Imagine slender white windmills grazing the ocean's horizon. They produce a steady flow of power to the land nearby letting you cook your dinner and wash your clothes with power generated by the wind. It's not just a dream anymore, although it isn't quite a reality yet either; as these are more expensive than the turbines on land).
While harnessing ocean's current and it's constant wind patterns may seem like a good answer to our energy dependency concerns, there are a few things we could think about (that I haven't really heard discussed yet, let me know if you have!) Would these wind farms affect aquatic life? They must stretch deep into the bowels of the ocean to anchor, perhaps disturbing the ecosystem. What material would they be made of? Would it leach into the water? Some folks are concerned about 'views' and that is a valid point too. We already see so much of our land cluttered with buildings, sidewalks, infrastructure, do we want our oceans teeming with it too?
I'm not trying to knock wind turbines on the ocean, I think its actually a fantastic idea. But I wonder ... if those who put in the first roads saw what our landscape is today, would they have done things differently?
Its just as important to design for today as it is for tomorrow.
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