Wind power is becoming an ever-increasingly popular way to collect energy. Just last year the wind power industry grew an impressive 31% despite the economy. It is now estimated to be a $63 billion/year industry, employing around half a million workers worldwide.

However, like solar farms, there is only a limited amount of land that can be used for wind farms before we completely remove the beauty and necessity of Mother Nature in favor of renewable energy. So, what can be done?

Luckily people continue to imagine and design new ways to capitalize on the power of the wind. Let’s take a look at some of the “standard” and not-so-standard ideas for catching the power of the wind:

First we start off with some traditional wind turbines like the kind you find on your way to Palm Springs, CA. These particular turbines are part of one of the three major wind farms that produce approximately 95% of California’s wind generating capacity. The large turbines are designed to take the motion of the wind, turn it into mechanical energy which is then converted into electrical energy.

One major downfall with this type of wind energy is that the average wind farm can require up to 17 acres of land to produce one megawatt of electricity. So wind farm land resources are limited.

This “highway turbine” was thought up by an Arizona State University student. The turbines are designed to pick up wind generated from passing cars. Since the turbines are placed over the freeway, cars passing underneath will be traveling 65-70 mph on average which will allow each turbine to produce approx 9.6 kWh of energy annually. That’s enough to light up a small apartment or help power the street lights on the freeway.

The energy storing wind dam is a “compact” solution to wind turbines. Wind dams are designed so they can be added on to an existing dam or hydro-power station. Attaching it to an existing hydro-power station could also allow it to help boost energy during peak times and store energy during off peak times.

Another one of the great things about wind dams is the turbines are closely stacked together so the whole dam operates as a single turbine essentially. And rather than needing a large piece of land in order to place individual turbines, the wind dam puts multiple turbines all in one compact area.

Here’s a different take on the wind turbine via a sort of “wind sail”. This particular dam was reportedly anchored to the cliffs near Northern Russia’s Lake Ladoga last year. The design is similar to the sail on a sailboat and each sail will be able to generate enough energy to power 35 homes. Efficiency of the wind sail is still being worked on, but it’s a start.

Promoted as the world’s first “high altitude wind turbine”, the Magenn Air Rotor System (or M.A.R.S. for short) is designed to fly high above the rest. It labels itself as being bird- and bat-friendly, low cost and able to tap into more reliable winds due to its high altitude. The turbines are able to be inflated and deployed almost anywhere. They are also made of a material that allows them to quickly be deflated, packed up, moved and re-inflated without the need for towers or heavy equipment. Take a look at this short video to give you an idea of how the air rotor system works:

For those who don’t want to go up with their wind energy collection, they can always go out…out to sea that is. Offshore wind farms are getting more attention these days as companies look for wind catching solutions to solve the “lack of open land” problem.

Cape Wind is one of those companies. They are working on placing America’s first off-shore farm a few miles out in Nantucket Sound, off the Massachusetts shoreline.

Of course, there are also groups that oppose having wind farms off their shoreline. But what’s interesting, is they aren’t necessarily opposing the off-shore wind farms all together, they just believe there are places better suited for them, rather than Nantucket Sound. What do you think?

I like these turbines in particular as they are designed to be aesthetic (not an eye-sore). They also use the wind they are generating to power the street lights they are attached to. It’s similar to the “highway turbine”, but this wind powered light seems to have a broader use and is, in my personal opinion,  a better option.

The Helix Wind Turbine (a vertical axis wind turbine) is a simple idea, especially when you don’t have a lot of room or want a huge spinning turbine on your property. Designed mainly for residential and small commercial properties, the Helix is also a good choice for low wind areas as its design is sculptured to allow maximum access of the blades.

Now, these aren’t all nor even necessarily the best ideas on how to capitalize on wind energy. And, if you’re interested you can check out thewindpower.com (the wind turbines and wind farms database).

But hopefully you get the idea that there are many different ideas out there on how to generate energy through wind power. What about you? Do you have any creative ideas on how to capture the power of wind?

St. Patrick’s Day is only a few weeks away, so I wanted to lay out ahead of time some of the common (and not so common) “green” things associated with St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick is known as the patron saint of Ireland. But, St. Patrick’s Day is not just a commonly observed Irish holiday anymore, countries and individuals across the globe, whether Irish or not, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, the anniversary of his death. To the Irish it is considered as a religious or holy day and has been for over 1000 years.

Even though St. Patrick’s Day falls during the Christian season of Lent (which prohibits the consumption of meat on Fridays and Ash Wednesday), those prohibitions were often waived so Irish families would traditionally celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with large evening feasts filled with bacon and cabbage.

Over the years more and more commercialism set it and today’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are commonly associated with many things green:

1) Most people consider Corned Beef and Cabbage (green) to be the traditional “Irish meal” for St. Patrick’s Day. But like I mentioned above, bacon and cabbage was actually the meal of choice when it came to Irish families. So even though many of you may have Corned Beef and Cabbage, if you are looking for tradition on this St. Patrick’s Day – Bacon and Cabbage it is.

2) Don’t forget to chase that traditional Irish meal with a good, green beer. There are many different beers to choose from and it depends on whether you want a beer made in a “green” or environmentally-friendly manner or a beer that is green in color.

If you are looking for a beer that is green in color, how about making your own? Here’s a quick video to show you how you can make your own green beer:

If you are looking for an environmentally-friendly “green” beer, here are a couple of options: Goose Island’s Green Line Pale Ale or Samuel Smith’s Organic Lager or Ale. And if you want some tips on what to look for when buying a “green” beer, you can check out this beer buying guide. Buying local is also a great way to make a greener beer choice.

3) Leprechauns are considered as a sort-of Irish fairy. They are often portrayed as small men with green hats and clothes and commonly associated with rainbows and pots of gold.  Leprechauns are the “self-appointed guardians of ancient treasure (left by the Danes when they marauded through Ireland), burying it in crocks or pots.” But, a word of warning….if you see one, don’t take your eye off him, because Leprechauns can vanish in an instant.

4) Shamrocks (otherwise known as white clovers) are associated with good luck, especially those ever-elusive four-leaf clovers. The white clover, on its own, was regarded by the early Celts of Wales as a good luck charm against evil spirits. So if you are looking for some good luck this St. Patrick’s Day, maybe a white clover is the way to go.

Don’t forget to check out those leaves though, as they traditionally symbolize: one for faith, two for hope, three for love and four for luck.

5) The Chicago River being dyed green. Started way back in 1962, dyeing the Chicago River has become as much a tradition for St. Patrick’s Day as eating Corned Beef and Cabbage (oops, I mean Bacon and Cabbage). The first year 100 pounds of dye was used and the river stayed green for an entire week. The next year they only used 50 pounds of dye and the river stayed green for 3 days. The year after that they settled on 25 pounds and that kept the river green for the entire day.

In 1966, environmentalists accused the city of polluting the river with the dye it was using. After a number of trials, a new compound made of vegetable dyes was created and is the dye that is still used today. If you are interested, you can also read the whole story on how they started greening the Chicago River.

For those of you who will be in Chicago this year, they will be turning the river green starting at 10:45am on March 13th.

Check out this time-lapse video showing the greening of the Chicago River:

Now, of course, you also should keep in mind basic environmental green activities like recycling, eating your “greens” and keeping all things in moderation when you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year. What’s your favorite green (color or environmental) way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

No matter what your viewpoints are on the environment relating to climate change or global warming, the fact of the matter is we live on a planet that is over 4 billion years old. A planet that has a core temperature estimated to be between 4000 and 7000 degrees Celsius (approx. 7000-12500 degrees Fahrenheit). A planet that had surface temperatures ranging from minus 128.6 degrees F (Antarctica on July 21, 1983) to 136 degrees F (Libya on Sept 13, 1922).

Of course those are extreme temperatures, but there have been many environmental extremes over the years. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

First, did you know the United States experienced 96 weather-related disasters within the last 30 years – each of which caused over $1 billion in damages? The estimated total for these disasters exceeded $700 billion.

The majority of those disasters were caused by tropical storms or hurricanes. Other types of disasters included severe weather, heat waves, non-tropical floods, fires, blizzards, etc.

As far as which states were hit worst; Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina all experienced between 31-35 weather-related disasters each.

WARMEST PLACE ON EARTH: Dallol, Ethiopia is generally referred to as the warmest place on Earth. Yearly temperatures average around 93 degrees F. Some of Dallol’s best known features include Dallol Mountain, its hot springs, salt canyons and salt pillars.

COLDEST INHABITED CITY ON EARTH: While most people consider the Antarctic to be the coldest place on Earth (as it does have the coldest recorded temperature on earth), the coldest year-round inhabited city on Earth is commonly regarded as Oymyakon, Siberia.

The Siberian winters in Oykyakon have gotten as low as -96 degrees F with an average winter temperature of -45 degrees F. While most people can’t even imagine living in temperatures that cold, people in Oykyakon are used to it. Schools don’t even close unless the temperature has reached at least -52 degrees F.

Take a look at this video and see what you think about living in the coldest inhabited place on Earth:

DRIEST PLACE ON EARTH: The Atacama Desert is easily considered the driest place on Earth. With an average rainfall of just 0.04 inches per year, rain is a scarce commodity. Some areas of the desert haven’t reported any rain since 1570!

Not only is the Atacama Desert dry, it is also large. So large (46,000 square miles) that it can be seen from outer space with the naked eye.

This image of Solar Evaporation Ponds in the Atacama Desert was taken by the Expedition 19 crew, back in May 2009, while they were aboard the International Space Station.

WETTEST PLACE ON EARTH: On the other extreme, we have the wettest place on Earth. Many people will tell you it’s Lloro, Columbia with 523.6 inches per year. However, according to the NCDC (National Climatic Data Center), that measurement was only an estimate and the actual wettest place on Earth is pretty close between Mawsynram, India and Mt. Waialeale in Kauai, Hawaii.

Mawsynram is a village in North-Eastern India. Its altitude is about 4600 feet and its highest average precipitation was about 467 inches. Mt. Waialeale on Kauai has an altitude of about 5200 feet with an average yearly precipitation of 444 inches. Its highest, according to the NCDC was 460 inches.

Now I know there are many environmental extremes I could bring up, including the devastating earthquakes in Haiti. the cold extremes being felt across New England and in other places around the world (despite the last decade being the warmest on record) and more. But the real key to remember is the world is constantly changing and while we can’t necessarily take on Mother Nature, we can each do our part to take care of the Earth. What actions are you taking to care for the Earth?