E.+Tuohey+and+M.+Berkowitz+Wiki

=**WIND POWER**=

1) The modern day problem at hand is GLOBAL WARMING. Global warming can be defined as the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid 20th century and it's predicted continuation. Global Warming is a problem because it can cause drastic climate changes, especially in the Artic and Antartica, where ice is melting and glaciers are disappearing. The ocean level is rising, and therefore could increase the intensity of hurricanes, tropical storms, and tsunamis in the oceans of the world. 2) The driving force behind the problem of global warming are GREENHOUSE GASES that are polluting the Earth's atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is a major greenhouse gas being emitted into the atmosphere, helping to create global warming. Much of the production of ENERGY in modern day society involves the use of greenhouse gases (Power Plants). 3) There are multiple different groups of people trying to find alternate ways to produce energy. One such way is the use of hybrid cars, that reduce the amount of fossil fuels polluting the air by being run half on electricity, half on oil.

4) One alternate form of energy production not inducing global warming can be found by using __**WIND POWER**__. Wind power can be defined as the conversion of wind energy into useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. By using WIND TURBINES (which are the objects of wind power), energy is produced and the amount of greenhouse gases polluting the atmosphere, such as CO2, are vastly reduced.



5) Wind power works by using wind turbines, and positioning them in large, open areas, such as fields or in the water. A generator produces a spinning of the turbines blades, and the blades have magnets on them that spin electrons around. Wind is produced, and by the quick spinning of the blades and the electron movement, a vast amount of energy is produced as well, without the emission of fossil fuels or greenhouse gases.

6) Wind turbines produce no Carbon Dioxide, which is another great reason why to use wind power to produce energy opposed to Power Plants, which are probably the world's greatest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. 7) Wind Power doesn't necessarily generate or purify any water, but WIND MILLS on farms are commonly used to //pump water// or crush grain.



8) There are a variety of "best" aspects of using Wind Power. __Atmospheric Emissions__: There are no direct atmospheric emissions, such as greenhouse gases or fossil fuels, created by wind turbines. This means less pollution and cleaner air. __Liabilities after Decommissioning__: Electricity from wind turbines has no liabilities related to decommissioning. Most metal parts of wind turbines are renewable (recyclable). And in the near future, ALL parts of wind turbines will be renewable. __Land Use__: Wind turbines do not take up that much space and can easily be installed anywhere, even off shore to save space.



9) There are many different ways the so called "critics" might describe Wind Power. The ones we have here are blatantly negative. __People living close to Wind Turbines__: People living close to Wind Turbines generally dislike/hate them. One reason people hate them is because of the low humming noise that they produce. Also some people do not like going outside and seeing a wind turbine because the wind turbine is an eyesore and they do not enjoy looking at it. Another reason why people do not support wind turbines is because of the shadow of the blade moving constantly annoys them. __Animal Groups:__ Many animal groups are against wind turbines as well. They feel that the turbines are killing birds and bats and disrupting their breeding and migration patterns.

11) Although Wind Power only currently produces just over 1% of world-wide electricity use, it accounts for approximately 19% of electricity production in Denmark, 9% in Spain and Portugal, and 6% in Germany and the Republic of Ireland. Only around 1 % worldwide. A reason why Wind Power doesn't make up a lot of the world's fuel/energy supply might be because of how expensive it is to produce. The total value of new generating equipment for Wind Turbines installed in 2007, worldwide, cost $36 billion in U.S. currency. Also, from what the critics said above, people living close to wind turbines might not approve of Wind Power, nor will animal groups who notice the disruption and deaths of birds and bats from Wind Turbines.



13) "My calculations show that if we could just tap into 1% of the energy in high-altitude winds, it would be enough to power all civilization. The whole planet!" said atmospheric scientist Ken Caldeira.

"My opinion is that 15 years from now, it'll supply most of the power in the United States," said David Shepard, a veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur

Bob Thresher, director of the U.S. National Wind Technology Center, a division of the Department of Energy, offered a more restrained view of the scientists' plans. "There's a tremendous advantage in going up (toward the jet stream) because there's much more energetic winds," he said. But if high-altitude wind generators are to succeed, "you have to be able do it very cheaply because the cost of (ground-based) wind energy has come down so dramatically, it's becoming competitive with conventional sources."

14) Wind Power could help solve the main problems of fossil fuel/greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere by simply not emitting them. Wind Turbines/Wind Mills don't produce carbon dioxide or any other fossil fuels. The use of Wind Power could help stop or even put an end to Global Warming, which is partly caused by fossil fuel/greenhouse gas emissions. Wind Power produces energy without the deadly side effects of atmospheric emissions, and therefore could help solve the problem of Global Warming.

15) To produce Wind Power better or on a larger scale, massive amounts of money and land would be absolutely necessary. Wind Turbines are highly expensive to build, and more money would have to be taken away from building dangerous energy facilities such as Power Plants, and put towards building Wind Turbines. The less we spend on energy producers that emit fossil fuels/greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the more we can spend on clean, non-pollutant energy producers such as Wind Turbines. Also, more land would have to be put aside for Wind Turbines to be built on. It's not like saying that forests should be cut down, but more open fields and farms that are now wasted should be used for Wind Power. Instead of clearing more land for real estate development, more land should be cleared for Wind Turbine development. Even in the ocean, more Wind Turbines should be built to produce more energy.

16) Who uses the technology used to produce Wind Power? A variety of countries in the world use Wind Power to generate electricity without polluting the air and causing Global Warming (in part.) Germany, the US, Spain, India, China, Denmark, Italy, France, the UK, Portugal, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Austria, Greece, Australia, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Egypt, Belgium, Taiwan, Poland, Brazil, South Korea, Turkey, Czech Republic, Morocco, Finland, Ukraine, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bulgaria, Iran, and Hungary are all major countries that use Wind Power as a way to generate electricity energy. Germany has the most installed Wind Power capacity, and the list goes in descending order until Hungary, which has the least installed Wind Power capacity.

17) After learning about Wind Power, we (Berko and Evan) would only change how it's used in the form of its distribution. There are not enough Wind Turbines in the world, and there needs to be more built in order to create produce more Wind Power. With more Wind Power, which doesn't give off any atmospheric emissions, there will be less of a need for energy producers such as power plants, which do give off dangerous atmospheric emissions. Global Warming could help be stalled and stopped for good, if only Wind Power became more commonly used in the world. Only 1% of energy produced in the world is from Wind Power. Let's make that 1% into 100%, and stop Global Warming once and for all.