my folks deemed to expensive for their budget. I still have my Times-Argus bag and my collection book. I'm sure there are other opportunities today that can build character in boys and girls...it's sad this one has disappeared.
Something else that seems to be no longer - the kids that used to shovel walks (lived in a small town).
Now thats no issue - live in the country - no sidewalks.
My question is: when was the last time you saw any 12-16 year old deliver newspapers??? I've been home for 10 years, and before the demise of the Post Star I had it delivered and it was an older woman who ran my route from her car! Sooo, what's the "big whoop" folks? My brothers were paperboys and that was great....a different world, a different time. AND, we don't even have a paper anymore....Happy Sunday
Over the last 10 years I was editor, 2010-20, there were few paper boys and girls.
Pataki is okay with electrical poles and wires every 200 feet, though? And since he doesn't live near it, a coal-fired electrical plant is okay since only social injustice saves him from the reality of how his electricity gets produced. Just returned from Europe. Wind farms are EVERYWHERE and Scotland, home of coal mining, already transitioned to renewables--EARLY, before the legislative deadline, because they care about saving the environment for more than rich landowners. Huh.
HAHAHAHA...I had a finnicky mailman in San Francisco, and he did the same thing...what happened there was he was moved to a different route. Perhaps you could suggest he carry some treats, and throw then in the years whenever Ringo or any other dog starts to bark? There's always more than one way to "skin a cat"...hahaha
Sooo glad this is FINALLY here....IT LOOKS WONDERFUL!!!
I remember seeing some show that featured different solar panel system designs, wonder what is available now. Perhaps there's a design that's less "offensive"
Haven’t thought about paper routes in years. In addition to teaching life skills to young boys before the glass ceiling was broken for the paper routes carriers, it was a great part of community back in those days. My brother had a route for awhile which I recall was not his favorite chore in the winter. I enjoyed hearing about his different customers and the “crab” who all the kids were afraid to ask for payment. A different kind of bark, I guess. Thanks for reminding us of this little piece of American history.
And, thank you both for this newsletter which I read assiduously. It’s a delightful, thought provoking and refreshing mix of topics that isn’t available anywhere else. You rock
Thanks so much. I’m glad you’re one of our readers
2 years ago we took a cross country trip to Colorado. All along the way we could see giant windmills, sometimes just a row or two, sometimes many, many more. Those red states may not be “woke” but it certainly seems like red state farmers know upon which side their bread is buttered. The corn and soybeans grew around them, and I’m sure whatever payment they got from the windmills being there was welcome revenue. I thought they were like strange and beautiful sculptures, magnificently futuristic. And they were turning, turning, turning, because of the wind that is almost always blowing. Would an unbroken prairie full of tall grass and wildflowers be even more beautiful? Sure. But that wouldn’t be what was there anymore, windmills or not. And the world we live in requires energy. I guess we don’t get enough constant wind to make them practical here in large numbers, but for out there they made so much sense. We also passed a factory that made the nacelles, which is the box at the top where the gears and machinery that actually make the electricity are. So even more benefit to those states.
Solar panels can be put anywhere that gets sunshine. While I don’t think wild lands should be used for them, there is a lot of land even in the Adirondacks that is already being used for something else that you could add solar panels too. Put them in in such a way that the land underneath is still usable now and in the future when and if the panels are removed. Both windmills and solar panels are a whole lot better for the planet than oil and coal. Mr. Pataki could adjust his thinking to see that beautiful is as beautiful does.
Ringo for the win! Clearly he had to express hio opinion!
I grew up in the Boston area and delivered the Boston Globe. A sack full of Sunday Globes was a work out on the shoulder. The primo gig where I lived was The Parkview Apartments, over a hundred subscriptions in a climate controlled building. I never worked my way up to the one. I did deliver in the morning to homes and then sold the afternoon edition at an intersection. After Thursday collections, I'd go the the local office on Saturday to settle up. They'd throw all the coins in a machine and tally it up. I think it's been quite some time since I've actually seen a kid delivering a newspaper. It used to be a right of passage.
You were lugging some weight with the Globe in those days
Thanks for this Will - paperboys and solar farms are two things close to my heart.
I always had a soft spot for Pataki as he increased arts funding which Mario Cuomo had gutted, helped us get the Wood Theatre over the finish line, and in his retirement seems an old school Republican Conservationist, the types who were key in launching the environmental movement. So when I read his essay I paused to consider his argument, but at the end of the day he’s wrong. No development comes without a cost, and in this case the pros simply outweigh the cons.
And when I was a paperboy for the Muskegon Chronicle in Michigan I had the opposite experience with harmless nepotism - my two older brothers had the route that my house was on for 5 years, but when it came time to pass the route to me I was two months shy of my my 12th birthday and I couldn’t take it over. Imagine my surprise when my best friend, whose birthday was two weeks after mine and whose father worked for the paper, got the route and I got one a mile away. No matter, it made sense to my 12 year old brain, and we remained best friends until he passed away a few years ago.
What a nice story. We are good at shrugging things off at 12
Its a shame that seems to disappear as we get older.