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There used to be lots of coal mining. The last mine in the area I am working (in Asturias) closed in 2018.Fwiw, here is the link to the article in question, at least I guess that it is the one: Tourism and Manufacturing Fight for the Future of Power in Europe. It is behind a paywall but I managed to read the whole article the other day. Not sure why it says Europe in the headline as I remember it being mainly about a specific project in Galicia. I mainly remember that it said that Spain has no sources of oil or natural gas of its own (can’t remember about coal) which I knew it anyway, and the rest is a version of a discussion that I have read numerous times before and where I will refrain from further comments…
I kind of agree. Once upon a time people reacted furiously to electricity pylons; now we don't even notice them. It is a subjective opinion but I actually find wind turbines quite beautiful, although they might be less obtrusive sitting in the Thames estuary or off the Costa Brava than plonked on top of a Galician mountain. They kill far less birdlife than coal fired power stations, by the way, and tend not to blow up and disperse radio-active dust across the landscape. Galicians often complain that they pay higher utility prices than the rest of Spain in spite of providing proportionately more energy but I don't know if this is true or just a familiar gripe.I’ve always had less trouble with wind(mills)turbines than Donkey-Oaty had. I took the view that like meat-eaters who won’t live next to a slaughterhouse most people seem to want electricity without knowing where it comes from. UK residents might like to reflect on how many photos of Jarman’s Prospect Cottage manage to exclude the Dungeness Nuclear Power Station from the frame
Some may be able to read it here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB935102339139863879I also see that the Wall Street Journal published an article with the title Pilgrims, Real and Faux, Clog Santiago Way. Published on Aug. 20, 1999. Pity that it is behind the paywall, too. It might be fun to read it now, some 25 years later.
One thing I noticed in my time in Spain last year was how many pylons there seemed to be and how they ran across so many landscapes. There were points where it felt like someone decided that no dramatic view was complete without some cables draped across it.I kind of agree. Once upon a time people reacted furiously to electricity pylons; now we don't even notice them. It is a subjective opinion but I actually find wind turbines quite beautiful, although they might be less obtrusive sitting in the Thames estuary or off the Costa Brava than plonked on top of a Galician mountain. They kill far less birdlife than coal fired power stations, by the way, and tend not to blow up and disperse radio-active dust across the landscape. Galicians often complain that they pay higher utility prices than the rest of Spain in spite of providing proportionately more energy but I don't know if this is true or just a familiar gripe.
Thank you John! How did you go about finding that one? I was just about to go to the (gasp) library and (gasp) read the actual newspaper.This should be a free link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/touris...3apbuqnen0j&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
I just walked the Salvador and saw several active mines (and several closed ones) along the way. And while I had assumed that the large plant outside Ponferrada was nuclear, I was told by two energy generation engineers on this last walk that no, it is also coal (the region lacking in enough fresh water to operate cooling towers should have been the give-away to me).There used to be lots of coal mining. The last mine in the area I am working (in Asturias) closed in 2018.
FWIW, we have no direct access to “nature” and cannot have it. “Nature” is a social concept imbued with our expectations, romanticistations, fears, awe…. it is also treated culturally, always as an economic resource, as a tourist attraction…. There is no nature separate from culture; the two concepts cannot be disentangled. Capital ‘“R” romanticism in poetry, literature, and fine art would be the sine qua non of trying to separate nature from culture and completely saturating the concept in culture. Every single outfitter promising access to the “wild” has developed a saleable image of the wild and a host of tips, tricks and tools for us to explore, exploit and conquer.All these large man made objects change the context of the landscape.
The high speed rail embankment has totally changed the context of the meseta.
Wind turbines on lots of hill tops will change the context of the landscape.
Large metal sculptures change the context, drawing our eyes towards something man made and away from the natural world.
It's a bit like the proliferation of senda - if you've never come across it before, you won't know what you have missed. If you have experienced what came before, you will understand why they are there, but still regret the passing of a previous way of being.
I'm afraid that one has a paywall.....Some may be able to read it here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB935102339139863879
What if I got on a wind only Catamaran and sailed amongst the Barrier Reef .FWIW, we have no direct access to “nature” and cannot have it. “Nature” is a social concept imbued with our expectations, romanticistations, fears, awe…. it is also treated culturally, always as an economic resource, as a tourist attraction…. There is no nature separate from culture; the two concepts cannot be disentangled. Capital ‘“R” romanticism in poetry, literature, and fine art would be the sine qua non of trying to separate nature from culture and completely saturating the concept in culture. Every single outfitter promising access to the “wild” has developed a saleable image of the wild and a host of tips, tricks and tools for us to explore, exploit and conquer.
At least one does hear repeatedly that the various caminos are not “nature walks” but “cultural walks”.
No cavalier exploiter of the planet am I, but I know that I will never, ever access nature apart from a culturally manufactured view of what it is, and changing landscapes are eternal. Other animals change them too.
Speaking metaphorically and not religiously, there is no “eden”.
In your idea of it in the first place. You are the cultural creature interpreting the space and place through your enculturated lens. It is the quality of being human that makes interpretation and expectation unavoidable. Not to do this would require a lack of capacity to work in the symbolic, not to be human. “Nature” is an idea, not a thing. Whatever is out there when we are not looking/sensing/interpreting, we cannot ever know.What if I got on a wind only Catamaran and sailed amongst the Barrier Reef .
If I found a beautiful inlet , too close for the sharks [ more on land than water ] and catch a fish whilst diving where has the culture invaded MY nature study on these deserted Islands .
In your idea of it in the first place. You are the cultural creature interpreting the space and place through your enculturated lens. It is the quality of being human that makes interpretation and expectation unavoidable. Not to do this would require a lack of capacity to work in the symbolic, not to be human. “Nature” is an idea, not a thing. Whatever is out there when we are not looking/sensing/interpreting, we cannot ever know.
No, not at all like that. Something more along these lines:Something like those non-existent trees falling (or not) in the forest?
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