As talk about wind energy is becoming more and more mainstream, some scientists believe the very thing that makes this energy source possible is actually beginning to slow down across the US. And the ironic part is that the slowing down is being caused by (you guessed it) global warming.

Have things really gotten so bad that our winds are dying along with the honeybees and the polar bears? Many say yes. To understand what is going on, you need to first understand what causes wind… and no the answer is not beans!

As we all know, hot air rises and cold air sinks. When the denser, cold air rushes in to replace the less dense, warm air--you get wind. Sure there are many other factors that influence wind including air pressure, lake and ocean effects, even the rotation of the earth, but the hot air/cold air thing is the variable that’s causing the winds to die down.

As the earth warms up due to global warming (climate change, or whatever you want to call it) the poles warm up faster than the rest of the earth. This phenomenon causes the temperature difference between the equator and the poles to lessen, and as a result the winds slow down.

So what does this do to the electrical power wind generators are capable of creating? One scientist estimates that a 10% reduction in average wind speed (that is what sensors are showing) would reduce a wind generators power output by 30%; Yikes!

As with all things scientific, there are many sides to this story. There are scientists who look at the data and insist nothing is going on, some blame it on new sensing technologies that are more accurate, while others believe the “perceived” slow down is due to taller buildings and urban scrawl changing the patterns the wind sensors are detecting. 

My money’s on, “there’s something going on.” Sensors in Australia and Europe are detecting the same slow down. 

Kind of blows you away when you stop to think about it!

Check out the full article here.