I believe that wind power could be the 'next big thing.' Wind power has been used ever since 5000 BC when people used sails to navigate the Nile River. The Persians used windmills for 400 years by 900 AD in order to pump water and grind grain. The cost of wind has dropped 15% and has produced 16 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. That is enough energy to serve over 5 cites that are the size of Miami (according to the American Wind Energy Association). That might not seem like a lot right now, but it is predicated that wind power could be one of our main sources of electricity. Wind energy is now more affordable, more available, and pollution-free.
SOURCE: http://www.altenergy.org/

http://www.mobileranger.com/blog/altamo … windmills/

Wind power has definitely shown a lot of promise as a source for electricity. Close to where I live are the Altamont Pass Wind Farm which, according to the article I linked, is "the oldest wind farm in the United States and once produced half of the world’s wind-generated electricity." There are three major wind resources in California including this one, and today they together produce 95% of the state's commercial wind-powered electricity. As of 2012, five percent of California's power came from wind, and there's a goal to raise that number to 33 percent by 2020. Large use of wind power over other less sustainable sources of power will surely benefit the environment.

However, the article does mention one problem with the wind turbines -- they killed a lot of birds, specifically raptors on their migration route. A company has decided to redesign the old wind turbines and create new ones that are less of a hazard to the wildlife. For me, that raises the question, how expensive would  it be to constantly maintain, repair, and replace these wind turbines? Would that cost be a major obstacle to setting up more wind turbines and wind farms around the world?

Wind power is a great alternative for fuels! Another great method is solar energy/pannels.
   According to Direct Energy Source: ming. Approximately 67% of electricity in the U.S. is generated by burning fossil fuels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Fossil fuels are the leading cause of climate change. Generating electric power causes over a third of all green house gas emissions in the United States (source: Environmental Protection Agency). Reducing the electricity we draw from the grid means reducing carbon emissions. That means cleaner air, water and soil for your family, community, and generations to come.
   Thus, our society needs to acknowledge and implement programs that bring awareness to alternative methods (wind power, solar energy) that help reduce carbon emission.

Wind power is a great alternative fuel, however for many it can't be an option because they can't afford it or live in a populated area or in a place that doesn't generate much wind power. I feel like solar energy is a great alternative in addition to wind power, since Earth is always being exposed to sun! Although solar panels can also be expensive compared to fossil fuels, however they end up saving you money in the long run. In addition, solar panels can be used in populous places as well. In one collection of data a family went from using 325 gallons of fuel oils to using no oils at all. (source: New Yorker)

I agree with you about the wind power being a great alternative source for fuel.

I agree that It could be used as an alternative, however, we could never be fully dependent on natural energy like wind or solar because these resources fluctuate.
In Germany, they used completely natural resources, and there were blackouts in much of the country until they backed up the system with a geo-nuclear system

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles … ble-energy

Wind Power is an amazing alternative for fuel, and I definitely agree that wind power is better than using coal for fuel. There are multiple pros to using wind power, but there can be a few cons as well. According to Climate Central, across North America, average wind speeds have decreased slightly over the past 40 years. Because of global warming, wind speeds have been affected. This proves to be a problem as tapping into wind power can prove to be a problem in the future with global warming increasing with its current pace. Also, wind power may not be able to be provided in all parts of America, especially in areas that receive little to no wind. Wind power is better than current sources which contribute to pollution, but it may only temporary.
http://www.climatecentral.org/blogs/cli … ind-energy

I agree, wind power is a natural resource and we should use it to reduce the amount of fossil fuels we use. Do you think solar power would be just as successful?

the combination of solar and wind is a good one, because it generally is either windy or sunny (or both), and wind power works at night as well

Yes! Wind power is superb! It has even been proven to be successful. In Denmark, power usage can often gather 100% from wind power. This might just be because Denmark is windy enough to propel the wind turbines, but this isn't the case in all countries. So how can everyone get renewable energy? If there are regions that aren't windy enough to turn their wind turbines, this is probably because they are closer to the equator, where gasses in the atmosphere increase speed, create friction, expand, and rise. But if those regions are closer to the equator, they have more exposure to sun radiation, which can be harnessed with solar panels. Regions that don't have enough wind can use solar panels and regions that don't have enough exposure to sun radiation can use wind power. Regions in the middle can use a mix of the two. Germany uses solar and wind power. In fact Germany runs on 30% solar power and they are closer to the poles than they are to the equator (51 degrees North, 45 is in the middle).

I agree, that wind power is a good resource to try and use other than gas or coal but you mite want to do some research the amount of land and wind turbines you will need to run a small city. Also you mite want to think of how much land you would need to clear to have theses in use.

I agree that wind technology is a great alternative to fossil fuels, but it does have some shortcomings. As Chaney said above, some parts of the world have less, or inconsistent wind, that could make it harder to utilize wind as a major energy source. However, energy storage solutions are improving, so storing energy from windy days, to make up for less windy days is becoming more feasible. Large scale battery farms are able to reach upwards of 80% energy retention for longer periods of time, and if the energy is not able to be stored, it can be put towards other forms of renewable energy, such as pumped hydro, which requires initial energy, but has a better energy retention rate than battery farms, at up to 88%. While that still doesn't make wind power the perfect solution, especially for areas that almost never get enough wind to power a wind farm, it can still be used along with other renewable energy sources to replace as much of the energy generated from fossil fuels as possible, like what was mentioned above with solar energy.