If the U.S. established wind energy as its main source of energy, many jobs could be created. Creating wind turbines requires manpower and would provide a large influx of jobs in the short run. Maintaining the wind turbines would also allow for more sustainable jobs in the long run; all machines do not stay in perfect operating condition forever, and wind turbines are certainly machines. They will be undoubtedly exposed to the elements, and this will naturally require maintenance to be performed on them eventually. Monitoring the energy that would be generated by wind turbines would also provide jobs, and this would be a task for which there would be a constant demand. Making the parts to create new turbines and maintain them would also provide jobs, and there would also be a steady demand for this. According to the American Wind Energy Association, enhancing the production of wind energy to eight times as much as is produced today would produce 150,000 more jobs nationwide (www.awea.org). Not only this, but most of these jobs would be created in the states that have lost the most jobs in the current recession.
While the fossil fuel industry is subject to inflation, price gouging, and constant price fluctuations due to the limited supply of oil and coal, wind energy would mostly be immune to these problems. Since wind energy is unlimited, there would be no worry about it running out, and therefore it would be relatively resistant to inflation. The price of wind energy would stay the same because of this, and since American citizens would then not be paying obscene prices for their energy, they would have more money to stimulate the economy in other ways. The minds of Americans would be more at ease if their energy bills went down, and many other industries would benefit from an extra influx of money that would otherwise be used to fund the black hole that is the oil industry.
Creating wind energy would also benefit the U.S. trade-wise. We could manufacture wind turbines and sell them to other countries that may not have the supplies to accomplish this. This would create jobs for us and stimulate both our economy and the international economy as a whole. Making wind our primary source of energy would also free us from being energy dependent on other nations, as we are currently. The worst part of the situation we are in now is that we are dependent on energy generated by countries who don't necessarily like us. We are forced to keep trading with them, even if they do things that the U.S. doesn't approve of, and they can use their supply of energy as a blackmailing tool to get us to do what they want if we are desperate enough for energy. That moment may indeed be coming soon, as the supply of fossil fuels is running out very quickly. The last thing the U.S. needs is to be dependent on countries that have malevolent intentions toward us.
Wind energy will improve the state of the environment for our generation and for future generations, and this is important to the economy as well. In order to have an economy, humans need to have a planet that has not been destroyed by pollution and human sprawl. First of all, wind energy does not create emissions of any sort, and therefore will not pollute the air and water in our world at all. This would be a drastic change from what is currently happening. According to the AWEA, U.S. power plants emit 70% of the sulfur dioxide, 34% of the carbon dioxide, 33% of the nitrogen oxide, 28% of the particulate matter and 23% of the toxic heavy metals released into our nation's environment (www.awea.org). If wind farms replaced standard coal and oil power plants, the air would be much cleaner, and it would eventually be able to begin to recover from all the pollutants that have been placed in it since the rise of industry. All of the aforementioned chemicals are very harmful to the environment and cause acid rain, global warming, and increased amounts of smog. Smog increases the rate of asthma in humans, and can also cause lung cancer and birth defects. Wind energy could even lower healthcare costs in the long run; if the air was cleaner, many fewer people would have to go to the hospital for illnesses related to airborne chemicals. Wind energy also uses and pollutes much less water than current power plants; since wind generates the energy needed to spin the turbines, steam is not necessary, and therefore less water is needed for the process.
Overall, wind energy is a sustainable energy source that would provide many benefits for the US, especially in regard to the economy. Our standing in the world could be improved as a whole, and wind energy could help break the economy out of the recession because of the jobs it would create.
Eileen Campbell
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