Science Friday >Science Friday Feburary 2, 2007 Hour 1> WIND ENERGY EXTRA
THE SCIENCE FRIDAY FILE ON WIND ENERGY
On Friday February 2, 2007, a committee of the world's experts on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released a report saying that it's 90 percent likely that humans are causing global warming. This week on Science Friday, we discuss the report, and some alternative energy options, including wind energy.
Wind energy produces no carbon or acid rain; we're never going to run out of wind; and it is one of the cheapest alternative energies, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. So why haven't we turned to turbines? Below are some of the concerns about wind energy. Click on the audio link to hear the experts sound off on these issues.
ISSUE #1: Wind turbines are ugly
The wind farm slated to be built off of Cape Cod has received staunch opposition from people concerned that the turbines will ruin the view. A wind farmer in Kansas had a different experience, click to hear more.
ISSUE #2: How do you get the wind power onto the grid?
The best places to harvest wind are often located far from concentrations of people. Getting the energy onto the grid and to people is a road block. Click to hear about what Germany did about this.
ISSUE #3: Do turbines kill birds and bats?
This was a big problem in Altamount, CA--the site of the first industrial wind farm--but the Department of Energy reports that this problem has been largely solved. Hear some environmentalists weigh in.
ISSUE #4: What happens when the wind stops blowing?
Wind energy can only be harvested when the wind is blowing. But power companies need to provide electricity all the time. Can it this be resolved? Click to hear more.
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