Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Working with utility companies, I have learned a thing or two about wind energy. I know it's plentiful, renewable and clean. From personal experience, I know that it can propel a fifth grader and his Motobecane bike all the way home in time for the latest episode of Batman. I grew up in West Texas, where the spring wind can come screaming across the plain at a flag-ripping velocity. On many days, the winds would be so fierce that countless tumbleweeds would zip down the street as if mother nature suddenly took up a twisted form of bowling. It was a day just like this where I learned first hand how wind can be harnessed for the benefit of mankind, or in this case, kidkind. My school was three miles due east of my home down a single road, so riding a bike to and from school was a given. And because we were on the outskirts of town, there was nothing stopping the afternoon winds save a few skinny jackrabbits and a couple of fence posts. All I had to do to get home after school was hop on my bike and point it towards my house. The wind would blow me and my JanSport backpack all the way home without ever pedaling. "Cool," I thought. That's when I started to appreciate the power of wind. Recently, the world's largest wind farm began operating. With 627 towering wind turbines it will provide enough power for 230,000 homes. It came as no surprise to me when I found out it was located in West Texas—just a short bike ride from my old school.