The skinny on wind energy

So I've told some people lately that wind energy could really work, and could supply our country with a significant chunk of the electricity we need moving forward, but I keep running into skeptics. Silly silly skeptics.

I've even told people we should just coat the plains states with wind turbines, to tap into the enormous potential for generating electricity. Again, skeptical reactions. But take a look at this map:




What this map tells us is this: there are only a few places in the world that wind is strong enough and sustained enough to make wind turbines economically feasible. Now, let's see: Patagonia, Antarctica, Greenland, and the Himalayas, all have tremendous amounts of wind -- the areas on the map with the darkest red. But, take a look at the breadbasket of the U.S. Though the wind is not quite as strong as in the places I've just mentioned, it is the best place on earth to build wind turbines on land. Let me say that again: the best place on earth. We can't really go build them atop K2 or on the melting Antarctic ice sheets, but the middle of Kansas -- why the hell not?

Actually, these things could stretch all the way from northern Texas through North Dakota. That's a lot of land. The possibilities for offshore turbines are also vast.

What are the benefits? Countless. Here are some highlights:

(1) The Environment: wind power is absolutely clean, creates no pollution or exhaust, and would lessen our need to use fossil fuels (especially coal, the worst fuel imaginable). This part is a no-brainer.

(2) The Economy: how does 138,000 new jobs projected for the first year -- that is, for large-scale conversion to wind -- and 3.4 million jobs over 10 years sound? Pretty darn good? How about a reduced dependence on foreign oil? In 2008 alone we spent $475 BILLION dollars on imported oil, mostly from China and the Middle East. Of course, we didn't have that money to spend in the first place, so it's contributed a hefty portion of our national debt. How can we have a competitive economy in the global markets if we're always in debt to foreign nations?

What about the benefits of investing in our own country's resources, where we can control every means of production and implementation from start to finish. People can be employed to build the turbines, install and maintain them, and the electricity produced would be real revenue for Americans.

(3) Energy: well, it's obvious that diversifying our energy sources, and switching over to clean ones, would have countless benefits. This category is tied to all the others, of course.

(4) National Security: American soldiers are dying by the thousands, foreign nations are pissed at us in the Middle East, and, as I would argue, our military operations in the Middle East have been for one purpose: to secure oil. See my post "Dirty Little Secrets" for a detailed overview (but really focusing on the administration of Bush II). If we don't need oil anymore, we don't have to send young people to die needlessly -- again, it looks like a no-brainer to me.

So what is stopping us? The time is right, we have the technology, we have the resources to become the largest producer of wind energy in the world, but what we are lacking is the political backing we so desperately need. I have yet to read the Waxman-Markey bill to see what is said about wind energy infrastructure development, but I'm sure it isn't strong enough. Washington is still beholden to the coal and oil lobbies, who pour millions of dollars into the pot every year to ensure their interests are protected.

One thing we can do: get the environmental and energy policies pushed through that we need. The time is right, right now, with Obama in office and a Democrat majority in both the House and the Senate. The benefits are enormous. The only downside is a change from the status quo, which is really only working for a small percentage of people anyway.

Plus, my favorite Senator, Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is saying, and I quote, that "we need an energy revolution." But my friends, that revolution can only start with us. It's time to step up and do something! Call your representatives, demand clean energy from local utilites, make your voice heard! Let's do this!

Check out this 2007 report from the Department of Energy -- they say we could get 20% of our energy needs from wind by 2030.