American Power-Lines

Flickr’s Powerlines Photos

dwuebben — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:30:32 +0000

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=109615

Tiny State: Big Power line Project

dwuebben — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:27:42 +0000

These two guys received a grant to travel around high voltage transmission lines and take pictures. I’m jealous beyond words…

http://www.powerlinesproject.com/index2.htm

Birds on/and Wires

dwuebben — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:38:52 +0000

This is a massive database with more than 1,200 citations all about “Avian interatctions with utility structures.” I have only had a chance to browse…While it seems that most of these ”interactions” end in death and disaster, it does acknowledge that the interactions “may be positive, as in the case of transmission line towers providing nesting opportunities in areas where nest substrate may be a population-limiting factor.”

Pins and threads

dwuebben — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:49:11 +0000

Here is an exhibit from a British artist that features highvoltage transmission structures (which are also referred to as “electricity pylons”?).

http://www.detnk.com/node/2080

Plume kicks a field goal

dwuebben — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:44:04 +0000

Leaving Boston

Nicaraguan “Cob-lays”

dwuebben — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:22:51 +0000

In Nicaragua, as in most places, people didn’t really seem to think a lot about the power-lines alongside the highway. They called them “lineas de electricidad” or simply “cables”- In a country that is so “electrically challenged,” that the power goes out every week or so, it would be interesting to learn if they place greater or lesser importance on these lines.

unbelievable art project!

dwuebben — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:30:04 +0000

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/emf_richard_box.php

Height

dwuebben — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:25:17 +0000

It’s puzzling why two towers with a very similar loads would have very different structures. The left clashes with the right. The dense lattice frames are bothersome. The lines enter and depart with an unnatural movement- a spinal twist as opposed to the gentle sweep or the “over the ledge” drop lik we see in the Hoover Dam lines. In short, the movement is stunted by the awkward frame of these two towers.

dwuebben — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:39:58 +0000

In 1861 the Overland Telegraph Company began transmitting messages on a line that united the eastern united states with the west (the transcontinental railroad followed a similiar route, which now most American’s experience as Interstate 80). Morse and other Americans believed the advance of the telegraph would allow for instantaneous transmission of thoughts, therefore ending misunderstandings between regions and curbing acts of war. While this prediction was off the mark, since 1861 electric wires have “perpetually” bound the landscape of north america.

Nested electricity

dwuebben — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:10:48 +0000

This was taken in Nova Scotia during a motorcycle trip in 2006. The nests caught my eye from the side of the road, but I didn’t really believe it until I stopped, rode back a few hundred feet on the side road and took a photo. You can see the second nest in the distance. As far as I can tell each of the towers in this area has a nest, or some remnants of a nest. Maintaining the highest possible vantage point, these eagle’s take advantage of their “technological” habitat. What if we could design power-lines to align with the natural rhythms of the Aves family? How might flight take on new significance if we attempted to build birds a trapeze instead of a net?

We are often forced into settling for a steel latticed “node,” a strict dogma, a repetitious ideology. But if we follow our intuitive power-lines, give our attention to their strength and form we might find a natural rest, a sublime pause, a mental “nest” for our bodies and minds.