14 DAY TRIAL // Specialists have long argued that clean energy sources can help limit climate change and global warming, and a recent report pieced together by specialists with the American Wind Energy Association backs up their claims.
Thus, Eco Watch tells us that, in said report, the American Wind Energy Association argues that, according to evidence at hand, wind energy helped the United States greatly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions back in 2013.
More precisely, the Association claims that, last year, wind turbines up and running across the country's territory produced enough clean energy to keep about 96 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from entering our planet's atmosphere.
Specialists estimate that, all in all, the 96 million metric tons of carbon dioxide that wind power prevented from being released represent the equivalent of taking 16.9 million cars off the road.
Given the fact that carbon dioxide is a contributor to climate change and global warming, having less of it hit our planet's atmosphere can only come as good news. More so given the fact that, in a recent report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change argues that said phenomena are already happening.
Interestingly enough, the Association maintains that, by reducing carbon emissions to such an extent, the wind power industry in the United States helped green up the country's entire energy sector. Specifically, it managed to cut emissions associated with the country's energy sector by 4.4%.
“Wind energy is leading the U.S. to a low carbon future,” Emily Williams with the American Wind Energy Association said. Furthermore, “Not only is wind energy reliable and affordable, but it’s providing sustained emissions reductions in the sector that contributes the most to climate change, the power sector.”
Apart from reducing carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy generation, wind power is argued to have helped keep several other potentially dangerous chemical compounds from entering natural ecosystems, i.e. sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and other toxins.
What's more, it is argued that the wind power industry made it possible for the United States to also improve on its water footprint. Specifically, the use of this clean energy source instead of dirty ones is estimated to have translated into water savings of 36.5 billion gallons.
The American Wind Energy Association says that, at the end of 2013, some 12,000 megawatts of wind power capacity were under construction in the United States. If built, these 12,000 megawatts would help the country's wind power sector cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 117 million metric tons.