Wind power on the rise

[Jenamarie]

A funny story about wind farms. A friend and I were driving through Altamont Pass (in California - HUGE windfarm with a freeway cutting through it) and it was rather windy that day. So windy that I had to grip the steering wheel pretty tight to keep the car in line. My friend looked out the window and saw all the fans spinning away and said "It's so windy up here, why don't they turn the stupid windmills off?!"

[NeuroTypical]

Just for the record, while wind power seems like a perfect solution, there is potential for large windfarms to alter local climates.

I hadn't heard that, but I suppose it's possible. At one point, the audobon society had taken a rather strong stand against them in the past, because they'll occasionally shred a bird. They called them "cuizinarts of the air", but that was over 5 years ago. These days, Autobon figures global warming will kill more birds than wind will, so they support govt regulation of where we can build windmills to minimize shredded birds.

Audobon.com - Congressional Testimony on Benefits of Wind Power

LM

[MarginOfError]

I honestly can't remember the source (it might have been The West Wing, so I could be wrong. But it does seem logical to me.

In any case, any alternative energy solution will have its drawbacks. Which is why I think we ought to do some solar, some wind, some hydrogen cell, and some nuclear. It makes more sense to me to diversify than try to argue down to one resource (that isn't to say that anyone here is arguing for only one).

[Guest HEthePrimate]

I always thought it picked up once a month during testimony meeting.....:D:D:D:D

LOL!

Seriously, though, I think wind power is cool. I have Dutch ancestry and they, of course, have historically been big on windmills. I imagine the viability of wind power would depend on how much wind a particular area typically gets (obviously), but in places where there is consistent wind, I seems like it would be useful.

Don't know why, but images of a helicopter chase through a wind farm keep popping up in my mind--was that in "Mission Impossible" or something?

HEP