June 3, 2010 - Red Sox, whales, and tidal power projects in history

Thursday, June 3, 2010

I'm fortunate to be headed to this afternoon's Red Sox game. Boston is not really that far from Maine, at least not by Maine standards. I grew up around Boston. Between business and family, I'm often in Boston these days. To be able to take in a Sox game is a real treat.

Last weekend, I went on a whale watch out of Boston with the New England Aquarium. We saw a number of humpback and minke whales, plus an offshore seal that may have been a gray seal.

We cruised through Boston Harbor, with views of the Custom House and the working waterfront. We passed right by the Everett LNG terminal and the short but prominent wind turbine. Past the archipelago of Boston Harbor Islands National Park, we headed off to Stellwagen Bank, where the action was.

I go on whale watches mostly to see the marine mammals, birds and fish. I've had some amazing encounters out there.

Sailing from different ports from Key West through Essipit in the Cote-Nord of Quebec, it's interesting to see common threads of history in harbor and coastline development. One of these that I've encountered in several places recently is historic tidal power development.

Tomorrow, I'll look into a local tide mill just downriver from my house, as well as the grander Passamaquoddy Power Project of the 1930s: a proposed 500 MW international tidal barrage project. The lessons we can learn from history are invaluable as we consider new iterations of old questions.

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