Behind every gentle breeze and hair-wrecking gust of wind lies one key element so transparent that it is seldom thought of while it flows above the heads of billions, lifting the wings of soaring birds and carrying pollens, pollutants, and voices along with it. Air’s strength can be harnessed to produce energy or to propel windsurfers across a body of water. But air isn’t always respected for the force it holds. Each year, industrial factories around the world release an army of pollutants, which are harmful for humans to breathe and nature to survive. Ethos’ “Elements” series has examined society through one of the most basic ideas humans have used to explain the world around them: four “elements,” earth, water, fire, and air.
Story By Camille Rasmussen
Pollution
Linfen, China, is probably the last place on Earth anyone hoping for a breath of fresh air would choose to visit. A short walk through this soot-filled city, which is enclosed in a thick, black cloud of smog, could leave your lungs so raw and achy that standing in a room packed full of cigarette fiends lighting up would have greater appeal. Linfen, located in the Shanxi province, is overflowing with dirty coal-burning plants, steel and iron mills, and a plethora of particulate emissions continuously churning out of their smokestacks. Air pollution in China causes more premature deaths than in other any nation in the world. Between 350,000 and 400,000 people die each year from China’s heavily polluted skies, the World Bank reports.
Linfen is surrounded by over a dozen other heavily polluted cities in China, including Beijing. James Crosby, who lived in Beijing for ten months on an exchange program, says of the air quality there that, “some days you can’t see thirty feet in front of you.” During his stay in Beijing, Crosby experienced a variety of negative physical effects from the dense pollution. And it’s no wonder why Forbes’ top ten most polluted cities in the world are located all in China, seeing as 258,000 megatons of coal were consumed here in 2007. “I tried to play basketball my first month there, and I started coughing up blood,” Crosby recalls. He also noticed the mucus he was coughing up was a distinctive black color. During the spring, the combination of pollutants and sandstorms blowing in from Mongolia made for a miserable outdoor experience. “Your eyes will hurt. Your lungs will hurt. You can’t ride a bike without dust flying into your eyes,” Crosby says. “It’s hard to walk.”
Ronald Mitchell, a University of Oregon professor of political science whose research focuses on transboundary air pollution and international environmental agreements, says in Beijing, pollution has become so appalling that “before the Olympics, they shut down some of the factories for a month.” This proves that with the right incentives, China has the ability to clean up its mess, Mitchell says confidently. Nonetheless, air pollution regulations do not always work quickly or equally. Some make real progress while others fall short of expectations.
However, China is currently devoting a lot of resources to cleaning up its skies by reducing emissions, increasing the use of renewable energies, and conserving energy. According to the Global Wind Energy Council, China increased its energy production from wind by ninety-one percent between 2007 and 2008. Moreover, on December 28, 2009, China created an Environment Industry Fund in Beijing, which will raise 2 billion yuan (roughly 292,714,000 USD) in its first phase, according to eBeijing, the official website of the Beijing government. The fund will then be used to promote cleaner air in many cities around the country.
The most perplexing problem with air pollution is its inability to be contained to the region producing it. Unlike some other natural resources that can be closed off and guarded in mostly human-free, protected wilderness areas, air is a communal resource that cannot be prevented from flowing freely and traveling around the world with a suitcase packed full of pollution. Toxic sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter that spew incessantly out of coal plants’ smokestacks in Great Britain will undoubtedly make their way to Scandinavia because of consistent wind patterns. “We can’t fence off air. We can’t prevent people from dumping into it. We can’t make them pay for dumping in it,” Mitchell says.
Power
In stark contrast with the dark, looming clouds of pollutants in Linfen and Beijing, 4,500 miles away is Copenhagen, Denmark, home to some of the cleanest skies in the world. Denmark uses a large proportion of wind energy as opposed to traditional energy sources such as coal and oil to fuel much of the nation’s electrical and industrial needs. Here, vast wind turbines can be seen stretching across long lines, pumping their sturdy arms around and around in a circular motion, resembling the continual turning of a Ferris wheel. Wind farms cover vast areas of offshore locations, where wind levels are higher than they are further inland. One of the largest offshore wind farms is Middelgrunden, located in the Oresund waterway, which is only a few miles east of Copenhagen.
Denmark’s leading role in utilizing wind energy stems from the country’s history involvement with alternative energies. Denmark was at the forefront of the wind energy initiative that emerged shortly after the world oil crisis in the 1970s. Vestas, a wind turbine manufacturer that originated in Denmark, was one of the first businesses to jump on the wind energy bandwagon and has since expanded its market to 63 nations around the world. Andrew Longeteig, the communications specialist for the Portland, Oregon, branch of Vestas, says Denmark has the highest percent of electricity — nearly 20% — coming from wind energy. In comparison to the U.S., which derives less than two percent of its energy from wind, Denmark is a wind energy powerhouse. Several other Western European nations, including Spain, Germany, and Ireland, are also among the top users of wind energy.
John Audley, the deputy director of the Renewable Northwest Project in Portland, explains that there are numerous benefits of wind energy. One of these benefits is the economic investment money that wind farm projects bring to communities, he says. “These are clean, reliable, and very efficient energy sources that allow folks to develop and consume energy locally,” Audley says.
In the U.S., the focus of wind energy companies like Vestas is mostly on large-scale wind farms. In Denmark, however, it is not uncommon for small areas of land to hold only three or four wind turbines, compared to the 300 to 400 turbines found in larger farms such as the ones located in the Columbia River Gorge. Denmark’s focus on smaller wind farms is due to the modest size of the country, with a population of only five million people.
Owners of small Danish farms can buy a few turbines and place them on their property. In exchange for housing turbines on their land, farm owners receive payments from the government as well as the income they make by selling the energy produced by the turbines back to the grid.
“A lot of farmers are getting payments to have turbines on their land,” Longeteig says. In smaller towns, farming has not been as lucrative, and a lot of people are hurting. Longeteig says hosting turbines on their property is providing jobs and promoting economic activity. However, he says with resolve, “Wind is not going to solve all the problems, but we think we’re a pretty important part of the answer.”
Recreation
Air isn’t just used, or misused, for energy production. Global wind patterns create numerous pockets around the world where wind activities, such as windsurfing, sailing, and kite flying, can be practiced with great success.
For Chris Moe, the business manager of Northwave Custom Sails in Hood River, Oregon, Maui is his most beloved windsurfing destination. “The water is always tropical blue, they get fairly consistent wind, and they get a wake,” Moe says. In Maui, windsurfers relish the perfect weather, gorgeous scenery, and warm water. “It’s just beautiful, almost heavenly,” he notes nostalgically. The island is also a remarkable place for Moe’s favorite type of windsurfing – wave surfing, which is windsurfing on an ocean’s breaking waves. The season for good windsurfing lasts for nine months in Hawaii, which is much longer than the four-month seasons in areas like Hood River.
Moe describes windsurfing as a sense of freedom. “It’s just you and the wind. There’s no motor. There’s nobody else. It’s just you scooting across the top of the water with nothing but the wind on your back,” Moe says.
But wind riding isn’t always about relaxation. High-wind areas, such as Hood River, make for a thrilling, high-adrenaline experience for riders. Steve Gates, the president and general manager of Big Winds windsurfing shop in Hood River says, “Windsurfing provides a great exhilaration of speed on the water. Whether you’re in a boat, windsurfing, or sailing, it just feels great to go fast over water.”
The thrill of windsurfing in Hood River is in part due to this area’s distinct wind patterns. The wind blows in the opposite direction of the water’s current, and this creates a huge swell in the river. Gates says some areas even get swells up to eight-feet tall on windy days, which are great for huge jumps.
For Moe, the casual windsurfer-meets-businessman, windsurfing is a unique activity because it’s an individualist sport; there’s no team, and unless you’re one of the few people who compete, it’s not a competitive sport. While other people are always nearby on the water, windsurfing doesn’t require you to engage with them. “It’s the great escape. It takes your mind off anything else you might be thinking about that day,”
Moe says.
While not every windsurfing enthusiast participates in windsurfing competitions, they are appealing to those who want to put their skills to the test. The Gorge Pro Am, which takes place every summer in Hood River, draws professional and amateur windsurfers from around the world. In racing competitions, contestants have six minutes to gain speed before crossing the starting line. Windsurfers follow a course marked with buoys to guide them to the finish line. This process, which is referred to as a heat, is repeated ten times throughout the course of the day before a winner is declared.
“Windsurfing,” Gates says, “is the purest form of sailing because you’re standing on the board and holding the sail in your hands.” And while windsurfers revel over their ability to harness the wind, ultimately the air decides.
