Over lunch with the top execs of Suzlon Energy, Andris Cukurs, CEO of the multinational's U.S. subsidiary, brought up Starbucks. Turns out there's something called the Starbucks Rule when it comes to siting wind farms. He said Suzlon and its rivals plot where Starbucks are in the general area and then make sure their project is at least 30 miles away. Any closer and there'd be too many NIMBYs.

The Oregon Trail is in the way of a gold rush that will demolish part of our history and leave us poorer. The Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, now operating under the new moniker Oregon Business, was commanded by statute to promote the Oregon Trail as a major tourist attraction consistent with maintaining the historical integrity of the Oregon Trail. ...The gold rush that threatens the Oregon Trail is "free" and "green" energy from the wind. If only it were so.