Thursday, September 12, 2002
Can the Bay of Fundy be our future source of energy?
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
By way of a preface, let me tell you why there is no article about 9/11. After a year of passing the Holy Site on my way to work, after months of inhaling the odors of death that lingered in the Fulton Street station of the IRT long after the fire was extinguished on December 20, after many silent bouts of weeping and of rage, and of reminiscences and therapy, this is a subject that we the first-hand witnesses no longer want to talk about it. Let us honor our heroes, help the survivors, love our families, guard our borders and go on living, as the Israelis have learned to do since 1947. But do keep the rage intact.
So, let me tell you about the miracles of the 45-foot tide on the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia. It takes an effort to view it, and many tourists do not bother. We did, spending a day traveling from our South shore retreat of Oak Island, first two hours just to drive across N.S. on Route 12, to Kentville, a small town with many banks, where your ATM card supplies C$, in C$10 and 20 denominations, with no charge (presumably the exchange rate covers expenses.) . After another two dozen miles of country and ocean views one arrives at Hall's Harbor. We arrived at high tide, with the little harbor full of fishermen's boats, tied next to each other. The tide marker was at 35+ feet, with a maximum marking of 45, that would have flooded the dock, the simple outdoors restaurant and perhaps even the, God forbid, giftshop, where people were buying charming wooden boat and porcelain souvenirs, and takeout lobster at C$12 (about US$8.).
After dallying a bit, we took to the road and 20 miles further East. Passing a high point with an incredible view of all Fundy Bay, we came to a gradually descending beach alongside a cliff, Blomidon, where we could observe the water actually retreating. Bathers came out with muddy feet, explaining how the bottom might be treacherous. Submerged rocks came in sight as we were watching. Further down were the Elephant Rocks, sort of a letter A formation, which we did not get to. Nevertheless, the beach was formidable.
After two hours of watching, we returned to Hall's Harbor, By now the whole river bed was dry, and the boats were sitting on their keels, resting on sand.. The outermost boat in each row of three or four vessels, moored in a side-by side fashion, had a cradle or crib, strapped to its bottom, like a chair. This gear, strapped on when the outside boat reached harbor after a day of work, held the boats upright.
Hall's Harbor owes its name to a local scalawag, Samuel Hall. Dating back to 1779, he and his Micmaq girlfriend and some Yankee privateers preyed on the planters and some early loyalist transplants who had recently left the 13 colonies to settle in Canada. Forced to abandon their lair by broom-wielding young woman, Rachel Cross and her local militia allies, the pirates left, after allegedly burying their loot. A local man who soon opened a store, Sylvanus Whitney, was rumored to have found it, but hope still persists. If treasure is your game, this may be the place.
In Micmaq lore, a great whale offended the god Glooscap with a great splash of his tail, and now that water sloshes in and out of the uniquely shaped Minas Basin, every 6 ½ hours. Formed 350 billion years ago, 100 years before the dinosaurs, the 12 ½ hour flow is supposed to equal the 24 hour flow of all the rivers on earth. The numbers quoted range upward , from a conservative 14 billion tons of water flowing in and out four times a day. The muddy waters foster the growth of crustaceans and plankton, and shorebirds abound, finding abundant food in the 173 mile forked arm of the ocean, of which 620 square miles of floor are laid bare by the tides. About 15 varieties of whales come to the Bay of Fundy for nourishment.
The high tides are at the points on earth closest to the moon, during the rotation. Sea of Okhotsk, north shore of Australia and the English Channel also experience them, but the Atlantic at Fundy has the most dramatic bay configuration.
The thought of utilizing this great movement of water to create electricity, supplanting fossil oil and coal as the source of home energy, is not new. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose father James Roosevelt had built a cottage on Campobello Island, on the New Brunswick side, spent his summer vacations there, child and man. He sailed, camped and hiked. In 1921, while resting there after losing the Presidential election (he was the VP candidate), he fell ill with the then incurable infantile paralysis. Staying at Campobello while regaining strength, he would watch the tides and marvel at their power. After the presidency, he tried to form a partnership with Canada to utilize the energy. Alas, nought came of it. An 1,800 acre Roosevelt Campobello International Park, established since 1966, has attracted tourists worldwide.
As to energy, at present there is a modest effort to start thinking about a meaningful tidal energy plant, which might reduce the tides by 15 cm ( 5 inches). A small plant, at Annapolis, supplies a fraction of NS energy needs. There is a plant in France, at La Rance, and at Murmansk, Russia, The N.S./N.B. environmentalists are not willing to take the risk of endangering the bird, fish and crustacean varieties. This may be a short-sighted attitude.
As an aside to the Fundy Bay trip, we visited Peggy's Cove, site of the 1998 Swissair 111 tragedy. There is a touching seaside monument. As to the Cove village, natives wonder about its attractions. "A pile of rocks, if you ask me," we have heard. Yes, but what rocks. Like smooth sinews or fingers from a central point, stacked high, they extend into the ocean. Arms of the octopus, that's another expression I've heard. Picturesque simple houses sit atop the rocks, exposed to the elements. Simplicity and natural drama, what else can you ask for. The three gift shops, all carrying a different class of goods, do neat trade, with 20+ tourist buses coming from Halifax daily, during the tour season.
Nova Scotia is nice, safe, quiet and easy to get to, if you like driving.
By way of a preface, let me tell you why there is no article about 9/11. After a year of passing the Holy Site on my way to work, after months of inhaling the odors of death that lingered in the Fulton Street station of the IRT long after the fire was extinguished on December 20, after many silent bouts of weeping and of rage, and of reminiscences and therapy, this is a subject that we the first-hand witnesses no longer want to talk about it. Let us honor our heroes, help the survivors, love our families, guard our borders and go on living, as the Israelis have learned to do since 1947. But do keep the rage intact.
So, let me tell you about the miracles of the 45-foot tide on the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia. It takes an effort to view it, and many tourists do not bother. We did, spending a day traveling from our South shore retreat of Oak Island, first two hours just to drive across N.S. on Route 12, to Kentville, a small town with many banks, where your ATM card supplies C$, in C$10 and 20 denominations, with no charge (presumably the exchange rate covers expenses.) . After another two dozen miles of country and ocean views one arrives at Hall's Harbor. We arrived at high tide, with the little harbor full of fishermen's boats, tied next to each other. The tide marker was at 35+ feet, with a maximum marking of 45, that would have flooded the dock, the simple outdoors restaurant and perhaps even the, God forbid, giftshop, where people were buying charming wooden boat and porcelain souvenirs, and takeout lobster at C$12 (about US$8.).
After dallying a bit, we took to the road and 20 miles further East. Passing a high point with an incredible view of all Fundy Bay, we came to a gradually descending beach alongside a cliff, Blomidon, where we could observe the water actually retreating. Bathers came out with muddy feet, explaining how the bottom might be treacherous. Submerged rocks came in sight as we were watching. Further down were the Elephant Rocks, sort of a letter A formation, which we did not get to. Nevertheless, the beach was formidable.
After two hours of watching, we returned to Hall's Harbor, By now the whole river bed was dry, and the boats were sitting on their keels, resting on sand.. The outermost boat in each row of three or four vessels, moored in a side-by side fashion, had a cradle or crib, strapped to its bottom, like a chair. This gear, strapped on when the outside boat reached harbor after a day of work, held the boats upright.
Hall's Harbor owes its name to a local scalawag, Samuel Hall. Dating back to 1779, he and his Micmaq girlfriend and some Yankee privateers preyed on the planters and some early loyalist transplants who had recently left the 13 colonies to settle in Canada. Forced to abandon their lair by broom-wielding young woman, Rachel Cross and her local militia allies, the pirates left, after allegedly burying their loot. A local man who soon opened a store, Sylvanus Whitney, was rumored to have found it, but hope still persists. If treasure is your game, this may be the place.
In Micmaq lore, a great whale offended the god Glooscap with a great splash of his tail, and now that water sloshes in and out of the uniquely shaped Minas Basin, every 6 ½ hours. Formed 350 billion years ago, 100 years before the dinosaurs, the 12 ½ hour flow is supposed to equal the 24 hour flow of all the rivers on earth. The numbers quoted range upward , from a conservative 14 billion tons of water flowing in and out four times a day. The muddy waters foster the growth of crustaceans and plankton, and shorebirds abound, finding abundant food in the 173 mile forked arm of the ocean, of which 620 square miles of floor are laid bare by the tides. About 15 varieties of whales come to the Bay of Fundy for nourishment.
The high tides are at the points on earth closest to the moon, during the rotation. Sea of Okhotsk, north shore of Australia and the English Channel also experience them, but the Atlantic at Fundy has the most dramatic bay configuration.
The thought of utilizing this great movement of water to create electricity, supplanting fossil oil and coal as the source of home energy, is not new. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose father James Roosevelt had built a cottage on Campobello Island, on the New Brunswick side, spent his summer vacations there, child and man. He sailed, camped and hiked. In 1921, while resting there after losing the Presidential election (he was the VP candidate), he fell ill with the then incurable infantile paralysis. Staying at Campobello while regaining strength, he would watch the tides and marvel at their power. After the presidency, he tried to form a partnership with Canada to utilize the energy. Alas, nought came of it. An 1,800 acre Roosevelt Campobello International Park, established since 1966, has attracted tourists worldwide.
As to energy, at present there is a modest effort to start thinking about a meaningful tidal energy plant, which might reduce the tides by 15 cm ( 5 inches). A small plant, at Annapolis, supplies a fraction of NS energy needs. There is a plant in France, at La Rance, and at Murmansk, Russia, The N.S./N.B. environmentalists are not willing to take the risk of endangering the bird, fish and crustacean varieties. This may be a short-sighted attitude.
As an aside to the Fundy Bay trip, we visited Peggy's Cove, site of the 1998 Swissair 111 tragedy. There is a touching seaside monument. As to the Cove village, natives wonder about its attractions. "A pile of rocks, if you ask me," we have heard. Yes, but what rocks. Like smooth sinews or fingers from a central point, stacked high, they extend into the ocean. Arms of the octopus, that's another expression I've heard. Picturesque simple houses sit atop the rocks, exposed to the elements. Simplicity and natural drama, what else can you ask for. The three gift shops, all carrying a different class of goods, do neat trade, with 20+ tourist buses coming from Halifax daily, during the tour season.
Nova Scotia is nice, safe, quiet and easy to get to, if you like driving.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 3:54 PM 
