INTERVIEW

I interviewed my aunt Kim Payne, she is a scientist/biologist for an environmental consulting company.

What are the affects of offshore wind turbines on the marine life?
The new scientific community doesn't know for sure how the installation of offshore wind turbines affect the environment. There is a potential for a disruption to migratory fish and lobsters. Also Eco sounding whales could be disturbed by the underground cables that connect each wind turbine to each other and to the power grid onshore.
There are different models of turbine anchors; some are installed like a fence post, others have 4 smaller supportive legs off the main post.
There are some benefits to installing turbines offshore. Besides the energy they produce, after a while the post become covered in growth, like anything else left in the water or a long period of time. This growth can provide additional food and shelter for organisms in need around the turbines.
What are the environmental affects of wind turbines in Maine?
When wind farms are installed on shore in Maine, there is a significant environmental footprint. There has to be roads built and maintained up to the turbines, which are mostly on ridge tops. The initial construction of he turbines can be damaging to the environment around, and the footprints of the turbines can destroy the vegetation and habitats of animals.
The parts for the wind turbines are shipped here, which uses oil.
When scientist are planning the placement of a wind farm, there are lots of factors to consider. Shallow water or deep water? Aunt Kim says deep water because shallow water is generally a nursery for young fish and crustaceans. Shallow water is more protected and is a dynamic habitat.
Maine has some strict rules regarding where turbines can and cannot be put. They can't be installed in an area that is known as a deer yard, they cannot be on any sort of migration route for birds, fish, whales, or bats. They also can't be in a wetland or fragile area.
We have more rules about this than Europe does, this is could be one reason why they are so far ahead of us.
One of the symptoms that can occur from"not in my back yard syndrome" is the flicker affect. This is when the sun or light behind the turning wind turbine creates an annoying flickering. It can agitate people in the area has apparently cause complaints.
Despite that, Maine is one of the most dependant states. The majority of our energy comes from oil from other states! Needless to say, this needs to change. If we started doing more with wind and/or solar power, Maine could see some big positive changes.

article 8

Reported by The Guardian Newspaper, the weather in Spain has been particularly windy. This is a good thing. This wind has produced enough electricity for 40 percent of the country !!! Because of this recent spike in extra breezy days, Spain is now the 4th leading country in the world. The United States is first in producing wind energy but the amount we produce doesn't nearly add up to the amount we need.

Final FOCUS; further research needed

When I wrote my essay lots of new questions emerged, as you may have noticed if you read it. Questions to do with the financial aspect of wind power, because that is what hold a lot of people back. Why is it so expensive? How can costs be brought down? I also have lots of questions about the placement of turbines. I would say the second most common reason wind power isn't utilized in a lot of communities is the noise. Also there has always been the crippling 'not in my back yard' syndrome that prevents the progression of alternative energy. My knowledge has been integrated into my thinking and I think I am able to develop my thoughts with a mild amount of depth.
The final focus of my topic will be; how to get wind turbines into residential areas and what kind of funding is available for places like schools, hospitals or non profits that are looking into alternative power. To draw final conclusions I need to be more specific about the choosing of my articles, researching what it is that I want to know about, about my topic will make the process more enjoyable.
For my oral presentation, I will most likely create some kind of visual or diagram to show the class maybe how wind power works, or how a wind farm could benefit a community.

Response to #7

This article was really specific. It was for the people of Cape May and all the the rules they had to follow when they installed wind turbines on their property. I'm not sure if it's like this everywhere, but there were a lot of regulations. Other than the expense, maybe these standards are part of the reason people don't jump at the option of an alternative way to power their homes. If a company could invent a wind turbine that was cohesive to suburban life and less expensive, that would be perfect.

# 7 Standards for the instilations of wind turbines & solar

This article list the rules and regulations pertaining to the instillation of wind turbines. Things like how tall they are aloud to be in a certain area and which areas they are aloud to be in.
For example, the minimum lot size for a turbine is a half an acre. Also, wind turbines are not permitted on front lawns.""• For lots between one acre and three acres, wind turbines shall be set back from all property lines a distance equal to 100 percent of the height of the structure including the blades. For lots larger than three acres, wind turbines shall be set back from all property lines a distance of equal to 200 percent of the height of the structure including the blades. No portion of the wind generator shall extend beyond any overhead utility lines, unless written permission is granted by the utility.""free standing wind Turbines may not exceed 50 ft on a half an acre lot, 80 ft on lots ranging from a full acre to 3 acres. if the lot is 3 or more acres the maximum height of 150 ft is permitted.
Only one turbine per property
No turbines are aloud to be installed on roof tops.
Residential turbines are aloud a 'nameplate capacity of 10 kilowatts or less.'

Katrina's third Response

Kelsey! Your blog is great partly because I find your topic much like my own (aka very intriguing), and partly because it has a good personal feel in the responses. I especially like the military post, and the words : "huge gas guzzling vehicles are not the most effective modes of transportation." Haha, I found that this was a rather true view of hummers. As for the rest of your blog, good with the exception of the citations. They were a bit confusing. Overall keep up the good work! :)

Hayden Response to Kelsey

I really liked your subject and how interesting I found all of your notes and responses. Unfortunately, your citations were confusing and I couldn't read the yellow text on the beige background. But other than that, the information was good!

Jackson's 3rd response

Hi Kelsey! Your blog is really interesting, and I especially like the article about the Military's realization that they should go green. All of your posts are consistently informative, and I look forward to reading more of them. My only suggestion would be to change the font color of your notes to make them easier to read.

response to lean green war machine

I think its fantastic that the military is finally realizing that alternative energy is the most logical way to go. It makes perfect sense in every way, its to ad it took them this long to figure it out. I love that not only is the military creating fuel efficient vehicles for the troops, but they are also thinking of using solar power for the pentagon and the bases around the country. Even better, the project Grow Clean Air is being created to counter act the carbon emissions produced by bases. I never thought I'd say that I was happy about something the military is doing, but these are definitely big steps in the right direction when it comes to changing the country over to alternative fuels.

Lean Green War Machine

Over the past few years, the military has realized, that huge gas guzzling vehicles are not the most effective modes of transportation, also, it doesn't pay to burn barrels of oil to keep tents & showers warm. Along with the high price of oil, the military also has to pay to ship it to where its needed, doubling the cost.
That is why, they are finally starting to smarten up. Dan Nolan goal is to have solar panels and wind turbines at the Pentagon. "We are only limited by our imaginations," says Nolan. And hes right, with gas prices soring, military leaders are beginning to realize that fuel efficiency is the way to go. "Welcome to a new age of hybrid tanks, fuel efficient hum-vees and bio-generators that transform trash into power."
It is because of the gas prices that these changes are happening, in the United States alone, the army, navy and air force use up an approximate 340,000 barrel PER DAY. In 2007 the Defense Department spent $11.6 billion on petroleum products, an increased price from 2005, when they only spent a frugal 7.8 billion.
Although thee is still a lot of improvement to be made, there have been many steps in the right direction. At Georgia Tech. There has been research for a new armored vehicle that weighs less and uses less gas, but is still just as effective. Also, the Air Force is researching a new design for planes to reduce fuel consumption up to ten times.
The military hopes to plant 'urban forests' in all of is bases in the country. The goal is to offset the carbon emissions generated by the people living there. This awesome ten year plan is called "Grow Clean Air."

response to getting the most from energy

Like I said before, it wasn't about wind power, but it was about why we need it. There was a lot of data in this article, all of which was kind of disappointing. For example, an incandescent light bulb only gives off less than 5% of the energy it produces, the rest is wasted away as heat. I liked that it mentioned that people have changed some of their ways, and  also that people need to except the idea of new things for efficiency to make any progress. 

Getting the Most from Energy

This article wasn't so much about wind power, it was more about all the reasons we need to create an efficient alternative way to produce electricity, which is just as important.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan have done studies showing a 'correlation between access to useful services and growth in income.' This means when people have easy access to things like natural gas for heating houses and water, it makes life easier.

The United States takes half as much energy to produce one unit of GDP, Gross Domestic Product as it did 30 years ago. Even though that is good news, the overall efficiency of the country is a whopping 13%.Also, people are becoming more conscious about the impact they have on the environment, we buy efficient light bulbs and washing machines.

response to compressed air.

I think technology like this is really amazing. Its good that people are working on solutions for all the of the flaws wind turbines possess. Maybe once they are all solved, or at least there have been lots of modification's on current wind turbines, people will become more open to them and the idea of large wind farms wont sound so foreign.

compressed air

Obviously, it isn't always windy. This is a problem when is comes to turbine's ability to produce electricity. With a new technology known as compressed air energy storage, or CAES, there could be a solution to this small technicality.
This new technology uses electricity to compact air and force it underground. When the air gets released, it's burned with natural gas which makes it expand, this drives the turbines and creates electricity.
Compressing air is done when there is an 'excess of cheap electricity.' For example, when the wind is blowing in the middle of the night when no ones lights are on, that energy can be released on a hot summer day when everybody wants their air conditioners.
Compressed air is already being stored in Alabama in a salt dome. Other states such as Iowa, Texas, Ohio, and New Jersey are exploring the possibilities. Germany also has a compressed air plant.
However, there are many reasons this idea hasn't caught on, says Samir Succar, an energy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council. One of which is a "culture of risk-aversion among utilities," also "complications in the way electricity markets are structured."

Hey! You might want to check out this article and the other articles on the page. They might interest you. :)

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/the_year_in_gre.php

Samara's response

Kelsey, Good job so far. I like wind, and wind energy. Solar energy is nice too. I think that the reason for there being no wind turbines in rural areas is because of there being no money to afford them, not a lot of space, and not a lot of wind to power them. Although someone down the road from me has a little wind mill in their front yard. It's cool. Please title your posts. For one post I couldn't tell if it was notes or a response because of how the beginning was worded. Perhaps you could look into the cost of installing wind mills in rural areas and compare that to other alternative energy costs. Other than that keep up the good work!

Alex Hadik- Blog Comment

Kelsey-
This is extremely interesting research that you are getting into here. I like how you have managed to focus not on the the mechanical aspects of this technology but instead, the social issues surrounding it. Wind power is an extremely controversial topic and one that even has possible negative outcomes for the environment. I have read a couple articles in passing discussing how massive wind farms are in fact over harnessing causing actual environmental changes near by. Winds decrease behind the farms and temperatures rise, everything. This isn't proven but it might be something for you to look into. Also, look into the Cape Wind project, you know that film we both saw at that festival? It was boring but still perfect for this topic. Past that, from a reader's point of view, the only comment I could make is that is sure would be nice to have your notes and your comments there instead of piecing together what the article was about from your comments.

Alex G. responce #2

kelseeey:)
This is a really neat topic, I think its cool how you can profit from wind energy, and all your articles were really interesting. I agree with aimee, I bet those magazines would have some articles on wind energy.

Kelsey, I love the whole idea of alternate energy, and can tell you are into the topic. I also like how you questioned yourself about why there isn't any wind power in residential areas, probably because it takes up al ot of room and money. I would like to see some here in rural Maine, but it is probably very costly. You should try looking in Time, New Yorker or National Geographic for some outside research, I know global warming is a big topic in those magazines, so there would be some articles on alternative energy.

Modify and document correctly . . .

Kelsey - I'm happy to see that you are finding energy articles, especially on wind turbines. You need to modify the writeup under the title of your blog so that it reflects what you are now researching. Also, each note-taking post needs to be titled with the name of the article you are reading. Responses need appropriate titles, too. Not all of your citations are complete; see me ASAP to correct these if you don't understand how to do so.

response to got wind

I thought Got Wind was an informative article to anyone interested in alternative fuels. I found it surprising that wind companies are actually having success right now, even though the rest of the country is failing. Its nice to know that something necessary like renewable energy has received benefits from congress to enable it's production. Also, I would like to know other ways wind energy could be made more affordable and available to everyday people. Over all I found this article very factual, it showed some positives and negatives of wind turbines, and information backing everything up.

Got Wind?

This article tells consumers how wind energy can be worth the investment in the long run. A man in Michigan added a turbine to his already solar powered home, he paid $16,000. It can generate 1.5 kilowatts an hour from the wind off Lake Michigan. Along with his solar panels, the two alternative energy sources produce enough to cover most of his electricity bill. Best of all, "It's fun watching our meter run backward instead of forward."
Also, apparently in October Congress passed a tax credit. Since then, small scale turbine producers' phones have been ringing off the hook. Although the rate of solar energy still dominates, wind energy is catching up. Last year it was the largest new addition to the electrical grid.
What has held the building of residential wind turbines back is lack of federal assistance, and also the irritation of peoples' neighbors. To be approved for windmill instillation, there is lots of paper work to be done and many complains to be heard.
Congress however, added 30% tax credit to small turbine projects and it is believed that this may create a growth of 40%, even in the current state of the market. And in 20 other states, there are additional benefits of going green. "The federal and state subsidies can make it feasible to get a quicker payback," said president of Bergey Windpower, a small wind producer.
On the down side, even though your meter could be spinning backward, the dept could take as long as 2 decades to clear. Turbines can cost as high as $80,000, and the tax credit is capped at $4,000.
But for most, after the initial cost is excepted, the pros out weigh the cons.

response to side affects

I thought this was mildly amusing. Most of the people featured in the article were quite whiny, so not all of this information was factual. But even so, if people feel this way about having wind farms in their neighborhoods, it could prevent the spread of alternative energy. This is not a good thing, especially if the reasoning isn't legitimate. Although, there were studies done in 2007 that proved wind farms had some negative effect on heath. I'm sure this isn't a widespread problem, if it was wind turbines wouldn't still be in production.

side affects of wind turbines

This article proposes a down side of having wind turbines in your own neighborhood. It introduces a handful of people who are blessed with renewable energy in their own backyards, but all they can do is complain. The Meyer family reported headaches after the turbines were installed, others complained of nausea. A study done in 2007 said that turbines can cause vibroacoustic disease, which leads to strokes and epilepsy.
Other scientist say that there are no known or documented side effects of living near wind turbines other than 'sleep interruption.' Also, not everyone with turbines near them complained of poor health, they said the noise was the same as if you lived by the highway, opposed to a helicopter constantly landing.

response to antartic wind power

Before I read this article I did not know that wind power is used on Antarctica. It makes perfect sense because there is an abundance of wind on the continent. This article makes me wonder if turbines can be installed and be resourceful in such a remote place, then why cant they be put to use in more residential areas? I my isearch was going to be on bees, but there simply wasn't information less than two weeks old. Most of the articles were from summer '07. I thought about it, and decided wind energy would be a more current topic to choose.

Antartic Wind Power

This article reported that because of Antarctica's strong winds, many of the research stations there are run by wind turbines. The Australian station, Mawson has had wind turbines going since 2003. Belgium's research station is the first to be 100 percent wind and solar powered, by 9 small turbines. The New Zealand and American bases also use wind energy & solar energy. The energy is used for communication on Hub Island. New Zealand helped to create what they call 'the worlds coolest wind farm' on Ross Island. There are 3 German turbines, 128 feet tall and each generating 300 kilowatts.
The article also says that, though effective, harnessing the winds power on this continent is a challenge. During half the year, there is no sunlight. It is the changing levels of sunlit heat over land and water which creates wind. So during the winter, there is hardly any energy for the turbines to gather.
“I never considered myself to be a particularly green person,” Mr. Stone said, though he said his office pushes the maximum possible efficiency in the Antarctic operations. “The payoffs are so much more significant because of the extreme cost we have in logistics,’’ he said.

Disappearing bees

Disappearing bees would definitely keep me interested for 6 months, unless of course they found what is happening before then. There are so many different theories about what is causing Colony Collapse Disorder, that I think that 6 month is just enough time to thoroughly research them all.
I believe there is enough going on around this topic to make research worth while, this phenomena is effecting Bee keepers all around the country. Bee keeping is there lively hood and many people are writing about what's happening to their hives, and will be until the problem is solved.
Yes, I think I will be able to find an abundance of information on bees and their tragic disappearance. In this area, there are a few bee keepers, I could interview them about the changes they are seeing in the hives and bees in general. Also, what they think is causing CCD. There is at least one short film that I know of that was full of information, and there may be others.
CCD is a very important topic in our nation whether people realize it or not, honey bees pollinate around 90% of the nations food, and maybe over the next few months the nation may take notice.
I think that the mysterious vanishing of honey bees will be some what challenging, because there are so many aspects. With out bees our lives would be tremendously altered, and in my paper I will have to cover each and every way why that is true.

My Comments

I agree with Kaite that the topic of visual arts as therapy would probably be more slowly changing than either wind energy or disappearing bees. I don't know very much about using art for therapy but it sounds like it could be beneficially to people that are injured, traumatized, or elderly.
There must be lot of information on wind energy. On vacation in California this summer, I passed through an area at the foothills at the Sierra Nevada that had over 1000 wind turbines! It sounds like you already found information regarding a proposed wind farm in Cape Cod. Have you heard about the proposed, large wind farm off the coast of Maine?
The disappearance of bees could become a vital issue if it starts to have a significantly harmful effect on crops and food supply. I am also concerned that you will be able to find new information on a regular basis. Colony Collapse Disorder is an interesting scientific mystery and maybe they will come up with a solution this year while you are writing your blog.

energy, arts, and bees...

I like your wide range of topics. Your topics on the arts would be very interesting. I had an article, a long time ago, about how dance was used as therapy for metally retarded people. If that is something you would be interested in reading, I could try to find it for you. The topic about bees would be interesting to read about. I did not realize that bees were disappearing, so it would be a good eye-opener. You might want to mention how bees and their work effect everything people do.

bzzzz

I agree with you that it would be best not to do the benefits of art as your topic. It is definitely more static than the other two potential topics. I also agree that you should do bees, simply because so many people at least partly know about alternative energy, but not the bee crisis (if it is classified as a crisis...?) You could incorporate energy into your isearch along with the bees, like if the shortage of pollen has created a shortage of crops which has decreased biofuel? maybe? You could contact local farmers and get their opinion on how the situation is going. There seems to be a lot of agricultural people in this area. Also, it may be a good thing the bees are down. Has there been a significant decrease in death from bees lately? Do those effects outweight the other negative effects from not having bees? What are the possible solution, if any? Why are the bees down? I look forward to hearing more!

Comments from Everett

Therapeudic art sounds like an interestic topic, but if there is not much news regarding that subject... also, I can't imagine that the news that you would find would change considerably over the time period that we are doing this project. I agree with you that alternative energy would be easy to talk about. Are you trying to find the "best" one? What are you trying to accomplish here? I had heard about the issue of the disappearing bees, and was interested into why this was happening, no one really knows from what I have heard, and I am interested in what you think.

I am a little worried that none of these topics will change throughout the year. That said, the bees seems to be the most interesting and judging by the title of your blog, your favorite.

EM

deciding on a topic

Kelsey Weber

October 23 2008

Research essay

While researching in the library, I found useful information on all three of my topic ideas. The first of which is, the nations honey bees have been disappearing rapidly over the past few years, and I would like to know more about why that is happening. My second topic idea is alternative energy, more specifically wind turbines. There have been proposals to build a wind farm off Cape Cod. I would also like to research other sources of renewable energy. Finally, my third idea is the benefits of visual art.

I found the least amount of information on the benefits of visual arts. In all I found three articles actually about the benefits of visual arts, the other results for this search were unhelpful. I found the three significant articles, one each, on The Student Resource Center, Google news, and Opposing View Points. I was looking for how art can be therapeutic, and can release stress in everyday life, but the majority of the articles I found didn't mention anything about that.

When searching my other topic ideas, however, I was much more successful. Alternative energy had all kinds of different results. On every site there were numerous articles on alternative energy. Because it is such a concern to many people, there were an unlimited a number to choose from.

In Proquest there was an article about a man who redid his house to run on 100% renewable energy; he installed solar panels, and radiant flooring by heated water. His town prohibited him from installing a wind turbine because it exceeded height regulations.

Alternative energy and my final topic, bees, I think would be the easiest to research. Bees have been disappearing by huge numbers over the past 2 years; this discovery has many people concerned. On each source I found a handful of articles on the case of disappearing bees. Bees help to pollinate a serious amount of Americas food, including the alfalfa used to feed cattle and 80% of the worlds almonds. It’s no wonder bee keepers and scientist alike are worried about ‘Colony Collapse Disorder,’ and are writing much about it.

When I decide on a final idea for my isearch, I think it will be on bees. I do find alternative energy interesting and relevant to today’s culture, but I would rather research something that isn’t as widely known. There are lots of different aspects and consequences to the disappearance of bees and my other two topic ideas are not as dynamic. Especially the benefits of visual art, I don’t believe I could write a lengthy paper on that, but I think the mysterious case of flyaway bees would make an interesting one.