Windmills have been widely used since thousands of years to pump water for agricultural purposes, propel ships and grind grains. As civilizations advanced, other convenient sources of energy replaced wind energy. Currently, fossil fuels that include coal, oil and natural gas fulfill the energy needs of nations across the world. These fuel sources are responsible for polluting the environment through the emission of hydrocarbons that cause global warming and various other environmental hazards. Also, these non-renewable energy sources are much limited and continue to deplete from the face of the earth. Therefore, wind energy that can be tapped conveniently is the best alternate energy source since it involves no environmental hazards as wind farms are inhabitant friendly, they do not lead to the depletion of any natural resources and the awareness on the benefits of wind energy are popular across the world. (Claim)
Wind energy can be tapped and converted to electricity very easily and conveniently. The energy of the blowing wind that is found everywhere in the atmosphere, but which normally goes unutilized is intercepted by wind mills or huge turbines that make the wind to pass through a series of blades before tapping the energy that is used for creating electricity (What is eco-friendly energy?). The best part is that while converting wind to electricity through wind turbines and wind mills, no liquids or gases that are harmful to the environment are pumped out into the atmosphere. More importantly, the process of generating energy from wind does not require any fossil fuels to be burnt.
Unlike the continuous emission of pollutants that makes the surroundings of traditional power generation plants uninhabitable wind farms are inhabitant-friendly. Installation of wind mills requires less space as against other power plants that utilize fossil fuels requiring vast areas for setting up the infrastructures. Besides, power plants that utilize fossil fuels can be located only where the fuels are available in plenty. On the other hand, wind mills can be erected literally anywhere on the earth, and wind turbines can be placed in remote corners like deserts, jungles or off the shore. More importantly, the areas surrounding wind farms can be inhabited. The technology of converting wind energy into electricity is also very simple and can be practiced even in individual households.
More importantly, wind power generation does not lead to depletion of natural resources like water, as well as the flora and fauna characteristic of various geographic localities. For instance, wind power generation requires no water and hence it is ideal for energizing areas known for scanty rainfall where power generation from water is impossible. The pollutants emitted by fossil fuels lead to distinction of many fish, animal and plant species on the planet. Wind energy can offset the dangerous carbon emission from power generation plants that use fossil fuels. It has been estimated that 1 mega watt generated from wind can offset nearly 2,600 tons of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels (Looper, 2016).
Awareness on the eco-friendliness of wind energy is popular across the world today in light of the current generation understanding the harmful effects of fossil fuels. Nations across the world have switched to generating power from the harmless and eco-friendly source of wind. For instance power generation from wind quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and more than 70,000 mega watts of electric energy from wind was generated across the world in 2012 (Wind energy facts, 2016). Germany currently has the maximum installed capacity of power generation from wind followed by Spain. China and America are also catching up fast to harness wind energy. At this rate, it is predicted that by the year 2050 almost one-third of the energy requirement of the planet would be met from wind energy, thanks to the environment friendly nature of the energy. The technology to harness energy is also continuously improving. For instance, wind turbines designed recently can harness energy 15 times higher than the energy wind turbines harnessed in 1990. Similarly, wind energy generation industry is currently a multibillion dollar industry in America.
Even as wind energy is popularly claimed to be eco-friendly, it has its own environmental hazards that however cannot compare with the large scale environmental hazards caused by several other energy sources that pump millions of tons of pollutants into the atmosphere each day. For instance, constructing wind farms requires vast stretches of lands to be cleared that harms the natural beauty of the neighborhoods. A single wind turbine may require a minimum of 3 acres of land to be cleared (Coopersmith, 2012). Besides, transportation of the turbine and other materials need wide roads to be laid in the thickets. Environmentalists often blame wind farms for killing certain birds and bats that accidentally either perch on wind turbines or do not see the potential threat of flying through rotating turbines. However, redesigning of turbines to deter birds from alighting and flying near them can save birds. Similarly, insisting wind farms to have green certification can help reduce the adverse effects of wind farms on the environment (Cohn, 2015).
Wind energy is capable of reducing the dependence of the whole world on traditional nonrenewable energy sources that pollute the environment since wind is freely available everywhere on the earth. Wind energy is eco-friendly when compared with other popular non renewable energy sources since it does not pollute the earth. Relying on wind power to tap energy is a good idea towards protecting the environment for the future generations since wind energy is capable of offsetting carbon emission from fossil fuels. In conclusion, tapping energy from wind is more convenient since wind is available free of cost everywhere across the globe, and the process of energy generation from wind, does not involve emission of pollutants into the atmosphere.
References
Cohn, Jeffrey, P. (2015). How eco-friendly are wind farms? Retrieved from http://bioscience. oxfordjournals.org/content/58/7/576.full
Cohn did a comprehensive study on the performance of various wind farms across America. In the light of many birds meeting their death in wind farms while trying to perch on wind turbines or fly through rotating blades, Cohn found certain wind farms adopting certain changes in the design of wind turbines to control the threat.
Coopersmith, W. (2012). Wind energy: Environmentally friendly? Freedom works. Retrieved from http://www.freedomworks.org/content/wind-energy-environmentally-friendly
Coopersmith in his blog shares his ideas emerged through critically watching the process of installation of wind mills in different parts of America. Cutting trees and laying roads for the installation, according to Coopersmith, amount to destruction of the environment.
Looper, L. (2016). 10 Incredible wind power facts. How stuff works. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/10-wind-power-facts3.htm
Looper gives a good insight about wind energy from the perspective of protecting the environment from the harmful effects fossil fuels through tapping energy from wind. His presentation is based on certain scientific studies.
What is eco-friendly energy? (2011). Eco-friendly Emporium. Retrieved from http://www.eco-friendly-emporium.com/eco-friendly-energy.html
The website Eco-friendly emporium talks about the technical side of tapping energy from renewable sources like sunlight, wind and bio-mass. The website also gives certain valuable tips to the public on the importance of saving energy to protect the environment from the hazards of nonrenewable energy sources.
Wind energy facts. (2016). Conserve energy future. Retrieved from http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-wind-energy-facts.php
Conserve energy website lists 35 facts about wind energy. It encompasses certain recent data on the production and consumption of wind-generated energy by nations across the world. The website also gives certain interesting details about the history of emergence of modern wind power stations across the world.
