Breezing Across the Country
Growing up in Nebraska, one becomes accustomed to a constant 15-25 MPH wind. I jokingly reason that we have this wind because there is only one tree separating us from the North Pole, but in reality the prairie is unique situated for wind. I’m not a climatologist, but I suspect the warm, moist air that is generated over the Pacific rises up as it warms, then hits the mountains, cools, and descends along the prairies generating a constant wind. I took a trip from Omaha to Minneapolis by way of Des Moines. In the north central part of the state is a massive array of wind turbines. It’s an amazing drive through the area, and I suspect that we’re only slightly leveraging the capacity of wind in the area. It seems T. Boone Pickens has an idea...