Wind is an indirect version of solar power. Different surfaces on the Earth react differently to being hit by sunlight, particular in regards to heat. As sunlight heats up surfaces, they warm up at different rates. The surround air also warms up at different rates, fertilizing the wind process. Temperatures over a body of water like a lake will always be cooler than temperatures over rocky ground. Hot air rises and cool air rushes into fill such voids. As this process occurs, the rushing air manifests as wind and an incredibly cheap and clean energy source.

The fact that wind is a naturally occurring event makes it a great energy source. Consider the following:

1. Wind is a renewable energy source because it will exist as long as sunlight beats down on us.

2. Wind has been used by man as an energy source ever since we’ve sailed boats.

3. The first windmills were used to turn wheels to grind grain in Iran.

4. American colonist used windmills to move water, grind grain and cut wood.

5. Wind energy harnessed by windmills was a dominant source of energy in rural America in the 1920s.

6. In modern times, California is the biggest user of wind power and produces twice as much electricity as any other state.

7. Modern windmills actually come in two forms, vertical and horizontal models.

8. Horizontal windmills are the stereotypical version that comes to your mind when the word is mentioned.

9. Vertical mills look like upside down egg beaters, but are hypnotic when they spin.

10. Unlike traditional utilities, most energy produced by wind is done by private businesses and sold to utilities through an electric grid hookup.

11. Wind power in the U.S. generates a whopping 17 billion kilowatts per year, more than enough to provide all electrical needs for the city of Chicago.

12. More than 30 states have wind farms generating and supplying electricity to utility companies.

13. California, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wyoming are the dominant forces in producing energy from wind.

14. The biggest energy producer from wind is Germany, which is also dominant in solar power production.

For many, these wind findings will be a surprise. The sole fact that there is enough power produced by wind energy to handle a city the size of Chicago is pretty impressive. As we move into the 21st century, new technology is heading in the direction of creating wind energy platforms for individual residences.

At the Earths’ core, the temperature is 60 times greater than that of water being boiled. The tremendous heat creates pressures that exert themselves only a couple of miles below us, and these pressures contain huge amounts of energy. Superheated fluids in the form of magma, which we see the power and energy of whenever there is a volcanic eruption, await our tapping. These fluids also trickle to the surface as steam and emerge from vents. We can create our own vents, and we can create out own containment chambers for the magma and convert all of this energy into electricity to light and heat our homes. In the creation of a geothermal power plant, a well would be dug where there is a good source of magma or heated fluid. Piping would be fitted down into the source, and the fluids forced to the surface to produce the needed steam. The steam would turn a turbine engine, which would generate the electricity.

There are criticisms of geothermal energy tapping which prevent its being implemented on the large scale which it should be. Critics say that study and research to find a resourceful area is too costly and takes up too much time. Then there is more great expense needed to build a geothermal power plant, and there is no promise of the plant turning a profit. Some geothermal sites, once tapped, might be found to not produce a large enough amount of steam for the power plant to be viable or reliable. And we hear from the environmentalists who worry that bringing up magma can bring up potentially harmful materials along with it.

However, the great benefits of geothermal energy would subsume these criticisms if only we would explore it more. The fact that geothermal energy is merely the energy of the Earth herself means it does not produce any pollutants. Geothermal energy is extremely efficient—the efforts needed to channel it are minimal after a site is found and a plant is set up. Geothermal plants, furthermore, do not need to be as large as electrical plants, giant dams, or atomic energy facilities—the environment would thus be less disrupted. And, needless to say, it is an alternative form of energy—using it would mean we become that much less dependent on oil and coal. Perhaps most importantly of all—we are never, ever going to run out of geothermal energy, and it is not a commodity that would continuously become more expensive in terms of real dollars as time passes, since it is ubiquitous. Geothermal energy would be, in the end, very cheap, after investigation and power plant building costs are recouped.