Wind power is booming, largely due to a search for energy from sources other than fossil fuels, such as petroleum and coal. But some people have growing concerns about wind power. (Perkins) Turbine blades strike and kill flying animals each year, including bats and migrating birds. For instance, an estimated 214,000 to 368,000 small birds may be killed by turbine blades each year. (Perkins) Other critics think that the forests of turbines are just plain ugly. And many people who live near wind farms complain about the whooshing noise made by the rapidly whirling blades.

This article is important because it states the downside effects of wind energy. Like every project, wind energy does have its downsides. One of the major downsides is that the wind turbines tend to kill many birds that happen to be flying by. A good way to fix this would be to make more offshore wind turbines. That way, it will be harder to kill bird species.

Developed by researchers under the name DeepCWind, the VolturnUS is the only operational offshore turbine in the United States, and the only floating turbine in the world. To renewable energy enthusiasts, offshore wind power is one of the most promising new technologies with potential to reduce American dependence on fossil fuels. It refers to the construction of offshore turbines that utilize natural, high-velocity ocean wind energy to produce electricity. (Connor-Cleveland) In the United States, there is roughly 4,000 gigawatts of unharnessed offshore wind capacity within 50 miles of our coastline, which is enough to power the United States annually four times over. (Connor-Cleveland)

This article is important because most people are not aware of offshore wind power. It is also important to know that offshore wind power is one of the most promising new technologies. This is because they use the high powered ocean wind to produce electricity. Offshore wind power can be more reliable, because the ocean is usually always winsy. It can also save more birds that get killed by the turbines, because most birds do not fly over the ocean. In conclusion, offshore wind energy can help further save the environment.

Wind was responsible for 4.8 percent of America’s electricity used in January, which is the highest January total ever. (Randall) In the United States, wind energy is becoming cheaper than both natural gas and coal. Average onshore wind power now costs the same as gas worldwide, at about $84 per megawatt hour. (Randall) The competition between wind energy and gas is very close.

This article is important because it states how wind energy is becoming cheaper and cheaper. The initial problem with having wind energy was the cost and expenses. Now that it is nearly as cheap as natural gas and coal emissions, wind energy will become more popular in the United States. If wind energy becomes more popular, there will be less greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere.

Wind power is an affordable, efficient and abundant source of domestic electricity. It’s pollution-free and cost-competitive with energy from new coal- and gas-fired power plants in many regions. In 2011 alone, 3,464 turbines went up across the United States, and today, American wind generates enough electricity to power more than 11 million homes. (Renewable Energy for America).  A typical 250 MW wind farm (around 100 turbines) will also create 1,073 jobs over the lifetime of the project. (Renewable Energy for America) Wind energy provides more than 6 percent of our nation’s electricity, and experts estimate that in the future, wind energy could realistically supply five times that amount. (Renewable Energy for America)

This article relates to the environment because wind power in the United States is a new abundant source of electricity. Although it is expensive to build wind turbines, they are 100% pollution free. Once wind turbines are set up, they can produce electricity in an eco-friendly way. Wind turbines can also help the economy, because they can create around 1000 jobs over the lifetime of the project. In my opinion, I think that wind energy is a good substitute for electricity.

Imperial College London. (2014, July 16). Fires are major cause of wind farm failure, according to new research. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 7, 2014

Wind farming is one of the leading industries in the renewable energy sector. Even though it’s one of the leading sectors, the industry faces many challenges. Today, incidents of wind turbines catching on fire is a problem that is not being fully reported. Researchers from Imperial College London estimated that ten times more fires are happening that are being reported. The reason why wind turbines are catching on fire is because highly flammable materials are in close proximity to the machinery. Once the fire has started, the chances of fighting the flames are very slim.

This article shows how the wind turbines catching on fire effects environmental science. Wind turbines are a very good source for renewable energy, but fires are a big problem for the industry. The wind turbines catching on fire can impact energy production, economic output, and emitting toxic fumes. Emitting toxic fumes into the atmosphere could hurt the industry’s green credentials.

University of the Basque Country. (2014, June 10). Sopcawind, a multidisciplinary tool for designing wind farms. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 7, 2014

The Sopcawind is a new software that manages the design of wind farms. It looks at the possible impact the wind may have on the environment, and the aspects of energy productivity. With all its functionalities, the Sopcawind makes it possible to ensure that all aspects are taken into consideration in the wind farm design process. “Because these impact studies are conducted before the wind farm is built, they allow potential interference to be detected if it does in fact exist, and so the wind farm developer will be able to include modifications in the design of the wind farm in order to prevent that trouble.” Now, wind farms can be built without degrading the existing telecommunications systems.

This article shows how the invention of the Sopcawind can help build wind farms easier. This affects environmental science because the invention of the Sopcawind can help builders know in advance if the wind farm will have any bad factors, such as weather radars, air traffic control panels, and radionavigation aids. The Sopcawind relates to environmental science because it creates a possible impact the wind may have on the environment.

Moskowitz, P. (2014, January 16). Spain becomes first country to rely on wind as top energy source | Al Jazeera America. Retrieved September 7, 2014.

Spain is the very first country in the world to draw its power from wind energy for an entire year. 20.9 percent of Spain’s energy last year was wind energy, which is enough to power 15.5 million households. In comparison,  the US only produced 9 percent of its energy with renewable sources, and wind accounted for only 15 percent of that. Using wind energy has also brought down Spain’s greenhouse gas emissions by 23 percent. But, it is not known how wind will steep government cutbacks. Spain’s renewable energy sector costs billions of dollars in a country still in a financial crisis.

This article shows how using wind energy as a renewable source is beneficial to the environment. It explains how using wind energy can drastically bring down greenhouse gas emissions. It is also a very powerful energy source. This connects to environmental science because unlike other renewable resources, wind power is eco-friendly and can help the environment. Although is is a environment-friendly renewable source, it is still very expensive to build and maintain.

Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB). (2014, August 13). Bats versus wind turbines. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 7, 2014

Wind turbines are the the cause of many deaths of bats and birds in northern Germany. In northern Germany, wind turbines are an important component of renewable energy, due to their abundance of wind. But, the blades of the wind turbines are extremely dangerous for many birds and bats. About 300,000 bats are at the risk of being injured or killed in northern Germany. Unfortunately, the bats are even attracted to the wind turbines. Bats swarm at conspicuous landscape features such as churches, towers, or even wind turbines during their mating season.

This article shows how the wind turbines in northern Germany are killing the bat and bird populations. Out of the bats that died, a surprisingly large amount of them were females. This deeply affects the wildlife population in Germany, because with each female their potential offspring is missing. This also affects environmental science because if a large quantity of these bats die at wind turbines, the populations in Northeastern Germany may become significantly weakened. In conclusion, although wind energy is a great renewable source, the wind turbines are harming populations of animals.