Air Quality Keeps Getting Better, But Wind Turbines Do Have Drawbacks

Remember how smelly diesel trucks used to be and how loudly their engines clattered? Remember those photos of the Pittsburg skyline with smokestacks belching black smoke from the steel mills and the dense black clouds that hovered over the hills of the city? Do you recall the firehouses on the Cuyahoga River that runs though Cleveland, firehouses built because the river was in the habit of catching fire four times a year?

These were a few of the memories that came to mind as I read yesterday's Energy Bad Boys' column titled Harvard Study Finds Wind Turbines Will Cause More Warming Than Emissions Reductions Would Avert. And the clever subhead: Hot air from the wind indusry.

The column begins, "A few weeks ago, we wrote about how Gallup polling found 66 percent of Americans think the environment is getting worse despite the fact that air quality in the United States has improved dramatically since the 1970’s. This improvement was due in large part to the Clean Air Act and its subsequent amendments, as a reader noted."

The authors argue that if the goal is to avoid harmful warming, why build something that causes immediate, noticeable local warming for people, animals, and plants living near the turbines today — especially when the climate benefit is small and far in the future?

They estimate the extra warming from all those turbines could cost the U.S. economy $72–75 billion per year in damages (based on earlier studies of warming costs).

Here's another consideration when discussing wind and solar. The size of their physical "footprint" compared to the energy they produce.

Click chart to enlarge

Bottom Line

Wind (and solar) are often hyped as planet-saving technologies, but they come with their own real, immediate temperature impacts. Instead of spending trillions on wind, the authors strongly suggest we should choose nuclear power instead, because it produces reliable electricity with almost no emissions and no local air-mixing warming effect.

I mention these things because our current Minnesota energy policies include a moratorium on nuclear (based on fear driven by misinformation) and a mandate to be "Net Zero" by 2040. [Fwiw, "Net Zero" in environmental law and policy refers to a state where the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted into the atmosphere by human activities is balanced by an equivalent amount removed from the atmosphere over a specified period.]  

And however you slice it, wind and solar still have that major issue of intermittency so that it may not be there in the moments you need it most.

Related Links

Harvard Study Finds Wind Turbines Will Cause More Warming Than Emissions Reductions Would Avert

Groups align to lift Minnesota's nuclear energy ban

Is Our Energy Grid at Risk?

Wind farms pictured: Northern Iowa, Southern California, West Texas, San Gorgonia Pass

Bob Dylan's Hibbing Childhood Home: A Northland Landmark Preserved for Pilgrims and Fans

If you've ever made the pilgrimage to Hibbing, Minnesota, you already know the pull. This Iron Range town isn't just where Robert Zimmerman graduated high school in 1959 or played his first public concert at the Memorial Building—it's where the future Bob Dylan spent the heart of his boyhood after the family left Duluth. The Zimmerman home here isn't a museum with velvet ropes. It's a lived-in piece of history, now stewarded by one of the world's great Dylan collectors, Bill Pagel, and a stop that keeps drawing fans from around the globe.

Collector/Archivest Bill Pagel

The house sits on what fans now know as part of Bob Dylan Drive (or at least the area tied to that spirit). In artist Daniel Botkin's striking 2016 painting Busy Being Born, the Zimmerman home appears front and center in a rearranged Hibbing landscape. Botkin placed it in the lower center, with Milton Glaser's iconic Dylan poster visible in an upstairs bedroom window. To the left, just above the green "Hibbing" sign, is the synagogue the Zimmerman family attended. Behind it looms the Androy Hotel, site of Bob's bar mitzvah. Across the street once stood Zimmy's, the legendary Dylan-themed restaurant and unofficial museum (sadly closed now, but forever part of the lore). The painting captures the whole scene—mining operations in the distance, the Greyhound bus nod to Hibbing's bus-line origins, and even a playful "BobYear" blimp overhead. It's a prenatal portrait of baby Bobby wrapped in a prayer shawl, umbilical cord turning into a shofar, floating above the town that helped shape him. As Botkin explained, he rearranged streets and buildings in the spirit of Dylan's own line from "Desolation Row" about rearranging faces and names.

That home is where young Bob and his brother David grew up. It's the place he left behind when he set out on the road that led to Greenwich Village, Newport, and beyond. Today, both of Dylan's Minnesota childhood homes—the early duplex in Duluth at 519 N. 3rd Ave. East (where he spent his first six years) and the Hibbing house—are owned by Bill Pagel. Pagel, the archivist featured in The Dylanologists and owner of thousands of photos, posters, manuscripts, and even little Bobby's highchair, didn't just acquire them by accident. He once lived next door to the Hibbing house and "pounced" the moment it became available (at a reasonable price). He's been thoughtfully restoring both properties toward their original forms, filling rooms with period furniture based on vintage photos. As Jon Bream noted in the Minneapolis Star Tribune piece that highlighted Pagel's collection, these aren't just addresses—they're tangible links to Dylan's Minnesota roots.

The Hibbing home has hosted its share of modern celebrations, too. In 2021, for Dylan's 80th birthday, the Hibbing Project held a groundbreaking for a memorial in front of Hibbing High School. About 80 people gathered—one for each year of his life. Afterward, the festivities spilled down the street to the former Zimmerman home, now Pagel's. The city even painted a creative crosswalk out front. Nelson French (Duluth Armory board member at the time) orignally shared that his brother lived in the Hibbing house—another reminder that this is still a real home, not a frozen shrine.

Hibbing itself embraces the legacy in quiet but meaningful ways. The Hibbing Library put together an excellent Bob Dylan Walking Tour with 14 points of interest. Fans stop at the high school, the old theaters, and yes, the former Zimmerman home for photos. One Swedish visitor I escorted years ago lit up when we stood there—he'd seen Dylan multiple times back home and in Barcelona, but this was the real deal. 

Despite the closure of Zimmy's and Howard Street Books, the community spirit endures. Local efforts like Dylan Days, temporary murals, and ongoing gatherings show the town hasn't forgotten its native son. As one fan commented after his own visit, "All the people were real friendly... you get a true feel of how Bob grew up."

In the end, the Hibbing home isn't just a building—it's part of the thread that runs through Dylan's songs about time, memory, roots, and rambling. Whether you're walking the library tour, or examining Pagel's collection of unique memorabilia, pondering French artist Claude Angele Boni's paintngs, or simply standing out front imagining a young Bob heading off to wherever the music called, it's a place that reminds us: he not busy being born is busy dying. Preserve the memories. They're all that's left you.

A classmates yearbook, signed by Bob
when they attended Hibbing High together.

What about you? Have you visited the Hibbing home or the Duluth porch? Drop a comment or photo below. And if you're planning a trip, check the Duluth Dylan Fest or Hibbing library resources—they keep the spirit alive every year.

And here's a message from the curator of all these memories himself sent to me: If you do a blog post, please include that I (Bill Pagel) am looking for early photographs of Bob taken both in Hibbing and Duluth and early handwritten writings and drawings done by Bob when he was living in here.

THE REASON all this is relevant today is because Jay Gabler of the Duluth News Tribune did a very nice story about Bill and the Hibbing this weekend, with lots of juicy details and photos. Here's the link, with some very memorable photos: A rare look inside Bob Dylan's Hibbing childhood home

REMINDER: DULUTH DYLAN FEST 

will open with events in Hibbing, May 17.

Be sure to review the

FULL SCHEDULE FOR 

DULUTH DYLAN FEST 2026

CLICK HERE

RELATED
Bob Dylan in Minnesota: Troubadour Tales from Duluth, Hibbing and Dinkytown 

Noteworthy
Susan Beasy Latto, a classmate and friend of Bob's when growing up in Hibbing, passed away a few weeks ago. A close friend of many in our Duluth Dylan Fest circles as well as a Historic Duluth Armory supporter, where young Bobby saw Buddy Holly perform a few days before his tragic plane crash in an Iowa cornfield. Dylan’s mother Beatty Zimmerman was close friends with Susan’s mother Esther, and years later Beatty threw a bridal shower for Susan, who will be surely missed by many of us.
You can learn more about Susan here: https://www.doughertyfuneralduluth.com/obituaries/susan-latto

Meantime, life goes on all around you.

Don't take it for granted or let it go to waste. 

Flashback Friday: Astonishing and Creative Ways of Marking or Keeping Time

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Time it was, and what a time it was, it was 
A time of innocence, 
A time of confidences 
Long ago, it must be, 
I have a photograph 
Preserve your memories; 
They're all that's left you
--Bookends Theme, Paul Simon


Based on how often I've played it over the years, Tell Tale Signs must be one of my favorite Dylan albums. And one of my favorite songs on that double CD is Born In Time which I wrote about here in 2018:
"Born In Time" and Other Dylan Songs About Being Born

You can find the lyrics to "Born In Time" here.

Time is a concept that philosophers and thinking people have mulled over since the beginning time. Or at least since humans first appeared here. Poets and songwriters have been inspired by it, fascinated by the various ways we experience it, as too short, too long, too little and too much. 

Eve: Any idea what time it is?
Adam: Good question. Based on the angle of the sun I'd say it was after noon.

Or...

Gork: I killed another one of these things. After we skin it and build a fire it will be dinner time.
Glam: Oh good. I was getting tired of leftovers.

As life became more organized and sophisticated, so did our means of keeping time. When I took piano lessons as a boy I was given a metronome, which one can set to various speeds. It helps keep you from speeding up your pace when playing, something we often do when nervous.

If you go to see a live orchestra performance -- nowadays you can watch them on YouTube -- you'll notice how the conductor uses his baton to set the tempo.

During my years in advertising I wrote quite a few scripts for radio advertising. I would utilize an Online Stopwatch to time these scripts so that they fit the radio station's time constraints. Today, I use that same Online Stopwatch to time my speeches for Toastmasters.

Photo courtesy @aronvisuals on Unsplash

The film Back to the Future had much to do with time. Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) figures out a solution to being stuck in the past when he realizes that the Hill Valley clock tower will be struck by lightning on a specific moment in time...

Back to the Future is just one of many films that had time travel as a central theme. Others include 12 Monkeys, the Terminator films and Peggy Sue Got Married.

When I was a little tyke we used to watch a cartoon called Mr. Peabody's Improbable History that was on the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show. Mr. Peabody was the smartest being on earth and one of his inventions was the WABAC (Way-Back) machine. A central feature of the cartoon series was going back in time to teach Sherman about various people throughout history, from Napoleon and Lord Nelson to Jesse James and Sir Isaac Newton.

When I was in college I had a philosophy professor who introduced us to Husserl's On the Phenomenology of the Consciousness of Internal Time.  The book is a foundational phenomenological investigation into how we experience time not as objective clock-time, but as it appears within consciousness itself.

The central insight is that time-consciousness is not a mere succession of isolated “now” moments. Instead, every present moment of awareness has a thick, structured “living present” composed of three inseparable elements: primal impression (the immediate now), retention (the immediate just-past, which we still hold onto directly much like the eye briefly retains an after-image), and protention (the anticipation of the immediate future). Of this idea, much more could be said, if I had more time.

All these thoughts about time were stimulated by this fascinating web page titled Astonishing and Creative Ways of Marking Time, Keeping Time. I found it so interesting I wanted to. share it... and if you have time to explore, you will enjoy it, too.

Meantime, whatever is on your agenda for the weekend, have a good time. 

Originally published in May 2020 when many of us had a lot of time because of the lockdowns.

The Sinking of the Lusitania Has Lessons for Today

At a "book exchage" several weeks ago I obtained a copy of Colin Simpson’s The Lusitania (1972), a provocative examination of the 1915 sinking of the RMS Lusitania, which killed 1,198 people — including 94 children — and helped tilt America toward entering World War I.

Simpson’s book peels back the official narrative to reveal a more complex and disturbing picture. Far from a simple case of unprovoked German aggression against a civilian liner, the Lusitania was carrying significant quantities of munitions and other contraband destined for the British war effort. British authorities, Simpson argues, were aware of the risks yet failed to provide adequate protection, while the ship’s rapid sinking was accelerated by both its unstable design and explosive cargo. The result was a human catastrophe which was then exploited with ruthless efficiency by Allied propaganda.

Lifejacket from Lusitania

The parallels to events in our own era--Gaza, Ukraine, Iran--are striking. In 1915, as today, ordinary people struggled to discern truth amid conflicting government statements and sensational media coverage. British and American newspapers amplified heartbreaking images of drowned children and grieving families, framing the disaster as proof of German barbarity. German sources, meanwhile, insisted the ship was a legitimate target. Public trust in institutions eroded as citizens sensed they were being fed selective facts to serve larger geopolitical aims. 

Sound familiar?

The emotional focus on innocent victims — especially children — proved devastatingly effective. Posters showing mothers and babies sinking beneath the waves stirred outrage far more powerfully than dry debates over maritime law or secret cargo manifests. Simpson shows how tragedy was transformed into a potent propaganda weapon, much as civilian casualties and graphic imagery dominate today’s information wars.

In an age of contested narratives and weaponized empathy, Simpson’s account reminds us that the Lusitania was not merely a maritime disaster — it was a masterclass in how governments, media, and public emotion intersect during crisis. Nearly 110 years later, its lessons about skepticism, hidden agendas, and the strategic use of innocent suffering remain painfully relevant.  

What especially sad (or disturbing) is how the truth is buried beneath a sea of noise, and facts about what's really happened don't come to light till decades later.  

After the latest attempt on the president's life someone said to me, "I don't know what to believe any more." I knew what he was referring to. Every action now has a groundswell of conspiracy theories in its wake, propelled by unrestrained social media. Charlie Kirk, Butler, October 7, JFK--and the beat goes on.

Great Lakes Atelier of Fine Art’s 2026 Student/Instructor Exhibition: What You Missed Last Weekend

It started with an idea. It became a world class art school attracting dedicated students from across the country to Duluth. This past weekend the school hosted its ninth annual Student/Instructor exhibition. 

The church, St. Peter’s, was on its way to demolition before the Larsons purchased it and turned it into a fine arts academy. It’s a staple of traditional training in Classical Realism and it’s the only place like it in the Northland, and among only a handful of its caliber in the nation. The four-year program is modeled after the traditional European Atelier system of training. The focus of the Atelier is to train individuals in Classical Impressionism. On day one, the student starts with pencil in hand, and over the course of the apprenticeship will systematically work their way through the program at their own pace, eight hours a day, five days a week.

There were examples of full-time student work, part time student work, instructor work, and children’s class student work on display. Here are some things we saw:

Patrick Glander, one of the school's first grads, is now an instructor.

 

Related Links

A Visit with Jeffrey T. Larson, Founder of the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art

Rewarding Insights About "Seeing" from a Dialogue at the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art

Weekend Open House Shows Why the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art Is a Gift to Our Community

More on Jeffrey T. Larson here: http://jeffreytlarson.com/

The Atelier’s website: http://greatlakesatelieroffineart.com

Background on Jeffrey T. Larson: Jeffrey T. Larson was born in 1962 in Two Harbors, MN and grew up in the Twin Cities. Jeffrey has been trained in the manner of the Old Masters at the prestigious Atelier Lack, a studio/school whose traditions and training methods reach back through impressionism and the 19th century French Academies. He followed his four-year formal training with museum study in the US and Europe and has been painting full time for over 30 years. Jeff recently won the Draper Grand Prize honored by the Portrait Society of America, the country’s most prestigious portrait painting competition. 

Cinco de Mayo--How the Celebration Got Started

El General Zaragoza

Uno, dos, tres, quattro, cinco, seis.... Even if you don't understand Spansh, you're likely familiar. with these numerals from one to six. Cinco is the word for number 5. 

The significance of the day, May 5, hearkens back to 1862. 

Cinco de May celebrates the 1862 Battle of Puebla, where Mexican forces defeated a superior French army. While a significant morale boost, it was not the end of the French intervention in the affairs of Mexico.

It's surprising how few Americans remember that during the U.S. Civil War, France invaded Mexico, overthrew the Mexican government and installed Austrian Archduke Maximillian as Emperor of Mexico. Maximilian's rise to the throne of Mexico was a complex and controversial chapter in Mexican history, which I learned about years ago through an insightful book titled Maximillian and Carlotta. By means of this book I learned much about the interwoven monarchies of Europe and why World War I became as devastating as it was.

It's interesting how the Monroe Doctrine, an 1823 foreign policy declaration issued by our fifth president, continues to have the force that it does here in the 21st century two hundred years later. The doctrine states that any intervention in American affairs by European powers would be viewed as a hostile act.

Nevertheless, France ignored that cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy because in 1862 Americans were engaged in a full-scale civil war. 

The story of how France, under Napoleon III, conquered Mexico began on a beach near Vera Cruz. The French had come to Mexico to collect debts that France was owed by the Mexican government. For reasons I do not recall, there was an incident on the beach in which seven French soldiers were killed. (Probably initiated by Mexican who said, "You're not welcome here." In response, France decided to invade Mexico. "We'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget. We'll just take 'em over."

Landing their army on the shores of Vera Cruz was easy, but having driven that route I can tell you it presents a pretty rugged terrain from the Gulf of Mexico up through the mountains to Mexico City, uphill all the way.

The French army must have been exhausted when the reached the crest of Puebla. Though they were better-trained, a poorly equipped Mexican army led by Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French, thereby buying time for the army and peoples in Mexico City to prepare for the upcoming attack.

Ultimately, the French achieved their ambitions, but Cinco de Mayo marked this battle as a demonstration of Mexican courage and valor that deserved to be remembered.

The Battle of Puebla did not, however, alter the final outcome of this French invasion. It only delayed it. Mexico was itself in political disarray, but as the saying goes, when you take over you own it. NOW what is the plan?

Well, the European royalty chatted it up, weighing out who was available and willing to fill an Emperor role across the pond. It was decided hat Austrian Archduke Maximillian's older brother Franz Joseph had been placed on the throne there and young Max, with nothing better to do, just might enjoy wearing a crown as Emperor of Mexico.

Things ultimately didn't work out as planned, and in 1867 Maximillian was executed by firing squad in Querétaro along with two of his generals. Carlotta, the queen, had fortunately fled back to Europe before things fell apart.

Related Links

The Hero Of Cinco De Mayo Was A Texan

The story of Maximillian and Carlotta

Trivia: The population of Puebla today is near seven million.

Trivia: In 1967, it Volkswagen founded a vehicle manufacturing plant which is now one of its largest in the world, producing models like the Jetta, Tiguan, and Taos.