Wind Energy
Cleaning up America from earth to sky by using renewable wind energy is the wave of the future! Fellow Americans it is time we become proactive in making this country competitive in the field of energy. Wind energy technology has been around for hundreds of years. Wind energy can be harvested on and off shore. This makes it ideal for communities that have the space for a turbine on land or even urban communities that do not have space for a turbine in the city but have a water way nearby. Many communities around the world have successfully powered their entire communities for centuries by using wind turbines or wind mills to generate their electrical power needs. With its proven effectiveness and efficiency wind energy is one of the most environmentally friendly alternative sources for energy in existence. Implementing wind energy technology will decrease our dependency on foreign oil, stop the deployment of our troops overseas to protect foreign oil interests, create thousands of new jobs for Americans and save our home land from further environmental destruction. Wind energy technology will help America build its own self-reliance for energy needs, boost employment opportunity and secure a cleaner environment for future generations
Harvesting natural native wind power in America could potentially eliminate the dependency on foreign oil. Presently, America’s need for foreign oil to fuel power plants, businesses and homes involves us in foreign wars to protect our foreign oil interests. Our country sends approximately $927 million dollars a day overseas for oil (Helmke, 2011). That is $927 million dollars a day America could use to invest toward the reduction of our national debt. The foreign oil dependency for fuel is a major national threat because “a third of the oil Americans use comes from the OPEC oil cartel - a cartel that includes governments who are either openly hostile to the United States or who provide a haven and support to those who are”(Wyden, 2009). The money we spend on protecting our oil interests could be better used on harvesting our own natural wind energy sources. Foreign oil wars are not only putting us further in debt as a nation but they are robbing us of our men and women that lose their lives fighting in these needless wars.
Americans can take back our independence simply by relying on our own natural, renewable resources created by the wind. The United States of America installed two thousand nine hundred new wind turbines in 2010. The designing, manufacturing and installation of these turbines are creating thousands of jobs each year (AWEA, 2011). Iowa is a great example of a success story for pioneering the way to becoming less dependent on foreign oil and becoming more self- sufficient by harvesting their own wind. Iowa has already met the task of providing twenty percent of its energy from wind power opening opportunities for land owners to receive royalties from allowing the government to use part of their land for turbines. This is a great opportunity for farmers or land owners to lease their land and supply extra income all year long (AWEA, 2011).
The wind industry provides an incredible market for new jobs in the state of Iowa and many more states are following suit. It takes eight thousand components for each wind turbine to be constructed creating a need for more manufacturing plants which means more job opportunities. The jobs created by implementing wind technology include manufacturing and installing wind turbines, building new power grids as well as maintaining and controlling the wind turbines once installed. These new positions are more than just jobs. The new positions are high paying, permanent careers for the employees of America Wind Energy Association (AWEA, 2011).
Implementing wind energy to a community can help improve its overall economy and environment. We can examine the vast improvements made on Rosebud Native American Indian Reservation in South Dakota for proof of how turning the community’s power source from previously existing sources to wind energy has made a vast improvement in their community. This Native American Indian Reservation was once a flood zone due to the hydro powered dam that overflowed and flooded the area. The Lakota people on the Rosebud Reservation needed a new supply of energy to help make them more self-sufficient. The Lakota people introduced a new wind energy system that would not cause the problems they suffered from the other power sources with an added benefit of producing many new job opportunities. They elected to construct a wind turbine directly on their own land for their energy source. The tribe’s turbine now produces 2 million kWh per year. This amount of energy can supply the power needs for over 2000 homes. The surplus of energy allows the community to gain income by selling what the tribe does not use, “they are able to now sell the excess power to Basin Electric and to Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, making it the first time a tribe has sold energy to a federal facility” (North West Community Energy, 2003).
Offshore wind harvesting is another possibility that holds great promise for increasing jobs and managing the rising demand for energy in America. Statistics show that off shore wind energy could create another 40,000 permanent jobs for Americans, “The development of offshore wind also presents a tremendous opportunity for skilled laborers and professionals already trained in off shore operations to lend their expertise to this emerging sector of renewable energy. It also creates new revenue opportunities for companies already serving the off shore oil and gas industry” (Davis, 2011).
There are a few companies or organizations that are in protest of wind energy. One such company called Coal is Clean has created a website that promotes coal mining and uses many scare tactics such as “American homes and businesses would still be shivering in the primitive dark ages if it weren’t for clean coal’s bountiful flow of cheap abundant energy” (Coal is Clean, 2011). The Coal is Clean website neglects to mention the thousands of people that are suffering from black lung disease that destroys the lungs and causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the loss of jobs due to mining accidents. The organization Coal is Dirty has put out a website that offers extensive information on the harm of coal mining and its use in power plants. This web site also tells of the destructive nature of coal mining, such as mountain top removal, coal by- products polluting the water ways and the air as it is burned for fuel (Coal is Dirty, 2011). It is important for families that are in the coal industry to realize that they do not have to lose their jobs retraining is available so that they can obtain a job from a wind energy plant and know that they will be working in an environmentally healthy atmosphere where they do not have to worry about black lung disease, explosion accidents or running out of coal and losing their jobs. The beauty about switching to wind energy is that there will always be job opportunities, because there will always be wind.
The organization that is incredibly successful in educating the public about wind energy and coming up with new innovative ways to upgrade wind technology is The Alliance for Climate Protection. This organization promises that “Renewable energy will deliver clean, reliable power to meet America’s needs, reduce carbon pollution and make real progress toward solving the climate crisis” (Climate Protection Action Fund, 2011). This organization has gathered information and statistics concerning the great use of wind energy to offset the carbon footprint of America. While compiling information the Climate Protection Action Fund organization was able to obtain an incredible quote with staggering statistics from the Department of Energy stating “Wind energy could avoid 825 million tons of CO2 annually by 2030, cutting expected electric sector emissions by 20-25%. This is equivalent to taking 140 million vehicles off the road” (Climate Protection Action Fund, 2011).
Americans are contributing to the deforestation of many states and countries for their fuel needs. Deforestation for wood burning fuel contributes to the loss of 13 million hectare of trees that are cut down every year (Environment for Beginners, 2011). Thirteen million hectare is equivalent to 1,399,307,000,000 square feet of forest. The continual practice of clear cutting is depleting the earth of its most valuable resource at a rapid rate. This article makes a clear statement that “Once a forest is not there to absorb the water from the rain, this creates floods and provokes soil erosion. Most of the nutrients and the elements needed to maintain life are then washed away” (Environment for Beginners, 2011).
Offshore wind energy harvesting doesn’t cause any of the ill effects on the environment that off shore oil drilling causes. Major environmental hazards occur when pipe lines are damaged and crude oil is spilled into surrounding water ways. The latest oil spill was reported to have caused Louisiana Wild life preserve 2.5 billion dollars to clean up what BP Oil Company left behind, after the pipe line came open flooding the surrounding water ways with toxins that threatened the lives of the endangered turtles, alligators and thousands of other wild animals. From the same massive BP oil spill Florida lost approximately 3 billion dollars in their commercial tourist industry (Environmental Leader, 2010). The states surrounding the oil spill and the BP Company spent millions of dollars to clean up the spilled oil; however, money can never buy back the lives of the animals that were destroyed by the oil sludge.
Strip mining for coal leaves surrounding area void of vegetation creating mud slides, floods, loss of homes and lives and pollutes the water ways from the silt run off putting toxins in the well water supplies of the local strip mined communities. Burning the coal causes major air pollution and exacerbates many people’s lung disease conditions and coal plants emit about 2.5 billion tons of CO2 every year (Colient, 2010). Black lung disease is a major concern for coal miners leads to at least 1000 deaths a year due to black lung disease caused by breathing the coal pollutants. While many people are not concerned about the personal health of individuals that are in the coal mining industry it is important to point out that Black Lung disease does affect all tax payers. Approximately 10 billion dollars of tax payers’ money is being spent to pay for Black Lung disability (Colient, 2010).
For anyone questioning why America should switch to wind energy technology for a main source of energy all one has to do is look at the overall price it has cost Americans not to use wind energy. Some of the cost to Americans for not using renewable sources of energy like wind energy can be put into dollar amounts but the highest price of all that is human life can never be measured in money. The price for sending our troops overseas to fight for foreign oil interests and losing their lives is immeasurable. There is no dollar amount we can put on depleting the earth of its natural rainforest for fuel; destroying the habitat for millions of varieties of wild life along with the natural ability the forest has to clean the air we breathe. The dollar amount for cleaning up just one oil spill is in the billions and disability for black lung is in the millions. With these figures it should not be difficult to see that Americans need a change in the way we acquire energy.
We can save our home land, reduce the involvement in wars over foreign oil interests, become self- sufficient for our own energy needs, create thousands of new jobs a year and cease the polluting of our land, water ways and air while securing a cleaner environment for our future generations. It is possible to live in balance and harmony with nature. Wind energy is the key to becoming a self-sufficient, more prosperous and cleaner America!
References
American Wind Energy Association. (2010). Wind Power is Good for America.
Retrieved July 16, 2011 from http://www.awea.org/learnabout/publications/factsheets/factsheets_windenergybasics.cfm.
Climate Protection Action Fund. (2011). Clean energy principles. Climate Protect. Retrieved July 1, 2011 from http://www.climateprotect.org/climate-challenge/.
Coal is Clean. (2011). The future of America’s coal. Retrieved June 28, 2011 from
Coal is Dirty. (2011). Appalachian’s proposed solution to dirty coal. Retrieved July 2, 2011 from http://www.coal-is-dirty.com/appalachians-propose-solution-dirty-coal.
Colinet, J. (2010). Health Consequences of Overexposure to Repairable Coal and Silica Dust. Retrieved July 30, 2011 from http://www.msha.gov/S&HINFO/BlackLung/ControlDust2010/GrandJunction/Health%20Consequences%20-%20Grand%20Junction.pdf
Davis, D. (2011). Integrated energy: Wind power meets offshore capabilities. Offshore, 17(4), 11-12. Retrieved July 16, 2011 from http://web.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=fe331262-74b8-4c87-9a62-1a98bbadf825%40sessionmgr14&vid=4&hid=106.
Environmental Leaders. (2010). BP Oil Spill Clean-Up to Cost Nearly $5 Billion. Retrieved July 31, 2011 from http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/05/03/bp-oil-spill-clean-up-to-cost-nearly-5-billion/
Environment for Beginners. (2011). What Are the Benefits of Forests and the Consequences of Deforestation? Retrieved July 31, 2011 from http://www.environmentforbeginners.com/content/view/52/49/
Helmke, H. (March 15, 2011). Lugar tells Christian Coalition costs of foreign oil are too high. U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Retrieved on July 28, 2011 from http://foreign.senate.gov/press/ranking/release/?id=a1643948-303f-4e4b-b841-396f31a97502
North West Community Energy. (2003). Rosebud Sioux Tribe Wind Project Todd County, South Dakota. Retrieved July 16, 2011 from http://nwcommunityenergy.org/wind/wind-case-studies/rosebud-sioux
Wyden, R. (May 20, 2009). Empowering Americans to transform American energy. The Wyden Plan for Energy Independence. Retrieved on July 28, 2011 from http://wyden.senate.gov/issues/legislation/details/?id=ac76c3bb-af2f-4049-9c10-ca77fbd00e6b
