Wind_Power

Is Wind Power Green' As the ecosystems of the world are inching closer and closer to the danger zone and global warming in becoming more of a concern, there needs to be major changes in order to protect the ecosystems of the world. The United States and other country are trying to help the ecosystems by reducing their reliance on fossil fuels, such as oil and coal for energy. There are various greener technologies, such as solar, ethanol, and geothermal power that are in the picture. However, they are no match to the clean power of the wind. The power of the wind has been used for centuries. This power has been used to move boats across the water and operate windmills that were used to grind grain or draw up water. According to Kate Galbraith, “Since the mid-to late 1800’s, rural Texans had been ordering windmills out of catalogs, and it was these iconic creaky contraptions – first wooden and then steel – that sped the settlement of the Great Plains by pumping water up from the aquifers, enabling ranchers to keep cattle and the railroads to make steam.” (Texas Monthly, Aug 2011) In the 19th century the first windmills were used for electricity production. These windmills or wind turbines as they are called were used to generate electricity on farms in the United States around the 1930s. Currently the United States in lagging behind other counties when it comes to the use of wind power to generate electricity. Wind energy is very popular in many countries as a form of green energy. Denmark, Portugal and Spain lead the way with power generated by wind power. According to Turk the worldwide generating capacity of wind turbines has reached nearly 60,000 MW in 2005. He also states that “Spain has 10,000 MW of wind capacity, Denmark has 3,000 MW.” (Turk, 2011) The United States has increased its wind power in the last five years to a total of 9,100 MW in 2005. These countries while leading the way wind powered energy their greenhouse gas emissions are also lower then the United States. According to Carbonplanet.com the greenhouse gas emissions for Denmark is 9.24 CO2e per person per year, Portugal is 5.2 CO2e per person per year, Spain is 7.68 CO2e per person per year, and the United States is 19.1 CO2e per person per year. From this information it looks like the country that use more wind power for energy and helping the environment and not hurting it. Wind power has a minimal carbon footprint compared to the energy output. The wind power systems are made up of tall, free standing turbines that convert moving air into usable electricity. This is a way of capturing the kinetic energy of the wind and converting it to electrical energy. As the wind blows through the air it pushes the turbine blades around. As the blades create a spinning motion it then turns the turbine rotor. This then drives the shaft of an electric generator that is located in the windmill. Power lines connected to the turbine can now transfer the wind generated electricity to a multitude of homes and businesses. The wind needed to run the turbine is a free resource and once it is built the energy that it creates does not produce any greenhouse gases or other pollutants. The actual land needed to place one wind turbine is less than 2 square kilometers. The turbine is very tall so little land space would be used. The turbines would have to be spaced out from each other to make room for the blades that are propelled by the wind to create the power. The space needed between the turbines could be used for farming or other agricultural projects. Many remote areas of the country that do not have access to an electric power grid would be able to connect to the wind turbine just down the road to get their own power. Third world countries would be able to use wind turbines to generate power and pump water up from wells. The wind turbines of today have gotten larger in order to produce larger amounts of power. However, smaller turbines could be produced to generate enough power to run a single household, apartment building or even a subdivision. No only are wind turbines build on land they can also be build in the water. Although there currently not wind turbines in the ocean off the United States coast the idea has not been ruled out. The cost to install a wind turbine in the ocean is greater the land however, with the advancement of energy technologies the cost should decrease. According to the U.S. Department of Energy no offshore wind turbine projects have been built but 9 projects have advanced significantly in permitting and development. Although there are many good thing regarding wind power there are also so bad things. The fact that you have to rely on the wind to produce power can create some real problems. The strength and speed of the wind can go fro zero to hurricane force. Because of this the production of wind power is not consist and this could cause power shortages. Another problem is the noise created as the blades spin around. It has been said that the biggest complaint with wind noise is the sleep disturbance it creates. Some states have had to set noise guideline regarding the noise. Mr. Turkel states that “Maine’s standards, which set limits of 55 decibels in the day, 45 decibels at night, apply to large development projects.” (Turkel, 2011) Many others find that wind turbines destroy the view of the landscape by filling it with tall towers that take up farm space, desert landscapes or the landscape of rolling hills. There is also the cost and products need to build these wind turbines. Some of the materials used to manufacture the wind turbines create pollution thus the wind power is creating pollution. As we can see there are several reasons both for and against the use of wind power. However the real question is, Is wind power green' I would have to say yes. As the ecosystems of the world are reaching the danger zone and global warming is becoming more of a concern, every country need to protect the ecosystem. In order to do this we must reduce our greenhouse gases. As the United States and other countries reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and turn to various greener technologies, such as wind power, solar, ethanol, and geothermal power the ecosystem can start to repair its self. Although all the greener technologies are an asset to the earth wind power is the cleaner power of all. References Galbraith, K., & Price, A. (2011 August). A Mighty Wind. Texas Monthly, Retrieved August 7, 2011. from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2418031701) Turk, J., & Bensel, T. (2011). Contemporary environmental issues. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUSCI207.10.1) Turkel, Tux. (2011 May). Wind turbine noise an issue, report finds. McClatchy – Tribune Business News, Retrieved August 8, 2011, from ProQuest Newstand. (Document ID: 2334211841)