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Introducing: Windstalks

Many will agree that wind turbine power is within the scope of the new wave of alternative energy sources currently on the market. However, there are a few cons to wind turbines. They have been known to kill bats and birds that fly too close to the blades. Then the blades can sometimes be noisy as they make their revolutions.

They are also notoriously hard to install. With a new year, it only makes sense that a redesigned wind turbine should exist. Enter New York design firm: Atelier DNA’s concept of wind stalks (as opposed to turbines). Just the way cat tails sway in the breeze, these will too. Though, unlike cat tails, when these wave, they generate energy.

Appropriately named “windstalks”, this idea came in second at the Land Art Generator competition. This is a competition seeking the best energy generating work of art. Submissions came from all over the world. The windstalks will be featured in Masdar.

Masdar is an automobile free city that measures 2.3 square miles, being planned just outside of the island capital of the Untied Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi.

Initially, the design calls for 1,203 stalks. Each will be reinforced at the bottom with cement planks anywhere as wide as 33 to 66 feet.

Additionally, each stalk will stand 180 feet tall. At the base, they’ll be about a foot wide. However, at the top, they’ll only measure a few inches wide.

They’ll be composed of carbon fiber, reinforced to withstand the elements with resin. To read more, go here.

U.S. Energy Policies for the New Year

According to the head of the U.S. oil industry, if our country were to loosen the reins on our policies, our country could become completely self-sufficient (with regards to oil consumption) within the next 15 years.

The head of the American Petroleum Institute, Jack Gerad, contacted congress to do away with any un-necessary energy policies. What is his reason for doing this? Some of these policies he is trying to eradicate would allow for more jobs and help to improve the economy. Some policies currently in place inhibit our nation’s energy supply and are a detriment to national security.

He also hopes to streamline approvals and grants for prospective energy projects. He believes making these subtle changes will allow for more (off-shore and on-shore alike) federal lands to be utilized for energy prospects. Thereby, fueling our nation’s economy and reducing our dependence on foreign oil and energy reserves from far less stable parts of the world. At what cost, though?

Some may disagree with Gerad’s proposed actions. Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (pictured) on Alaska’s northern slope and the Gulf of Mexico on the eastern side are included in his plans.

Another benefit, he claims, is that these eradicated policies and improved legislature will contribute to the overall federal budget and boost revenue. Fact: According to an APRI report, the U.S. oil industry currently contributes approximately $86 billion dollars a day for the U.S. treasury department. The NASDAQ online community has covered the full story, to read more, click here.

The Time is Now for an Energy Revolution!

Communities should strive to use natural resources for energy.

According to Chris Nelder, the current national grid with regards to energy support for our country would require well over a trillion dollars in infrastructure costs from now until the year 2030. It’s no doubt that the middle class (also known as: loyal American taxpayers) ideally contributes the biggest amount of support for the new infrastructure costs to avoid the grid from crumbling.

Unfortunately, with the economy as bad as it is. Millions upon millions of middle class are now homeless or living with friends and family due to home foreclosures. Therefore paying taxes for costly national systems and efforts such as these are really, the last thing on their mind right now.

So now, it might be wise for communities to consider drawing upon other sources for a way to power their grid. They have; some for decades. Using this model (described below), communities seeking energy self-sufficiency could easily set up a system.

In the southwest, self-sufficient communities draw from solar energy. In the Midwest, they rely largely on wind. And on the west and east coastlines, they turn to marine energy and offshore wind to power many different forms of technology to contribute to the grid, while mountainous regions utilize solar as well as micro-hydro. Additionally, geothermal power can be put to use virtually anywhere.

The next step would be to acquire a local storage area. These could range from small residential to commercial battery arrays, flywheels that are distributed, water pumping systems or compressed air in an underground territory.

For these communities, the final step would be to invent a system (if the main grid goes down that the neighborhood, town or city draws from) where they could easily set up a switch allowing for them to fall back on their own resources.

Traffic Fumes May Cause Autism and Brain Damage

As parents are often rallying around the possible link between autism and vaccinations—which may or may not be true; like many people, I am not sure of it, as we still lack absolute proof—I hope they soon choose to rally around another cause, too: air pollution—specifically, traffic fumes. Apparently, traffic fumes may be linked to autism, as well as brain damage.

The brain damage that is caused by the air pollution may include memory loss, learning problems, and even emotional stability. So far, all findings are circumstantial; nothing has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. That said, scientists everywhere are trying to get in on these important studies as they attempt to prove or disprove the hypothesis.

Even if they find that brain damage and autism cannot be caused by traffic fumes, isn’t it safe to say that traffic fumes are generally not good for anyone, ever, and should be greatly reduced? I am not hoping that scientists find that people have been severely harmed by the pollution, but I am hoping that their work will help lead to control of air pollution—specifically, for the further development of clean, smog-less energy and alternative energy sources for our vehicles.
Until this occurs, I would encourage everyone to continue pressuring their elected officials to help protect our environment for our own health and safety—and to press for clean, sustainable energy.

Even if we don’t get brain damage or autism from this pollution, we definitely get plenty of other dangers from it—from heart attacks to DNA damage, the death of throat cells to ingesting dozens of harmful chemicals that each have their own dangerous effects. Those who live near constant traffic are more apt to die of a heart problem, and traffic pollution may even play a role in premature births, one of the leading causes of babies in our country.

If anything, we need no more excuses to implement a cleaner form of energy; we need only see what the smog in our cities already does to us to realize how important it is to get rid of it as soon as we possibly can. Any findings about autism or brain damage would simply be icing on the cake—or even overkill, considering all of the problems pollution from our vehicles causes.

In addition to contacting your elected officials, you can click here to find out how to prevent air pollution in general. A list of ways to help stop air pollution from doing your own part may also be found here.

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