Nick Blocha
This morning as the sun rises over the parking lot and turns the white wind turbines pink out in the fields of now dormant corn, I am struck with all the many feelings and considerations which sit inside of me molded into a moment of clarity and words. A perspective which I think would be beneficial for us all to understand, is that for many of the younger generations, myself included; Millennials, Gen-z, and Alphas, and to others across all generations, wind turbines are not a hideous plague on our landscape, rather they are a spring of hope that it may return, the bugs and mycelium will till the brown Earth to grow green, the waters will run clear and blue, and that life will get better.
Nowadays all is not well and dandy for the majority of us. There are no creeks for us to play in and drink from, no expanses of grasslands or woods for us to run through and sit under. There are no roller rinks or malt shops where we may congregate. Libraries close early and for half the weekends. There are few public spaces truly welcoming and able to foster the communion of childish mischief so imperative to our playful learning, so we stay inside, where the air does not make us cough or give us small doses of cancer throughout the day. And there is not much hope that it will get better, so we go into our phones and websites to seek the communion of our collective where we fry our dopamine receptors and cognitive functions. We spend our time watching because we are not able to do. It is a detriment to all of our personal, physical, mental, and communal health and well-being. Some of us try and find clubs or sports, something wherever we can, but it is not the same. Nor will it ever be the same again. We have to acknowledge this.
Many in our young generations are angry, and rightfully so. Many of our projections are difficult not to be seen as bleak. I have lots of anger, a deep well inside of me of fury which I have no choice but to be connected with, because it will not go away, but I am not writing this to be angry. I am writing so we may understand. The wind turbines are a small piece of a vast and difficult puzzle. If you’ve ever tackled a large thousand-piecer, or even a small one, you know the elation felt when you are able to find a grouping but perhaps don’t know exactly how it connects to the total image yet. Even when you fit only one piece into place you are sparked with excitement and what can only be called hope in that the rest of the puzzle is doable, and you are thus inspired to press on and finish it.
We know that wind turbines alone are not the answer. Nor is recycling. Nor is changing to non-synthetic materials. We know they have limitations and faults, every system of operation does and always will. There is no silver bullet to turn this werewolf lurking within. To see the image of the puzzle you must either finish it, or look at the box. Only, if we do not finish this puzzle, what air will we breathe? What water will we drink? What land will grow? For those of us who wrestle with this beast we all have unleashed, the turbines spinning dutifully in the powerful Iowan winds bring us hope.
About The Author
Nick Blocha is serving as a Land and Water Steward via Green Iowa AmeriCorps at the Iowa Lakeside Labs (ILL) in Milford, Iowa. Sister lab to the state hygienists in Iowa City, ILL analyzes water samples from around the state, hosts researchers and students, artists and writers, and aids in a number of environmental and community efforts with a multitude of partnering organizations and government agencies.
With a background in the arts and storytelling, and as a long-time environmental enthusiast, Nick grew up as a barefoot hippie in the woods of North Carolina and Atlanta, and values the service they can provide and assist with via the GIA program. Nick seeks to focus on the spaces where human society and nature intersect and coexist in harmony.