Wind farms also double as sculpture gardens for mountain passes, open plains and long windswept beaches. No longer the quaint versions of old Holland or the lone prairie farmhouse, new windmills are sleek modern art. The latest versions are 29 stories high with 200-foot rotor blades. Experts say these are more bird friendly than the old models. Fewer of them are needed, and the giant blades turn more slowly, which theoretically allows the birds to see the blades and fly about without getting creamed.
Wind power enjoys strong backing from environmental groups.
Former Clinton Energy Secretary Bill Richardson had plans for wind to provide 5 percent of U. S. power needs by 2020. But hey, power doesn't come from a light switch, as they say. Something's got to give. Bush, for his part, doesn't want to raise fuel economy standards for SUVs, at least not before the National Academy of Sciences does a study. The academy might discover what everyone already knows, which is that SUVs were created by Congress when it sewed a loophole into the fuel standards for light trucks and vans.