Is Wind Power Green - Essay Example

WINDP This tax law basis also increases the commitment to developing more efficient means of renewable power: “New laws in some s requiring utilities to generate some of their power from renewable energy sources also are boosting the fortunes of the wind industry.” (Quick 2000). The reality and attractiveness of this situation has led to great leaps forward in the production of viable wind power in the past couple of decades. “Once a struggling renewable energy supply that survived only through government protection, wind energy technology has taken off, in some cases producing electricity more economically than fossil fuels.” (Quick 2000) Legislation needs to confront this increasing demand and knowledge about renewable energy. Although wind power used to be considered to be too expensive for personal use, this type of alternative power is increasingly becoming a viable reality, both in America and globally, but legislative solutions, while helpful in some areas, have been more political than industrial. To be truly effective, renewable energy transmission needs to have access to transmission lines without discrimination, and currently, existing law does not adequately provide for this contingency. Building as well as other areas have been associated with wind power as a renewable resource. Going green through wind power involves mainly two elements: sustainable or renewable energy sources, and building materials. In the first element, the power of the residential or commercial unit is provided at least in part by an element that is non-conventional compared to normal electric or oil costs, which are seen to be less environmentally friendly because of the use of fossil fuels and the production by these conventional energy sources of pollutants. Two of the main examples of going green through renewable energy sources are installing solar and wind power options in the residential or commercial unit. These options may not supply the entirety of the power to the unit, but they are usually able to make a significant impact on cutting conventional energy costs, depending on the area. Naturally, in an area like the Pacific Northwest where it is usually cloudy or rainy, solar power would be less effective, and in an area where there is not much wind, wind power may not be justified on a cost basis. “Many energy providers say they have to charge more for renewables to offset the risk and expense of researching and developing new markets. "Providers say it is more expensive energy to produce, and its definitely true that wind and solar power have very small government subsidies compared to coal and nuclear power energy," says Isaac Elancavae of the Michigan Environmental Council” (Donner, 2002). As time passes, however, the cost of these options is dropping. Wind power does not create any sort of pollutant gases, as conventional power does. These elements of wind power, pros and cons, will both be explored in more significant detail later in the report, but generally, these elements are used in tandem to create living and consumer spaces that are more environmentally friendly than they were in the past. For both materials and renewable energy resources, builders have virtually endless options. In terms of material, everything from insulation (recycled spray-insulation) to flooring (non-soil eroding bamboo floors) can be seen from a building green perspective. And in terms of renewable energy, as discussed above, although the main options are till solar and wind power, there are many other options also available to builders, such as methane and geo-thermal heat installation. Generally, as these technologies age, they become progressively cheaper. One may remember when buying a VCR cost several thousand dollars, when they were first invented. Today the same player costs under a hundred dollars. The same principle is also applied to material and resource allocation for going green: as time moves on, technology like wind power, that was once new and expensive becomes more cost effective and easily incorporated by the building industry for commercial and residential projects, with the addition as well of subsidies from the government and a growing network of agencies providing standards and rules by which building green can be measured. These agencies continue to cross reference and multiply. It is important to boost the importance of finding new energy sources. As noted, one form of renewable energy used in building green is wind power. Arguably the most popular and well known uses of renewable energy in building green are wind power and solar power. Wind-power itself “is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earths surface, and rotation of the earth. Wind flow patterns are modified by the earths terrain, bodies of water, and vegetative cover.” (Quick 2000). That is to say, wind power cannot be determined by turning a switch or creating a foreseeable pattern of production; it is at the whims of nature, not supply and demand, that wind power operates as a renewabe energy source for green building. Since the beginnings of wind power as a principal means of irrigation, wind power has been dependent not on consumer or builder demand, but on season and climate. “Throughout much of history, people have used wind to fill their sails, propelling their ships across open seas. Windmills converted blowing wind into useful mechanical energy, making it possible to pump water from beneath the earth’s surface.” (McLean 2001). In the sixties and seventies, with world attention turning increasingly to scientific predictions of the ecological imbalance created by humanity’s industry’s future, viable alternative energy systems began to be seriously sought. These early systems were fairly expensive compared to today, when going green can also be cost effective. It is also arguable that the savings passed on to the consumer and environment justifies a minor cost hike. Wind power can offer serious solutions if infrastructure is adequately adjusted. Burning fossil fuels is sometimes equivalent to 500 acres of forest. “Wind energy is also a source of clean, non-polluting, electricity. Unlike conventional power plants, wind plants emit no air pollutants or greenhouse gases.” (Quick 2000). Wind is also a resource that cannot be depleted, like solar energy, so that it can truly be called a renewable resource. Nor does the production of wind power result in dangerous or hazardous material being released into the air or water. Therefore, the consequences to the ecosystem and living creatures are null, since wind is truly a source of pollution-free electricity, whereas more conventional energy sources such as coal, oil, or gas-based systems both deplete the environment and cause harm to creatures through the release of toxic pollutants that poison their atmosphere and water-supply. In America, “Good wind resources (class 3 and above) which have an average annual wind speed of at least 13 miles per hour, are found along the east coast, the Appalachian Mountain chain, the Great Plains, the Pacific Northwest, and some other locations” (Quick 2000). In these areas, wind power is a viable alternative, and in Texas, Iowa, and Wisconsin, legislation has been passed to encourage more widespread use of wind power. Wind power is increasing in technology and popularity. This attention also increases the commitment to developing more efficient means of wind power: “New laws in some states requiring utilities to generate some of their power from renewable energy sources also are boosting the fortunes of the wind industry.” (McLean 2001). Despite these possible drawbacks to using wind power, it is this report’s opinion that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages when considering wind and solar power as a viable power source for going green: the consequences of these power sources on the ecosystem and living creatures is not detrimental, since this power is a truly renewable and environmentally friendly energy source. Global warming solutions should be considered globally, and renewable energy could prove a viable solution to problems in developing countries. In some areas, “The reliability value of the first increments of wind generation added to an electric power system was found to be quite significant, with wind contributing to reliability at between 60 percent and 100 percent of small fossil capacity.” (Quick 2000). While the median may actually rest somewhere around 40 percent, in these areas of greater reliability, electrical power could become supplementary. In others, excess wind or solar power from these areas of greater power concentration could be distributed through more efficient and penalty-altered transmission. In other cases, homes or businesses using these alternate power sources ar able to store energy and essentially run the meter backwards, feeding excess back into the system. This creates a situation in which the home or business faces issues of energy independence. To increase energy independence, homes as well as businesses can use wind power. As mentioned above, the two main elements of going green from a building industry perspective are renewable energy sources (solar, wind power, and other sustainable resources that do not deplete fossil fuels or give off air pollution) and environmentally friendly building materials. The first of these elements has been adequately covered above. This problem is of increasing importance when you consider the theory of the greenhouse effect, where these pollutants and carbon dioxide produced do not simply burn off, but become trapped in the earth’s atmosphere, creating, a significant increase in the temperature (global warming) when the sun’s rays are trapped in this greenhouse of pollutions, from the outer reaches of the atmosphere to the air we breathe. The trapped carbon dioxide is less and less able to be converted into oxygen as more and more acres of forests are being cleared for timber and to create short- term farmland, and more and more people choose to drive instead of taking public transportation or carpooling. Acid rain, increased carbon dioxide levels, and smog are the problematic results of conventional energy sources and widespread car travel, all leading to air pollution. The key to solving all of these issues in the challenge of the future is facing them in the present and being responsible and educated as individuals within a caring society that wants future generations to have a good place in which to live instead of a barren waste land. At this point, people who want environmental justice, whatever their background, should come also to focus not only on the sustainability of resources and the importance of leaving natural sites and cleaning up the area, but also on the issue of providing environmentally responsible services to the people of the nation. This is one of the cultural issues that predicted a rise in the potentialities and possibilities of environmental justice all over the world, not just in this hemisphere or region, where the differences lie. Using wind power is a responsible alternative to the environment, and causes no air pollution. REFERENCE Donner, A. (2002). Clean and green: for the retail buyer, signing up for renewable energy offers both rewards and pitfalls. E: The Environmental Magazine. Gipe, Paul (1996). Wind Power for Home and Business: Renewable Energy for the 1990s and Beyond. http://rotor.fb12.tu-berlin.de/gwindpower.html. McLean, Jim (2000). Green Power. CJ Online. http://www.cjonline.com/stories/080700/hea_windpower.shtml. Quick Facts about Wind Energy (2001) U.S. Department of Energy Wind Energy Program. http://www.eren.doe.gov/wind/web.html. Read More