If you have ever blown out a candle, you have watched wind turn into energy. You created wind to blow out the flame. Nature creates the wind we feel outside. We cannot see the wind, but we can see how it moves the things around us. A windsock and wind vane help us know that the air is moving AND which direction it is coming from. Studying the patterns of wind movement help humans harness the wind and use it as a power source. When we use it to do work, we call it wind energy.
Wind energy has been used for hundreds of years. In the past, windmills were powered by wind to grind grain and pump water. Today, windmills have evolved into huge steel structures with long blades called wind turbines. Wind turbines convert wind energy into electricity. When the wind moves the blades, they activate a machine that creates electricity. Wind energy is a renewable energy source. It is replenished every day. Wind energy is also clean energy. It does not give off gases that pollute the air and water. Wind energy has the power to light up cities and towns around the world.
What Can You Do? What are ways you can use less energy?
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Photo Credit: (t)Adam Hester/Blend Images LLC, (b)Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock
