mclaughlin.fearon.fall2009.energywiki

Wind Power. __Americas Energy Crisis __  The current problem at hand is seen by anyone who has been to a gas station in the past 5 years. Most Americans know that the price of gasoline is outrageously overpriced. These past few years the price of gasoline reached all time highs. Most blame the war in Iraq, but this is hardly the case. In the late 19th century, prices averaged about 25 dollars per barrel, and only 24 percent of our total oil intake was imported from foreign countries. The prices started to steadily increase in 2003 along with the percentage of imported oil. Currently in the United States a barrel of oil is about 100 dollars. Foreign counties now supply 70 percent of our nation’s oil (1). The above graphs depict the steady rise of oil costs and usage in the United States over the period of time shown. The driving force of the problem is the depletion of our world’s oil supply, and we are to blame. We have over used this resource, and now we have to find alternative methods to fuel our country. Many people have now turned to the green approach. Going green is simply becoming more environmentally friendly; one example of this is the removal of lead from gasoline to help reduce the pollution of our air. There are many groups and organizations in the world today that are trying to help the energy crisis. It has been proven that the oil supply is not going to last forever, and it is being depleted faster than ever. With the growing demands of China and the United States, the world supply will run out sooner rather than later. We need a new solution! One of the world's most abundant resources has been over looked for quite some time. The world is now starting to realize the importance of wind power. “A 2005 Stanford University study found that there is enough wind power worldwide to satisfy global demand 7 times over, even if only 20 percent of wind power could be captured”(2). Wind is used mainly to generate electricity. One of the most prominent uses of wind power is wind farms. These farms are large areas of land that house anywhere from a dozen to a few hundred wind turbines. These turbines then are connected to a large electrical grid and the energy is sent to its respective place of usage. Although wind power cannot cancel out oil it can help reduce the big quantities needed for things such as home heating and generation. After extensive research we have found that a homeowner can install a wind turbine on their property for as little as 200 dollars. Just by doing this, they can cut down on their power bills by 80 percent. La Capra Associates is one of the leading energy firms in the Massachusetts area with over 20 years of experience. They were tasked to calculate the electricity savings the Nantucket wind farm would bring to the Cape and Islands. Based on a dual part simulation as well as future predictions, La Capra “found that the addition of Cape Wind electricity would exert a downward pressure o­n wholesale electricity market prices, leading to a savings of approximately $25 million per year for the New England electricity market” (3). Not only would this project reduce the electricity market prices and fuel consumption, it would reduce overall emissions for the tri-state area (3). The true cost of electricity in not measured in money, it can also be measured on the facts listed below: · In the average year, pollution from power plants cost Massachusetts residents 78,000 lost work days, 441 premature births, 104 hospital emergency room visits and 8,800 asthma attacks .  · The cost from burning coal, which comprises more than half the US electric production, is even higher than most other fuels. · Extracting, transporting and refining oil creates significant environmental risks. Oil spills and ballast cleanouts in routine offloading operations endanger birds and marine life. Oil tanker spills, like the Exxon Valdez, released 10.8 million gallons of oil that can foul our beaches and put wildlife at severe risk (3). We as a nation realize that we are hurting not only ourselves but our earth as well as our future generations of children. If we don’t start to clean up our act now, the world we live in will begin to corrode and wither away. Oil has been the driving force of the world for the past 3 centuries. It is time to move on and begin to use other methods. Wind power is free and has the ability to generate massive amounts of electricity. Wind power will also reduce the overall emissions of greenhouse gases. A time for revolution is now!

Works Cited  (1)  Wind Power-Wikipedia, The free encyclopedia, []  (2)  PickensPlan, []  (3)  Cape Wind Associates, LLC 2007, Calculating the savings, [] Cape Wind Associates, LLC 2007, the true cost of electricity, http://www.capewind.org/article32.htm