When looking at a wind powered electric generator, many people see a permanent source of renewable electricity. The problem with this image is that wind generators have shorter life spans than the term “sustainable” would imply. Wooden windmills in Holland that used to power industrial machinery before the invention of steam engines were more durable than these picket lines of propellers along our Columbia Gorge. The composite material and rare earth chemicals they require are both perishable and costly to replace. More important, like fossil fuels, our planet has a finite supply of these materials. Wind power is such an inefficient means of generating electricity that a world that seriously relied on it the way we do fossil fuels would run out of the limited resources needed to build and maintain them long before our present trends would exhaust our vast bounty of hydrocarbons.
Group items matching
in title, tags, annotations or url
2More
How sustainable is wind power? | OregonLive.com - 0 views
3More
GENERATION TO THE NATION - 0 views
wave power - 1 views
7More
Geothermal Energy Information, Geothermal Power Facts - National Geographic - 0 views
3More
The Physics of Tidal Energy - NYTimes.com - 0 views
10More
Wind Power Information, Wind Power Facts - National Geographic - 1 views
tidal-energy-1_7071.jpg (550×367) - 0 views
« First
‹ Previous
201 - 220 of 541
Next ›
Last »
Showing 20▼ items per page