Originally printed in North American Wind Power, June 2006.

SUMMARY

The direct evidence that the earth is becoming warmer is now overwhelming. Beyond the headline-grabbing news stories of rolling brownouts in Texas, more active hurricane seasons and rapid worldwide glacier melting, scientists agree that the measured temperature of the earth’s surface, ocean and atmosphere are all getting warmer.

While it is impossible to attribute any single headline-grabbing event to the increase in global temperature, global warming is often mentioned as the culprit in the popular press. Given the current focus on climate change in the media and elsewhere, it is not surprising that one of the most common questions that we are asked at 3TIER is: What will be the impact of global warming on the output of my wind energy project?

This article reviews the current understanding of the science behind global climate change and addresses the questions we are asked most frequently:

• Is the planet getting warmer?
• Is human activity really to blame?
• Have we passed the point of no return?
• What does global warming mean for the wind energy industry?

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