Vijayan, J. (2015, February 11). Wind Energy to Power Google’s California HQ. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://www.eweek.com/it-management/wind-energy-to-power-googles-california-hq.html

This article is about the technology company Google’s Headquarters in Mountain View, California. The article says that, “Google has entered into a long-term agreement with NextEra Energy Resources under which the Bay Area wind farm will supply enough wind energy to power Google’s North Bayshore headquarters on an annual basis.” This does not come as a large surprise, seeing as Google has always been very forward-thinking and tries to use as much clean energy as possible. Part of this agreement states that NextEra will install new wind turbines in California’s Altamont pass, in 2016.

This is very important for environmental science, because Google is one of the biggest companies in the world, and if they were not using renewable energy such as wind energy, then there would be much more pollution in the world. They also set a good example for other large companies that could follow Google’s steps to continue to decrease California’s carbon footprint.

Rogers, P. (2015, November 4). California’s first offshore wind farm proposed near Morro Bay. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20151108/californias-first-offshore-wind-farm-proposed-near-morro-bay

This article talks about a city on the coast of California, called Morro Bay. The article talks about the proposal by a company called Trident Winds, to build the state’s first offshore wind turbines. Offshore wind turbines are generally better than regular wind turbines, wind turbines offshore can pick up higher speed winds coming in from the ocean, and therefore generate more energy. They plan to install, “100 floating turbines — each up to 636 feet tall — about 15 miles off the San Luis Obispo County shoreline.” The article also mentions how this could generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity for California. That is enough energy to power 300,000 houses. This would be a great addition to California’s 1,883 wind turbines on land.

This article relates to environmental science, because it talks about the introduction of more wind turbines into California. But these new turbines will be in the water. I think that this is a great idea for California, it can help reach the state’s new goal of 50% of it’s energy coming from renewable sources by 2030.

UPDATE: California wants renewable energy for half its power by 2030. (2015, October 7). Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://www.signalscv.com/section/287/article/143310/

This article talks about how California wants to switch at least half of it’s energy to renewable energy such as wind energy, by 2030. This is up from a mandate in 2006 that stated that ⅓ of California’s energy must be renewable energy by 2020. This is very good news for the state which already uses large amounts of wind energy to keep its air clean.

A key part of environmental science, is keeping our air clean and trying to stop the effects of global warming. This new mandate in california will help to have more wind energy and help keep air clean of fossil fuels.

Mooney, C. (2015, November 9). This could be the biggest sign yet that the battery revolution is here. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/11/09/this-could-be-the-biggest-sign-yet-that-the-battery-revolution-is-here/

This article is about how a company in California, called Advanced Microgrid Solutions is making “hybrid electric buildings.” These are buildings that use large batteries about the size of a parking space to store extra renewable energy. This is supposed to help change how we use renewable energy such as wind energy. This saves companies money by using this stored renewable energy, when energy prices are particularly high.

This article is very important to environmental science in the future. It can help to store more renewable energy and save companies money on their wind power. I think that this is a great new innovation that can help to power our companies in California and elsewhere with wind energy.

Warrick, J. (2015, August 31). The surprising way that birds and wind turbines can coexist. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/31/the-surprising-way-that-birds-and-wind-turbines-can-coexist/

This article, is about the problem of birds, specifically Golden Eagles in California flying into Wind Turbines that create energy for California. The article says that, “At a single wind farm near Altamont, Calif., more than 75 golden eagles die each year from collisions with the farm’s thousands of spinning blades.” Wind energy in America is becoming increasingly popular. But depending on where the wind farms are built, they can cause thousands of bird species, some of which are endangered, to be killed. The article talks about how by mapping where popular bird nesting locations are, and by mapping where there is the most potential for wind energy, we can then find the “sweet spots” where there are no popular nesting areas, but also have high potential for wind energy.

This article is very important to environmental science, because it is trying to help to both protect birds, and to create more renewable energy. This is important because it can help prevent further harming of endangered species such as the Golden Eagle, in California and other places.

Smith, S.E. (July 29, 2015) Offshore Wind Power Comes to the US: Environmental News Network. Retrieved August 23, 2015 from, http://www.enn.com/business/article/48822

The U.S. has begun to build windmills off of certain coasts. This can collect more power because in certain areas, the wind blows much stronger out in the ocean than it does inland. By having stronger winds the wind turbine can spin faster collecting much more energy and being far more efficient. These new offshore wind programs, could help to collect 4,000,000 more megawatts of clean power. However there can be issues with people opposing these turbines. Certain communities don’t like the idea of looking outside and seeing turbines obstructing their view.

This offshore wind program is a major step forward for environmental science in the U.S. it can help to make our country far more energy efficient, eco-friendly, and can help to greatly reduce our carbon footprint.

Hauslohner, Abigail (August 12, 2015) Wind energy is flowing into D.C., but don’t expect your bill to decrease: Washington Post. Retrieved August 23, 2015 from, http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/wind-energy-is-flowing-into-dc–but-dont-expect-a-drop-in-your-bill/2015/08/12/97b02a28-411a-11e5-8e7d-9c033e6745d8_story.html

In Washington D.C. the city is now receiving enough energy from wind power to make up ⅓ of the local governments energy needs. D.C. has a deal with Iberdrola Renewables (a spanish energy company) the deal means that they supply the city with 125,000 megawatt hours of electricity every year. This plan is supposed to save the government $45 million on energy over the next 20 years, but this energy is only being supplied to government, not residential or business buildings. However the D.C. mayor, Muriel E. Bowser, says that it will reduce the carbon footprint of D.C., by approximately 100,000 tons of carbon pollution.

This is extremely important to environmental science, because it is greatly reducing the carbon footprint of a major and extremely important U.S. city. This could cause to other cities following in D.C.’s footsteps and continuing to reduce the U.S.’s carbon footprint.

Mooney, Chris (November 6, 2014) Use the Web? Congrats, you’re an environmentalist: Washington Post. Retrieved August 23, 2015 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/06/like-kite-surfing-the-internet-why-google-microsoft-and-yahoo-are-buying-up-wind-energy/

Google, Yahoo, and Bing have all decided to switch to wind power. These three companies have entered into “ power purchase agreements (PPAs) with wind farms to ensure a steady stream of power, at a fixed cost, over a period as long as several decades.” Google’s PPA doesn’t mean that their facilities are literally powered by wind energy. However, it means that they are in an agreement with a wind power company and that Google’s actions are adding more overall wind power to the world. These 3 companies make up for 90% of the search engines people in the U.S. use, so by all of them turning to wind energy they are making the world a far more eco-friendly place and greatly reducing their carbon footprint.

This is environmental science because these three companies are all creating a healthier environment to live in. By these companies setting a good example of being eco-friendly they could influence others to do the same. If more and more companies moved to wind energy, our environment would be much cleaner and we would have much less of a carbon footprint as a country.

Mooney, Chris (August 4, 2015) How the dramatic growth of wind and solar led to EPA’s tougher carbon rules: Washington Post. Retrieved August 22, 2015 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/04/how-the-clean-energy-boom-let-epa-toughen-up-its-carbon-rules/

The Obama administration’s recent Clean Power Plan, has changed the way the U.S.’ energy production will look by 2030. The new plan states a projected 32% decrease of U.S. power sector greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030. The EPA  now expects that by 2030, 28% of U.S. electricity capacity will be provided by renewable sources like solar and wind energy. After reassesing the projections for the 2030 power usage in the U.S., the EPA realized that, wind energy, has become both more cost-efficient and more efficient in power usage.

This is an extremely important advance in environmental science technology. In one year the EPA’s predictions for energy production by the year 2030 changed drastically. If wind energy continues to go on this path of becoming more efficient and cheaper, soon our country may no longer be reliant on fossil fuels.

Mooney, Chris (August 10, 2015) The U.S. wind energy boom couldn’t be coming at a better time: Washington Post. Retrieved August 22, 2015 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/10/the-boom-in-wind-energy-couldnt-be-coming-at-a-better-time/

This article, is about the growth of wind energy in America. The article says that, “wind is being installed at a rapid rate, that its costs are plummeting, that its technologies are advancing, and that it is creating a growing number of jobs to boot.” Wind energy in America is now 5% of our total energy. Not only is wind energy helping the carbon footprint, but it now provides 73,000 jobs in America. By the year 2030 the U.S, is supposed to surpass its goal of 20% of all the country’s energy being wind power.

The article focuses on statistics of wind power. It talks about how it effects the environment in a positive way, by creating jobs and reducing the burning of fossil fuels. By using wind power we can help to keep our environment a more clean and safe place in the future.