Geothermal energy
Hot springs debate boils
ay MICHAEL MERBACK
01 the Emerald
Imagine yourself in a lush, green Oregon valley
miles from civilization You kick off your dusty hiking
boots, pull oft your faded leans and slide into the
ecstasy of a natural hot springs
For many University students this is a spring
ritual getting back to nature at the Capra, Belknap
and Breitenbush Hot Springs near Eugene and
Salem
But soon some of these natural health areas
may be exploited for the electricity-producing geoth
ermal onergy ad|acent areas offer
Several international oil companies have filed
lease applications with the Bureau of Land Manage
ment (BLM) to obtain rights to construct geothermal
energy plants in the Breitenbush area located near
the Mt Jefferson Wildorness Area, about 35 miles
east of Salem The area indudes 44 300 acres of
timbor land from both the Willamette and Mt Hood
National Forests and encompasses the Breitenbush
Hot Springs Resort
For the past three years, the U S Forest Service
has studied the environmental impact of possible
geothermal plants in this area, and has just recently
published its draft environmental statement The
'"am renem oeriveo rrom a power plant operating on
geothermal energy is the production ot electricity
The technology ot this geothermal conversion
process, however , is still in the developmental stage
The conversion is only about 10 per cent efficient,
and the average geothermal power plant unit size is
100 megawatts This doesn t compare with the aver
age unit size of coal and nuclear power plants, which
is 1,100 and 1.000 megawatts, respectively
Some of the adverse impacts listed in the study
are degradation of visual resources, recreation and
wilderness quality; soil erosion and mass soil move
ment; possible surface water arid aquifer pollution;
stream sedimentation , air pollution Irom dust, smoke
and gases contained in geothermal fluids; loss of
timber production; impacts of endangered and
threatened wildlife species and extreme noise from
well dnlling and steam venting
Besides that, the Breitenbush Hot Springs Re
sort would probably be closed down because of in
dustrial activity in the area
Essentially, the U S Forest Service study,
headed by Al Prigge, is trying to determine the detri
mental environmental impact of this new possible
power source
According to Prigge. an energy development
project officer lor the federal government, a paradox
exists in the decision to grant a lease
A lease has to be issued before a test well can
be drilled says Prigge, referring to the Geothermal
Act of 1970 Unfortunately, neither we nor the de
veloping oil companies can determine the potential
energy supply till a test well is drilled
Thus, the Forest Service and the BLM are
caught in the paradox of whether or not to approve
the applications If the land can stand the pressure,
Prigge says, the companies will be given the go
ahead to begin test drilling
If the geothermal energy supply proves insuffi
cient for electricity production, other alternatives are
open to the companies developing the resource
Besides being used for generating electricity,"
Prigge says, the hot water and steam can be used
for space heating, greenhousing, drying lumber,
pulping and stock operations "
To date, no decision has been made by the
government whether to approve the lease applica
tions or reslnct them The final environmental impact
statement on geothermal leasing in the Breitenbush
Hot Springs area will be released in mid-July En
vironmental impact statements on Belknap and
McCredie hot springs will be written in 1978
Prof studies algae adaptability
By MICHAEL MERBACK
Ot the Emerald
To University professor Richard Caslenholz.
studying life around hot springs doesn t mean ob
serving the Notel Motel on a Saturday night
Castenholz has been awarded $48,700 by the
National Science Foundation to continue his study of
microorganisms found in hot springs in Oregon and
other parts of the western United States The funding
is the final installment of a three-year grant
Photo (of H' nmrt O**l«*oh<il/
The extreme environment of an Oregon not springs
serves as testing ground for biology Prof Richard
Castenholz s study of the adaptability of various
micro-organisms.
The goal of the now 10-year-old study, accord
ing to Castenholz, is to discover how organisms,
especially blue-green algae, metabolically adapt to
extreme environments Thus, my job is to study
these extreme environments and the ecosystems in
and around them, he said
The three main extremities are, characteristi
cally. the hot water itself, acidity, and occasional high
concentrations of toxic substances such as hyd
rogen sulfide
A fourth aspect of these extremities, according
to Castenholz, is that once the organisms have been
emitted from a hot springs, they dry out — yet. "puzzl
ingly, they still adapt.
Castenholz said understanding how organisms
survive in extreme environments helps researchers
determine the probable impact of industrial pollut
ants such as heated water, acids and heavy trace
rneiais
■ Some ol these organisms are able to utilize
substances which would be toxic to most normal
organisms, says Castenholz. and they adapt to a
point where they actually need the higher tempera
tures and concentrations to survive
During the past yen years. Dr. Castenholz has
worked on this project in places such as New Zea
land, Iceland, Yellowstone National Park and
Oregon In Yellowstone he studied the effect of ex
treme sulfide concentrations on ecosystems in the
Mammoth Hot Springs In Oregon, he is mainly
studying the effect of extreme temperatures on
ecosystems at the Warm Springs Indian Reservation
and at Hunters Hot Springs
"If you know which organisms adapt as temper
atures rise or as various pollutants are introduced,
you can begin to develop a picture of how an area s
ecosystem will change," Castenholz said. "Blue
green algae adapts well, but only a f-;w organisms
can exist by feeding on blue-green algae. Only a few
organisms can feed on those, and the trend con
tinues right up the food chain to higher organisms "
Photosynthetic organisms can't exist in water
above 74 degrees Centigrade according to Cas
tenholz.
Library dean wins post
Herman Totten, dean of the University's School of Lib
rarianship since 1974, has accepted an appointment for the
1977-78 academic year as director of a joint doctoral program
operated by Texas Women s University and North Texas
State University. Both schools are in Benton, Texas.
Totten, 39, who recently announced plans to resign June
30 as dean of the school, will be appointed associate dean and
professor of library and information science at both schools, in
addition to being named director of the joint doctoral program.
He will assume the new post Sept. 1.
Prior to joining the University faculty in 1974, Totten
served as associate dean of the College of Library Science at
the University of Kentucky. He holds a master of library sci
ence degree and a PhD., from the University of Oklahoma
and a bachelor of arts degree from Wiley College.
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The Student Bar Association. Land Air Water
f#
present
K#
1 DOUG SCOTT I
ft
Pacific Northwest Champion of the Sierra Club
POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
The Case For Conservation.
Rm 129 Law School
Wed.. April 20, 12:30 p.m.
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Transcend the
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oftime
An old way to walk
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