From all I’ve seen on the Internet so far, The Age of Stupid is an incredibly powerful film. It was funded through a viral, grassroots effort and not supported by the usual film studio, media attention, and marketing dollars to make it widely known to potential movie goers. But here again, through the power of the Internet, YouTube, bloggers and you, the word is getting out. This is a MUST SEE movie!

It had its world premiere in London on March 15th 2009. It was released in UK cinemas on March 20th 2009, and will be released in other countries (Click here to find out Where? When?).

If you do nothing else this week, take a look at The Age of Stupid trailers on YouTube and at the The Age of Stupid webiste.

Here’s the best of its trailers off YouTube-click here.

Click here for The Age of Stupid website

So what you might say. I won’t be alive in 45 years. What can you do? It’s just Nature’s way. What’s happening will not just suddenly hit the world 45 years from now…. it’s happening all around us on an every day basis. It’s already affecting your life and even your immediate future. It’s happening NOW. Will your children and their children look back to THIS time and THIS place and say “Why didn’t they stop climate change when they had the chance?

Special thanks toVicky Portwain at Wind Energy Planning for her post on The Age of Stupid and bringing it to our attention.

Back in the 1970s a small Jacobs windcharger was installed on a tenement roof in Bronx, New York. The Bronx project succeeded. It proved that rooftop generated electricity could be fed back into a utility’s network without destroying the network, the building, or the city. And then the project was dismantled. What is the status of urban wind development today?

On the “can’t do it” side are wind experts like Paul Gipe. He has long claimed that rooftop mounting of wind turbines to capture urban wind is just not feasible for several very good reasons.

Turbines vibrate, and even strong commercial built-to-withstand-anything buildings will ‘feel’ those nasty ‘vibes’. If, like Jay Leno, we are mounting a turbine on a building that will only house our rare automobile collection, the vibrations are probably not a problem. But for homes, offices and other people-populated spaces, those building vibrations could jangle the nerves worse than a 4th cup of morning coffee. Has the vibration issue been resolved in today’s rooftop turbine designs?

Wind turbulence is another rooftop wind power problem. Ask any sailor about wind shadows and turbulence and they will tell you about the river of wind that flows unseen (but rarely unfelt) around and about every structure (natural or human-made) on the planet. Every building interferes with the natural flow of the wind, much like stones and rocks affect the flow of water in a stream. The building itself, the rooftop itself will affect the turbine’s operation by interfering with the natural flow of wind about the blades.

If a wind turbine is raised high above the roof line, the problem can be mitigated. But can the roof of the building and the building itself support the extra loads created by the wind turbine, the tower and the pull of the wind turbulence affecting both? Are tall turbines mounted on tall rooftops the only solution to rooftop turbine design?

Those are serious issues and unless today’s turbine designers have addressed these problems, the outlook for rooftop wind power projects looks rather bleak. Yet, several turbine manufacturers claim that they have at least part of the solution to the problem of capturing wind at the rooftop level without the past problems of vibration and noise. We’ll look into several of these in upcoming posts.

Is VAWT design an obvious answer? In several previous posts on my Wind Power Handbook blog site I take a look at small versus tall turbines and vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) versus horizontal axis designs (HAWT). We’ll look into the current state of both in upcoming posts.

There are two bright beacons on the US urban wind energy horizon – converting urban brown fields into urban wind farms and New York City’s ambitious wind power agenda to populate the city’s rooftops, bridges, and skyscrapers with wind turbines to generate electricity.

“When it comes to producing clean power, we’re determined to make New York the No. 1 city in the nation,” claims Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“If rooftop wind can make it anywhere, this is a great city,” claims New York City’s director of the Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. “We have a lot of tall buildings.”

So is rooftop mounting of wind turbines feasible today or not? Has turbine design changed enough recently such that rooftop wind power is a real urban energy possibility today? What is the real viability of New York City’s urban rooftop wind agenda and the very interesting idea of converting urban brown fields into urban wind farms? Stay tuned as we do some deeper-digging homework and please do not hesitate to weigh in with a comment, a pointer to an interesting project or your general feedback on any of these issues.

With so much excellent wind power available in cities across the US,  can we really afford to drag our feet developing audacious means to tap and harness it?

As outspoken “green activist” Ted Turner said on Sunday’s Meet the Press interview, “…The days of fossil fuel are over.”

The St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture claims that The Windy City nickname for Chicago does not have a thing to do with wind power. It came from an editorial written by Charles A. Dana, editor of the New York Sun. He wrote his piece to belittle Chicago as it vied against New York (Washington, D.C., and St. Louis) to become the host city for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. He referred to the “windy” (as in full of hot air) bragging of the Chicago promoters making the case to choose their city.

Other sources claim that the nickname goes back even further to rivalry between Chicago and Cincinnati for bragging rights in the meat packing industry which then spilled over into baseball. Cincinnati newspapers covering the baseball rivalry used the term “windy city” to imply that Chicago was just full of bluster.

Whatever the source of The Windy City nickname, anyone who lives there, anyone who visits would certainly agree that it is quite windy almost all time in Chicago. How does Chicago’s wind power compare to other US cities?

Based on the National Climatic Data Center’s data on annual average wind speeds, the top windiest cities in the US in average wind speed in mph are:

1. Dodge City, Kansas 13.9
2. Amarillo, Texas 13.5
3. Rochester, Minnesota 13.1
4. Casper, Wyoming 12.9
5. Cheyenne, Wyoming 12.9
6. Great Falls, Montana 12.7
7. Goodland, Kansas 12.6
8. Boston, Massachusetts 12.5
9. Lubbock, Texas 12.4
10. New York City 12.2
11. Oklahoma City 12.2

Chicago ranks about twenty-first out of 68 windy cities, with an average wind speed of 10.3 miles per hour. So the right to being called The Windy City based on wind power alone can continue to remain controversial. That is not really the issue.

The real question is with so many US cities having excellent average annual wind speeds, why is it that we don’t hear much more in the press about urban wind energy development? Why don’t we have numerous urban rooftop wind development test projects being covered in the news?

We will dig into the current state of urban wind development and see what’s available today in roof top turbine design over the next few blog posts here at the Wind Power Handbook.

In the meantime, if you’d like to read more on the history of The Windy City and how it got its name, here are a few good sources for your background reading.

Donald Miller’s City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America

Norman Bolotin’s The World’s Columbian Exposition: The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893

And, my all time favorite – a very well written super read – Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

In Texas alone the wind energy related job future looks excellent. For information on the employment potential, salary potential, and job location opportunities, in just Texas Click here . Now look into the job opportunities in the wind industry in your state. Check the job hunt websites and look into those renewable energy categories.

Are you ready to get that job in wind technology? How about solar? Biodiesel? Geothermal?

Sure, I can already hear you saying, “I’m too old to retrain.  I’ve spent my whole life working as a ________ (fill in the blank) and I just don’t know much about this new energy stuff.” 

Hold on …. what makes you think that your many years experience as a machinist, electrician, tool and die technician, brick layer, rebar and cement person, ditch digger, assembler, lineman (or woman), truck driver, tech manager, etc., etc., has nothing to do with the job needs in the new energy fields?

Have you checked out the job descriptions in the new energy sectors? With a couple of community college courses can you fit the new job need? Have you taken a good inventory of what you know, what you don’t know, and what employeers are looking for? Would your new employer build on your experience and help pay to retrain you to fill his/her empty job needs?

Check your community college program list. If your regional school does not yet have a wind energy, solar, biodiesel or other renewable energy program being developed, ask them why not. Don’t be shy!

For information wind energy education programs by state, Wind Powering America has an excellent, interactive map of the US showing which states are currently offering higher education or continuing education in Wind Energy. You can click on the map to activate it and then click on a state to read more about the programs being offered there.

Click here to check out the wind energy education map.

If you think for a moment of all the other segments of this new energy “revolution” and all the potential jobs that are being created as we embrace renewable energy in the US, especially under the incoming administration …. The future – your future – is bright.

The current economic downturn might just be the kick in the pants for many of us to learn new skills for the economic boom ahead.

As Tom Friedman suggests in Hot, Flat and Crowded – the new industrial revolution is without a doubt in new energy technology. We can embrace this new “revolution” or be left behind.

To read my blog post on Tom Friedman, the new industrial revolution and your part in it, and to go see the Friedman interview video, click here.

Community colleges are mandated to prepare their students for real jobs in their local regions. As you might expect then, the early bird programs in wind technology related education are sprouting up at the community college level. For example:

Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari New Mexico offers Certificate and Degree programs in Wind Energy Technology. Providing instruction in wind turbine technology, turbine maintenance, tower safety, and wind economics. Students in both their one and two year programs “will be prepared for rewarding and profitable careers in this growing field.”

Oklahoma State University’s Oklahoma City campus will offer the state’s first wind turbine technology degree program starting January ’09. Their 2-year associates’ degree will focus on training technicians for jobs in both utility-scale and facilities-scale environments. The program will include classes in electrical, mechanical and hydraulic malfunctions, scheduled maintenance and general service. Training could also include securing site leases, wiring the turbine network to the power grid and designing a wind farm. The wind technician degree program was created because the wind industry is becoming an increasingly important factor in Oklahoma’s economy.

Iowa Lakes Community College – Alliant Energy is collaborating with Iowa Lakes Community College (ILCC) to develop the curriculum for their Wind Energy and Turbine Technology Program, the first in the state of Iowa. The one year diploma program prepares students for entry-level positions in the wind industry, focusing on construction, maintenance, and operation of wind turbines. The two-year Associate in Applied Science degree prepares students to install, maintain and service modern wind turbines. Graduates will qualify for entry-level positions and also have the skills and education background to become a wind turbine operator and potentially a supervisor. Both programs prepare students to support Iowa’s growing wind infrastructure as companies rush to build renewable energy generation.

Lake Shore Technical College, on Lake Michigan in Wisconsin is offering a two-year Associates Applied Science Degree program in Wind Energy Technology. The program prepares students for increasing job opportunities in both the US and Canada wind energy industry. Upon completion of the program students will be ready to function as a: Wind Turbine Technician/Mechanic/Tower Climber; Installation Technician; Operation and Maintenance Technician; and Wind Farm Maintenance Manager.

Oregon Institute of Technology announced in March, 2008 the development of the country’s first four-year undergraduate degree program in renewable-energy systems. Although this program includes other renewable energy systems besides wind, the trend is obvious. Renewable energy – wind, solar, geothermal, etc., – are leading the way to economic recovery for the US.

Job search web site openings include wind turbine engineers, turbine technologists and wind technicians. And, the list of wind-related job types and job skills descriptions is definitely growing daily.

If you’ve just been laid off, or downsized or whatever other name losing your job is called these days…. go directly to your local community college and start preparing for a new job in wind technology or any other renewable energy-related field.

The more you know about wind energy technology, the more you will be prepared to either help promote a community with project or bring home the bacon and put it on the family table.

The old jobs are probably not coming back.

Then along came SWIFT.

“The SWIFT Wind Turbine design solves many of the challenges of previous residential and commercial scale wind turbines: it registers as a whisper on decibel charts, it’s efficient, it’s safe and it’s clean,” states Cascade Engineering’s Michael Ford, on their new SWIFT Wind Turbine system.

Available in the US and Canada, the SWIFT Wind Turbine system provides businesses and homeowners an effective solution to lower energy bills and reduce carbon emissions. The unique design of the SWIFT system lies in the outer ring that connects to the turbine blades. As the wind travels down the blades and is dispersed along the outer ring, the outer ring acts as a diffuser eliminating noise and keeping the turbine quiet.

It is the first very quiet rooftop mounted wind turbine for domestic, community and industrial use. And it generates electricity by harnessing wind energy both quietly and safely. The SWIFT Wind Turbine incorporates safety features that meet IEEE safety standards and has achieved the Underwriter Laboratories (UL) certification by MET Laboratories, Inc., a global symbol of safety.

Optimally sited this turbine will produce approximately 2000 kWh of electricity per year in a good wind location. This is about 20% of an average home’s needs. The initial cost of $10,000 to $12,000 per system can generally pay for itself in about 3 years and multiple units can be used at one location to supplement industrial and commercial needs. The SWIFT system has a 5 year manufacturer’s warranty and is designed for a 20 year life.

Click here for more information.

The SWIFT Wind Turbine has been designed to be environmentally sustainable. The product produces more energy in its lifetime than is incorporated in the material and processes used to manufacture it – it is therefore “harm neutral.”

Global warming is not a myth. And despite some politician’s attempt to “say it ain’t so,” climate change really is man-made. Thousands of concerned observers around the world already agree that solar, wind, geothermal, ocean wave, and every other form of renewable, non-polluting energy will be the only forms with which Spaceship Earth – and all animal life (including us humans) will be able to survive.

Elsewhere on this website I point blog readers to Tom Friedman’s latest book – Hot, Flat and Crowded. In it he says that the US can re-establish its world economic leadership by creating technologies to make the Earth livable for man. As he sees it, new energy technology IS the “next great industrial revolution.”

And so back to the tanking US economy.

The US is in deep economic trouble right now, today. But instead of continuing to bail out the very organizations that got us into this dark and dismal economic crater, we need to invest our hard earned tax dollars into the new economic revolution that is already underway.

We need to step up to the front of the nation line and take responsibility for pushing the renewable energy revolution forward.

We need to refocus our educational mission. By developing green tech job training, green job skills development, and new energy education, we can re-establish the US as a world leader in innovative technology once again.

The need is out there. The opportunity is now. We can spend our efforts trying to preserve what won’t come back, or we can once again become a world leader in innovation, technology and education. Don’t believe we are on the cusp of a brand new economy?

The following clip from the Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari New Mexico…. pretty much says it all.

Certificate and Degree Programs

The high demand for wind turbines is creating a shortage of trained and qualified wind energy technicians who provide maintenance on the turbines. NAWRTC at Mesalands Community College provides instruction in wind turbine technology, turbine maintenance, tower safety, and wind economics. Completion of first-year courses will result in an Applied Science Certificate in Wind Energy Technology. Completion of the two-year program will result in an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Wind Energy Technology. Students in these programs will be prepared for rewarding and profitable careers in this growing field.

Click here to read more about the Mesalands future focused program.

Maryland’s Legacy Hotel and Meeting Centre is the first hotel in Montgomery County, to be powered by 100% wind energy. Working closely with Clean Currents, LLC of Rockville, MD and the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Legacy is quickly bringing its carbon footprint to zero through a combination of Renewable Energy Credits and programs and services for going Green.

Clean Currents, LLC is helping the Legacy get on board with Green Your Stay agendas. The hotel is converting its cleaning products and detergents to more organic, biodegradable solutions and installing recycling baskets in each of the 160 plus guest rooms. That’s consistent with the Green Your Stay ideas. But wait, there’s more.

The Legacy Hotel has developed its own Turn On™ service. Through this innovative new service, at the hotel guest’s request guest room energy is turned off during the guest’s absence and turned back on thirty minutes prior to their return.

Guests can also purchase an eco-friendly t-shirt with the hotel’s environmental campaign slogan “I Got Turned On At The Legacy!” and the proceeds from sale of the t-shirt contribute to Renewable Energy Credits through Clean Currents’ REC program.

Clean Currents, LLC the Green Your Stay and wind power helper in the Legacy’s program, is a Rockville, Maryland-based clean energy broker/aggregator operating in Maryland, DC, Chicago, and Texas. They are committed to promoting solutions to global warming and air pollution. And they provide wind power advocates several routes to supporting wind power projects.

With an impressive list of businesses that have taken the Go Green challenge, their Chesapeake Green program for MD and DC residents, and a growing list of news items on their website this company is already making an impact on the Chesapeake region.

As for the Legacy Hotel’s commitment to wind power and zero environmental impact, Eric Siegel, Executive Vice President of Cohen Companies, the owner group of the Hotel states. “We are proud of our commitment to both traditional hospitality and contemporary environmental responsibility. We are introducing our 100% recycling policy and hope that our guests will join our efforts to greening their stay.”

For more on the Legacy Hotel story click here

And with thanks to the folks at Green Living Ideas, here are some ideas for you personally to help green your next stay away from home.
 

• Turn off the AC, heat, lights, TV, and radio when leaving the room.
• Use the hotel van instead of renting a car, or even better, use public transportation if you’re staying in an area that provides it.
• Take short showers and don’t request fresh towels and sheets each day.
• Participate in hotel recycling programs if the hotel offers one.
• If you have the option to check out electronically through the hotel TV, take advantage of this paperless system.
• Request that mini bottles of shampoo and soap not be replaced until they are empty. Some hotels even replace the soap every day with a new bar.
• If the hotel provides complimentary newspapers, pass yours on to someone else when you are finished or see if it can be recycled.
• Take advantage of hotel guest comment cards to suggest more energy efficient light bulbs, recycling programs, and an increase in energy efficient appliances such as toilets or mini bars.

On Sunday, Tom Friedman was interviewed by Tom Brokow on Meet the Press about his new book, Hot, Flat and Crowded. In it he says that the US needs to ensure its world leadership position for the future by taking the lead now in solving global warming. Here are a few choice excerpts:

“But when I hear, drill, drill, drill, or drill, baby, drill, I try to imagine… the Saudi, Venezuelan, Russian and Nigeria observers…They’d be up there leading the chant. They’d be saying this is great. America isn’t sitting there saying, “Invent, invent, invent new, renewable energy,” they’re saying, “drill, drill, drill.”

“I’m actually not against drilling. What I’m against is making that the center of our focus, because we are on the eve of a new revolution, the energy technology revolution. It would be, Tom, as if on the eve of the IT revolution, the revolution of PCs and the Internet, someone was up there standing and demanding, “IBM Selectric typewriters, IBM Selectric typewriters.” That’s what drill, drill, drill, is the equivalent of today.”

“…Young Chinese… they say to me, you know, “Mr. Friedman, you guys got to grow dirty for 150 years, now it’s our turn.” To which I always say to them, “You know what, you’re right. It is your turn. Take your time. Grow as dirty as you want. Because I think we just need five years to invent all the clean power technologies you’re going to need before you choke to death and then we’re going to come over and we’re going to sell them to you and we’re going to clean your clock in the next great global industry.”

Click here to read the Meet the Press Friedman interview transcript.

Click here to watch the Meet the Press Friedman interview video on line.

Even with the height of modern day wind turbines, it is just not possible to build turbines tall enough to tap wind at very high altitudes. But kites could easily reach these heights and tap into the steady flow of wind above us. For space, or low-level wind constrained countries like the UK, the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark, flying kites to tap the high-speed jet stream directly above them is an exciting opportunity for them to participate in the wind power market.

‘Pretty much anywhere in the UK you could run a kite plant economically, but you couldn’t run a wind turbine economically,’ said Allister Furey of the University of Sussex.

Just how quickly will kite technology make it to market?  Well, that depends on how much investors are willing to put into the various projects already underway. 
 
Professor Wubbo Ockels, who leads the Laddermill project believes that commercial systems could be operational within five years if the money were available. But without significant funding behind it the technology could languish in the labs at Delft, Stanford, Sussex, Hawaii’s Makani Power, and Italy’s Kitegen for a decade or more to come.

Click here to read more about kites and high altitude wind.

 Click here to watch the video as Dutch scientists demonstrate their electric kite