Not so windy: Research suggests winds dying down

[NickB79]

http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1424787.html

"WASHINGTON -- The wind, a favorite power source of the green energy movement, seems to be dying down across the United States. And the cause, ironically, may be global warming - the very problem wind power seeks to address.

The idea that winds may be slowing is still a speculative one, and scientists disagree whether that is happening. But a first-of-its-kind study suggests that average and peak wind speeds have been noticeably slowing since 1973, especially in the Midwest and the East.

"It's a very large effect," said study co-author Eugene Takle, a professor of atmospheric science at Iowa State University. In some places in the Midwest, the trend shows a 10 percent drop or more over a decade. That adds up when the average wind speed in the region is about 10 to 12 miles per hour."


Anyone else here read the book "Under a Green Sky"? It's about the theory that the Permian mass extinction was due to a massive global warming event brought on by methane releases. When the author describes what it would have been like to live in that era, he describes the Canfield oceans, the massive deserts, the extreme heat, and the lack of wind :scared:

[texastoast]

1. It's getting windier in SE Texas

Probably because we've cut down so many of the trees in the Piney Woods. We had 20-30 mph winds several times in the spring over the last few years, and that is new.

[phantom power]

2. Heat gradient between equator and poles will be dropping.

[frazzled]

3. No evidence of that here in Chicago

I can't say less wind wouldn't be a welcome development. I don't mind cold; I don't mind hot--just hate wind.

[newfie11]

4. Here in Nebraska we have more than enough wind N/T