Every so
often a storm boils up out over the Pacific and as it moves towards the
mainland it gathers steam as the winds are funneled down the Strait of Juan De
Fuca. Eventually, with the power and din
of a thousand freight trains, the pressure is unleashed upon the windward flank
of Whidbey Island. Waves thunder. The rain slashes. Trees of girth bow - some snap. Any place else they’d call it a
hurricane. A spectacle both humbling and
riveting. Captivating. Intimidating.
And invariably beautiful. All
part of the mystique of living in a small corner of creation that I would
simply call “Hog Heaven”. As if any of
it were mine to lay label on.
Then, the predictable enters
as if unannounced. The lights dim and then
flicker….before they die. Which is
it? The absolute blackness or the
cacophony of sound that touches the soul?
No matter. At this point, a
certain survival instinct has kicked in and something primal suggests that this
is simply no night for man nor beast. Regardless,
as candles are being summoned, the moment demands that I pause and ponder.
Grand Coulee Dam’s first electrical
generator hummed to life in the chill of January, 1941. But it was the promise of unlimited water
flowing to the rich soil in the arid Columbia
River Basin that had emboldened
our nation to undertake a project that many had viewed as outlandishly
impossible some nine years earlier. Yes,
irrigation was the driving force.
Although employment for countless workers mired in the thralls of the
Great Depression was most certainly an alluring prospect for many. And flood control along the untamed waters of
the Columbia was
a benefit as well. Electricity at that
time was but a distant afterthought.
But then December 7, 1941, stormed
into history and a “date that will live in infamy” established itself. Suddenly, the cornerstones of our democracy
such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms
could no longer be taken for granted.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were in jeopardy. The security of the Free State was imperiled. Indeed, the American way of life was under
attack. And America went to war.
Overnight, the electricity of
Grand Coulee was propelled from luxurious
byproduct to wartime necessity. Power
lines carried vast amounts to aluminum plants in Spokane,
shipyards in Portland, and a somewhat obscure aircraft
company in Seattle
by the name of Boeing. But perhaps the
biggest allotments were earmarked for a top secret facility in southeastern Washington where the
government was racing to produce plutonium in a life-or-death bid to create the
first atomic bomb.
Some would say that Grand
Coulee Dam was the single critical factor in determining the outcome of World
War II. Few would argue that the
generators didn’t play a pivotal role in the ultimate victory. A victory that not only preserved a way of
life but enhanced it for generations to come.
Funny how things turn out. And I wonder if there isn’t a God Moment
somewhere in that snippet of history playing out over a span of years?
Today, Grand
Coulee’s 12 million cubic yards of concrete houses 33 generators
with a total capacity of 6,809 megawatts.
That’s a lot of 60 watt bulbs.
But wait….beyond Grand Coulee there are now some 60 other dams within
the Columbia River watershed. Each packing the punch of a thousand freight
trains. Over 36,000 megawatts of
generating capacity total. And that
energy is about as clean as energy can be in this fallen world. And just as the rains fall, the electricity
flows.
But to suggest that there
hasn’t been a cost would be foolish.
Communities were displaced by the rising waters. Natural habitat altered. Environments lost. At Grand Coulee
alone, 82 workers lost there lives in accidents ranging from electrocution to drowning
to ill-tempered explosions to heat exhaustion.
Fisheries have declined - some would contend destroyed. And there is the insidious threat of nuclear
contamination at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Once state-of-the-art facilities now decay in
the slowest of motions but at breakneck speed when compared to the half-life of
their residue. But perhaps most
troubling of all, the Nuclear Genie itself has forever been released.
A legacy of consequence
regardless of one’s point of view. And I
can’t help but wonder if there isn’t a God Moment or two yet to be played out
within that ongoing saga?
Ponder I do. For those periods of darkness have been few
in my life span. Save for those brief occasions
when storms have toppled trees onto power lines, I’ve enjoyed the amazing
benefits that Grand Coulee and her kind have provided - day in and day out,
year after year. Switches are switched
without second thought.
To an even greater extent, I
fear that I take for granted the liberties that this great nation has afforded
me. I write this as I do within the full
security of my First Amendment rights.
Indeed, I am allowed, dare I even say encouraged, to pursue happiness in
the forms of writing, traveling, and the most childlike of all endeavors, treasure
hunting.
And I’m reminded of the costs
– past, present, and future. The truck
driver swept into the raging waters as the earth beneath his vehicle gave way. The salmon that will never strike a young
man’s lure. The daily realization that
madmen control nuclear arsenals.
Cultures diminished. The simple accounting in dollars and cents of
containing the uncontainable.
All of it gives pause. All of it humbles the soul. All of it shouts of His Greatness and testifies
to His Glory. For indeed, it was no
accident that one of man’s greatest achievements came to fruition bearing
unintentional benefits at perhaps the most critical juncture of our country’s
history. No, not an accident. Simply a tiny God Moment played out within
the eons. Just one among so many
past. Just one among so many to
come. Each with the power and din of a
thousand freight trains.
Hang on. The lights just came back on here in Hog
Heaven.
Isaiah 55:8-9 - “For my
thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
