Wind Energy

WIND ENERGY

Today I was thinking about (why not?) wind energy. I think we’ve probably all been thinking about alternative energy lately, even if we are the kinds of people who don’t own a pair of sandals and wouldn’t eat anything made by Kashi unless ordered to do so by a deeply concerned physician. We are thinking about alternative energy because there is currently an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico that is roughly the size of Kansas. I personally am not comfortable with anything being roughly the size of Kansas, but let’s leave my proposed legislation for the annexation of eastern Kansas by Missouri out of the discussion for a moment.

Here’s what I’ve been thinking about wind energy. If we set aside foreign policy and economic difficulties tangled up in our dependance on foreign oil, the chief concern with fossil fuel usage is environmental impact. Ok. So we want a cleaner alternative that will minimize the effect that we as humans have on an environment that we depend upon for survival. We don’t want to contaminate the air or water. So...wind turbines. We have wind. We use that wind to spin the turbines and generate electricity without burning anything. THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!

Wait...

My understanding of physics is a bit rudimentary (I have seen Sir Isaac Newton’s dormitory room at Cambridge. Surprisingly messy), but if the wind is spinning the turbines, the wind is losing that energy (kinetic energy that is. I understand that the turbines are not skimming electrons out of the air). So has anyone studied what a large scale wind energy program designed to power a significant area (say roughly the size of New West Missouri) might do to weather patterns? If we attempted a wind energy program on a national scale, could we potentially screw with the weather? Could we cause widespread flooding, hurricanes, tornados? What about ocean breezes that cool and warm our land masses?

Had you even thought about it?

Well now that you have, I’d like you to sign this petition for the reduction of our wind footprint, beginning with the immediate removal of all wind-chimes located on or around Beech Ave, Nashville, TN.

Thank you for your time. Now I’m going back to sleep.