http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028063.300-wind-and-wave-farms-could-affect-earths-energy-balance.html?full=true
Very interesting article. The basic premise being that if wind and wave power are produced on the Terawatt scale, the rate of energy removal from the sea and atmosphere could potentially have unforeseen implications for weather and subsequently climate. Certainly merits discussion and further research. Imagine the irony if in the effort to negate climate change, we irreversibly altered the, errr...Climate.
Edit: Scientific brains, don't be put off by the use of the term "free energy". No perpetual motion problems here.
Large-scale exploitation of wind energy will inevitably leave an imprint in the atmosphere," says Kleidon. "Because we use so much free energy, and more every year, we'll deplete the reservoir of energy." He says this would probably show up first in wind farms themselves, where the gains expected from massive facilities just won't pan out as the energy of the Earth system is depleted.
Very interesting article. The basic premise being that if wind and wave power are produced on the Terawatt scale, the rate of energy removal from the sea and atmosphere could potentially have unforeseen implications for weather and subsequently climate. Certainly merits discussion and further research. Imagine the irony if in the effort to negate climate change, we irreversibly altered the, errr...Climate.
Edit: Scientific brains, don't be put off by the use of the term "free energy". No perpetual motion problems here.