Wind turbin

I decided to choose this topic because wind turbines is one of the answer against the global warming, it is a completely renewable source of energy. When it is installed, running cost are lower than many other electrical systems. While running, wind power do not produce carbon dioxide.
However, all structure have an impact on the environment. Many people complain about the damage to local eco-system, to the visual impact as well as the noise that produce.
Wind turbine seems to be clean when they are installed and ready to be use but before it is ready to use, all the material that is needed to make a wind turbine, the transportation from the factory to the site, the destruction or changes on the site that have to be made to install wind turbine. They are often placed faraway and access roads may need to be built for construction and maintenance.
Personally, It seems for me that with these new technologies, we are going to fast, we do not take enough time to really study them and know what are the negative effects. For example, during the industrial revolution, we only saw the good consequence of it but never talk about the negative effect and today we have a real problem about the global warming. I think we should spend more time to study the repercussion of these new technologies on the environment and do not go to fast. The balance between negative and positive impacts on the environment needs to be considered in each case.
Through this essay, I want to talk about the main negative effects that result from the use of wind turbine and can be the solution to that problem.

From the Oxford dictionary, a wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. It is a process know as wind power. In our days, the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity.
In recent years, wind power has been one of the fastest-growing sources of energy around the world due to its potential to offer clean and abundant electricity. Germany is the first country producing the most wind power, but in 2030 the United States passed to become the country producing the most wind power (around 20 percent of nation's electricity).
In the United States, from September 2011 to August 2012, the electricity produced from wind power amounted to 3.3% (133 terawatt-hour) of all generated electrical energy., 11 millions US households were using electricity from wind power and it represent the total energy demands of the Netherlands.

Wind energy do not cause water or air emissions, and do not produce any kind of negative wast for the environment. Thus, wind power does not use natural resources such as oil, gas and therefore will not cause damage to the environment through extraction or transportation. The use of wind energy is a great way to prevent the problem of global warming.
But on the other hand, like every modern technology, wind power do have some effects on the environment. As we said before, when wind power are made and ready to be use, they do not cause pollution or make use of any fuel but during their construction fuel, toxic materials, non green electricity where used. Installing and operation wind turbines may have a negative impact on birds
(essentially bat) and other type of wildlife. Thus, like all mechanical systems, wind turbines produce some noise when they operate. Wind turbines must generally be sited in exposed places, so they are often highly visible that can create problems with the visual impacts of an natural environment.

Every year, along forested in the eastern United States, a large numbers of bats are killed by the wind

turbines that causes problems for the environment. It is mostly migrate species that are the most commonly killed by the wind turbines.
Bats are important for the environment and agriculture; For example bats can consume an incredible amounts of insects daily (they can consume 1200 nocturnals insects in an hour), also they are crucial to the pollination of many plants, and fill a key to the ecological niche by feeding a wide variety of flying insects. Bats are important for the agriculture because they eat pets which eat crops and cost lots of money in damage.

They died by being struck and killed by the turning blades. Hypothesis made by scientific can explain this attraction to wind turbines such as bats can be attracting by the swishing sounds produced by the rotating blades. As wind turbines continue to increase in height, bats that migrate are more expose to hit the wind turbines. Migratory bats seek the nearest trees when the daylight approaches, and they can take the wind turbines for a tree. Also, the speed of the blades rotates, in particularity at the extremity, is very high and generally the bats do not detect blades soon enough to avoid it. The landscape where the wind turbine are build is also a factors because they have to be build in a clean area with no any trees around it and then creates a favorable area for the aerial insects which feed the bats.

Wind turbine is a great new technology against the global warming and reduce the use of coal, gasoline, nuclear power for energy, which have been the main cause of polar ice melting, global warming. However, like every new technology, there are negative effects on the environment such as deforestation, erosion, killing birds (bats), etc.
Scientific are working to find solution to solve these problems. For example, the company Merlin
Avian Radar System, developed a radar that has a range of 2-6 miles and detect birds that might be passing through. If it sees some and determines that the birds will pass through, it can automatically shut down the turbines and allow the birds to have a safe passage.

I think wind turbines is a very good idea and also that we are at least trying other ecological methods to produce energy. But I still personally think that the best way to save energy is the energy conservation that everyone can do it and it does not cost anything such as turn off light when we leave the rooms, do not leave the TV turn on all day, etc...
Architect are also very concerned about this subject because they can choose ecological material, make a house with great insulation, air sealing, ventilation.

Words: 1090
Sources:
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11935&page=R1 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/wind-power/index.html http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/wind-power-profile/ http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/positive-negative-wind-energy-2715.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power http://www.wind-power-problems.org/