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Related: About this forumMN Pioneer Press LTTE: Wind Farms Weaken Winds, Will Cause Droughts
I read this in the local rag, and my jaw dropped at the stupidity. It was even highlighted as the Editor's Choice for that particular day, if that tells you anything about the quality of this paper. Enjoy.
http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_23513196/weakening-our-winds
We need wind, especially here in Minnesota. The earth's vast oceans produce water vapor due to evaporation, but these clouds of water vapor would remain over the oceans if it wasn't for monsoonal winds that drive the clouds over the continents. Minnesota is near the middle of the continent, so lots of monsoonal wind is required to bring moisture to replenish our many lakes and streams. If it wasn't for the winds many of our lakes would dry up and the level of the Great Lakes would drop.
These winds are our greatest resource. So why aren't we protecting them? The first law of thermodynamics states energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only change forms. When the energy of a moving car is reduced, the moving (kinetic) energy is changed to heat energy by the brakes. In like manner, when wind farms take energy from the wind to produce electrical energy, they weaken the wind. This means more droughts and lower levels for the Great Lakes, etc.
We need to stop weakening our winds before we create the greatest man-made ecological disaster since the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. We need to stop all wind farms before it is too late.
David J. Ameling, Red Wing
These winds are our greatest resource. So why aren't we protecting them? The first law of thermodynamics states energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only change forms. When the energy of a moving car is reduced, the moving (kinetic) energy is changed to heat energy by the brakes. In like manner, when wind farms take energy from the wind to produce electrical energy, they weaken the wind. This means more droughts and lower levels for the Great Lakes, etc.
We need to stop weakening our winds before we create the greatest man-made ecological disaster since the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. We need to stop all wind farms before it is too late.
David J. Ameling, Red Wing
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MN Pioneer Press LTTE: Wind Farms Weaken Winds, Will Cause Droughts (Original Post)
NickB79
Jun 2013
OP
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)1. Pro-tip: Winds occur in different heights.
safeinOhio
(32,746 posts)2. Eat less meat and
more beans to save Minnesota.
OnlinePoker
(5,729 posts)3. It would be an easy theory to test
There are enough large scale wind farms out there now that it should be easy to look at the historical records of the prevailing downwind side of them to see how much, if any, drop in the level of winds have occurred.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)4. I hear they blow the earth slowly but surely off course, too.
hatrack
(59,600 posts)5. They're pushing us into THE SUN!!! AAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
Last edited Tue Jun 25, 2013, 12:53 PM - Edit history (1)
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)6. It's a conspiracy to aid the Photovoltaic efficiency people.