Wind Could Provide 100% of World Energy Needs 867
Damien1972 sends in a report on a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, which finds that wind power could provide for the entire world's current and future energy needs. "To estimate the earth's capacity for wind power, the researchers first sectioned the globe into areas of approximately 3,300 square kilometers (2,050 square miles) and surveyed local wind speeds every six hours. They imagined 2.5 megawatt turbines crisscrossing the terrestrial globe, excluding 'areas classified as forested, areas occupied by permanent snow or ice, areas covered by water, and areas identified as either developed or urban,' according to the paper. They also included the possibility of 3.6 megawatt offshore wind turbines, but restricted them to 50 nautical miles off the coast and to oceans depths less than 200 meters. Using [these] criteria the researchers found that wind energy could not only supply all of the world's energy requirements, but it could provide over forty times the world's current electrical consumption and over five times the global use of total energy needs."
I wonder how long it would take... (Score:5, Funny)
... to have a noticeable impact on the Coriolis force?
tourism (Score:5, Funny)
And Holland's tourism industry would crash, I mean without the windmills, why would you want to go to the Netherlands... I mean isn't that what draws all those young folks to Amsterdam these days?
The usual comment... (Score:5, Funny)
Let's fill the world with gigantic metal spinning blades suspended hundreds of feet in the air. What could possibly go wrong?
News From Slashdot 2029 (Score:5, Funny)
Scientists confirmed today that Global Slowing is real. After years of speculation, it's now been confirmed that our harnessing of wind power for our energy needs is slowing the Earth down, and within a matter of decades, the Earth will come to a complete stop. Scientists are currently unsure whether this Global Slowing can be reversed, but some have proposed using fossil fuels to create artificial wind to help the Earth keep moving.
Re:What about friction? (Score:5, Funny)
It'd seem having massive wind turbines would slow down the movement of air, which might lead to scenarios where the current global warming scare would be merely a trifle.
Not if you fit the turbines within the Senate's chambers...
Re:Think of the birds! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Think of the birds! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:What about friction? (Score:5, Funny)
Not if you fit the turbines within the Senate's chambers...
damn that's a lot of hot air right there.
kite (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Actually its nastier to bats (Score:3, Funny)
if we have nearly unlimited electricity what will we do with the heat?
Crank up the air-con. Uses up some of the spare electricity AND cools things down. Problem solved.
Re:Actually its nastier to bats (Score:1, Funny)
That's easy, we'll put the energy back where it came from. However, we're going to need a LOT of fans for it to work.
Re:What if we take away too much wind? (Score:5, Funny)
You have a really valuable argument that people should spend a lot of time worrying about. It's a real shame that most people won't see it, since it's posted anonymously. Wind [weatherquestions.com] is essentially created by heat from the sun. Using all these wind turbines will obviously make the sun go out.
That would be a real problem.
Re:Wind Could NOT Provide 100% of World Energy Nee (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Impact on birds... (Score:5, Funny)
Paint them black and cover them with photovoltaic cells.
I see a red windmill and I want it painted black
No birds fly anymore I want them to turn black
I see the vanes turn round dressed in voltaic cells
I have to turn on lights until the darkness goes
ridiculous (Score:1, Funny)
Wind doesn't grow on trees, you know.
Re:What if we take away too much wind? (Score:3, Funny)
Actually, we have this snazzy new method ... it's called nuclear power! Well some people prefer to call it atomic power, or nukeular power, but they're just silly. Anyway, I'm not sure about all the ins and outs of it, but supposedly some science geek with a really messed-up haircut managed to figure out how to turn matter into energy! Weird, I know, but they even say they might be able to make bombs out of it. Imagine that: a power generating method which not only doesn't remove energy from the environment, but adds energy into it! It's mind-boggling ...
Re:What if we take away too much wind? (Score:1, Funny)
There is no excuse. It is inherently stupid, to use wind power. No matter how you turn and twist it.
says Hurricane78
Re:What if we take away too much wind? (Score:2, Funny)
His question demands an answer.
No, you deserve to be shouted down, you heretic! How dare you bring things like logic and physics into a debate that should be ruled by emotion and general lack of understanding of how the earth's climate works! Don't you realize that thousands -- maybe hundreds of thousands -- of scientists, authors, and pundits could die or be seriously financially inconvenienced should the public ever glom onto the fact that there is no consensus amongst scientists on what's going on with our climate? And unicorns! Won't somebody think of the uuuunnniicoooorrrnnns??? You heartless bastard! You want unicorns to die, don't you?
Re:Impact on birds... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wind Could NOT Provide 100% of World Energy Nee (Score:3, Funny)
Dihydrogen monoxide is also a major component of acid rain, can kill you if you breathe it, and oxidises/corrodes many metals. It is found in biopsies of pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions.
For a full rundown of the dangers (and - surprisingly - some benefits) of dihydrogen monoxide click here. [dhmo.org]
Re:Impact on birds... (Score:5, Funny)
Terminal* as in the end of the line (in this case, death).
*From the latin Terminae, meaning "cyborg sent from the future to destroy the leader of the resistance before he is ever born"
Re:ROEI, Return on Energy Invested (Score:3, Funny)
No, she was clearly asking for it. I mean, she had part of her oil and coal deposits glistening out of her top. Were we supposed to just ignore that kind of signal?
Wind turbines are nice and all, but on a local scale you cannot depend on the wind, just like you cannot depend on solar, at least until you have some sort of national wind infrastructure ($$$).