Wind Power: Good or Bad?
Finding alternative energy resources is becoming a big issue in today’s world. Some believe that renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal powerare much better for the environment than the traditional methods of burning fossil fuels, coal, and natural gas. Fossil fuels have always been in abundance and much cheaper to produce energy, until recently within the past tenyears. With technologies getting better everyday, wind power has become very cost competitive with the traditional waysof producing energy. Alternative energy advocates claim that the burning of fossils produces greenhouse gases and plays a big role in global warming. On the other hand, environmentalist are claiming that wind turbines are injuring and killingbirds and bats, take up too much space, are not efficient, and are a unpleasant sight to look at. Deciding which side to take raises big debate between the two sides; we cannot rely on fossil fuels forever, but is wind energy the right way to go?
While many environmental believe that power plants cause more harm than beneficial, others believe wind energy is not beneficial at all, and therefore are against wind energy. Because wind energy is an alternating resource, wind farms have to rely on conventional power plants to back up their supply. Wind farms can only generate power when the wind is within a certain range of speed. When the wind is too little, the turbines do not produce energy, and when the wind speed is too great, the turbines have to be shut off for fear of being blown down. Another reason environmentalist are against wind energy is because they are unpleasant to look at. Environmentalists claim that wind turbines are destroying the “views” of the world. A wind farm requires approximately 192,000 acres, or 300 square miles, not to mention they require miles of paved roads for maintenance. A nuclear power plant only needs about 1,950 acres or 3.05 square miles. In addition...