Windmills As Energy-Saving Devices

Windmills have transformed wind power into usable energy for centuries. Windmills have been used to pump water, grind grain, drain marshes, turn sawmills and generate electricity. They are also popular as an environmentally friendly energy source.

Function

• A windmill consists of two or more blades mounted onto a shaft, which is mounted onto a tower. The blades turn when wind blows across them. The turning blades spin a rotor, which in turns powers a generator that creates electricity.

Significance

• Mining for and burning coal is a common way to produce electricity; however, many environmentalists suggest that burning fossil fuels like coal hastens global warming and damages the environment. According to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, coal causes nearly 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Wind is a promoted as an environmentally friendly, naturally renewing power source.

Potential

• Environmentalists and alternative-energy proponents tout wind energy as a "clean fuel" because nothing is mined or burned on a wind farm, meaning no pollutants are emitted. Windmills, used for generations on Western ranches, are gaining in popularity as sources of energy to power generators in the homes of ecologically minded homeowners; giant wind turbines on both coasts of the United States and across the country capture the power of the wind to provide electricity to entire municipalities.