MN Pioneer Press LTTE: Wind Farms Weaken Winds, Will Cause Droughts [View all]

[NickB79]

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