During our recent trip back and forth across the country there was one sight that struck me with awe every time it came into view. It was not the majesty of the mountains, or the beautiful rock formations or the mighty rivers, it was, the wind turbine.
Why, you may ask, am I so enamored by these giants of the landscape? Their sheer size for one, makes them visible from miles away. To me they are sleek and clean looking and represent the hope of the nation to clean up our environment for future generations. They stand for jobs in this pathetic economy we find ourselves in. Truck drivers hauling each 100 ft. propeller down the highways, construction workers in the fields, and even trickles down to the nearby towns that supply food and lodging to the workers.
I am not unaware of the risk to birds, the damage to farm lands and the fact that a lot of people think them unsightly on our landscape. There are always pros and cons to every issue. What I am concerned about is our country getting off the fence and doing something about global warming and I think this is a good step toward that goal.
The main problem with wind power is that you need a way to get the power to the people (pardon the 60's reference), i.e. a power grid to sell the power. This can be an expensive proposition when there is no grid nearby. T. Boone Pickens ran into this problem recently when he pulled the plug on his Texas Wind Farm, due to his inability to obtain enough money to build a grid facility. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when T. Boone can't get a loan.
So here's to the forward thinkers, the pioneers, if you will of the wind industry, may the wind carry us to new heights in energy production.
1 comment:
You activist you! :-)
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