As modern society searches around for alternative energy sources, wind farms are getting mention. There are, however, limitations regarding wind farms as major energy alternatives.

Wind Farms ? Limitations as Energy Platforms

Wind power is an enticing energy platform compared to fossil fuels. The process works by using the inherent energy in wind as a method for producing electricity. The actual methodology is much like hydropower, but with wind used in place of water. Wind turbines catch the wind, which turns their blades. This turning motion cranks a generator that produces electricity. The electricity is stored in batteries or fed into the electrical grid of a utility. Walla, you have power!

Using wind power for localized needs has been around for a long time. The Persians are believed to be the first to use it with the purpose being to turn grain grinding stones. In modern times, the sole purpose is to generate electricity. On a large scale, this means wind farms.

Wind farms are simply large collections of wind turbines in a defined area. If you have ever driven east out of San Francisco, you have seen the wind farm along the freeway. While it is both intoxicating and a pollution free source of electricity, a wind farm has definite limitations.

The biggest limitation of wind farms is the electricity produced. Simply put, they do not produce massive amounts, certainly not on the scale needed in most cities in industrialized nations. Obviously, each location is different, but wind is simply not a constant occurrence in most places. Even when it is, the number of turbines required to produce enough energy for a city is mind boggling. This, of course, leads to a second limitation.

Wind farms need to cover a lot of physical space to produce large amounts of electricity. In many industrialized countries, space is at a premium. As a result, the sheer cost of purchasing land for wind farms is prohibitive. This issue, however, is losing some of its grit as offshore wind farms are becoming more prevalent.

To some, one of the limitations of wind farms is they are eyesores. Personally, I think they are mesmerizing and have an artistic appearance. Others, however, definitely do not agree. The Cape Wind offshore wind farm project has met with massive resistance for just this reason.

The limitations of wind farms are fairly significant at this point in time. As technology and new approaches, such as offshore wind farms, come to the forefront, these problems may fall the wayside.

If you’ve ever gotten Lyme disease from an infected tick bite, then you know how uncomfortable the illness can be. Some people don’t realize just how frustrating and painful the disease can be for those suffering from it. Joint and muscle pain that lasts for days or weeks at a time, countless trips to the doctor’s office, misdiagnoses and failed treatments all can make for an extremely stressful period of time.

Coping with Lyme disease can be particularly difficult because oftentimes the illness is misdiagnosed, which leads to treatment plans that don’t work and ongoing sickness and pain from the disease. Because there is no conclusive test to determine whether or not a Lyme disease infection is present, misdiagnosis is common. This can be especially frustrating for people that are told that their symptoms are “all in their head” or that the symptoms are purely psychiatric and that they need anti-depressants. There are more than 100 different symptoms of Lyme disease, which can make it extremely difficult for doctors to narrow down the symptoms into one illness. The disease is also commonly misdiagnosed as another type of ailment, such as arthritis, and so the patient does not receive proper treatment.

If you are coping with Lyme disease in your life, following are some tips that may help you as you fight the disease:

Understand Lyme disease ? Get familiar with the disease. Educate yourself on the basics of Lyme disease, such as its causes, symptoms, how it is diagnosed and prognosis. Lyme disease develops from the bacteria Borrelia, which is most commonly transmitted via the bite of a deer tick. Once the bacteria invade your body, you’ll most likely begin to experience symptoms within a matter of weeks. Symptoms include a reddish bulls-eye shaped rash, fever, fatigue, and arthritis-like muscle and joint pain. Coping with Lyme disease and its symptoms certainly is not fun, but by examining your symptoms and medical history, your doctor will hopefully be able to make a proper diagnosis. Once a diagnosis is made, treatment can begin. This will most often include either oral or IV antibiotics to rid your body of the bacteria. Understanding the illness and how it affects your body is an important part of coping with Lyme disease.

Explore your treatment options ? Talk to your doctor about different treatment that may be available. Antibiotics are most commonly used to fight the disease. However, there are alternative therapies available, although they have not been studied thoroughly during clinical trials and therefore may not be as effective.

Be patient ? This is the hardest thing to do when you’re feeling awful, but it’s very important when coping with Lyme disease. You need to give your body time to heal and respond to treatments, and worrying or stressing over how long it’s taking or dwelling on how bad you feel will NOT help you recover any faster. In fact, it’s more likely to slow down your recovery. So just hang in there — you will get better in time.

The heat waves of the future will be even hotter. Global warming is affecting the weather. The trend is pointing toward even warmer heat waves in the future. Kevin Trenberth, climate analysis branch chief for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, says that heat waves and global warming “are very strongly” connected. He confirmed that studies in the last five years have shown that climate changes are most dangerous during high temperatures, droughts and flooding.

Currently, persistent high pressure systems in the upper atmosphere prevent cooler air from reaching the West Coast. California is experiencing heat waves daily. The nights are generally warmer and the days have become drier.

While heat waves always occur, Trenberth said that global warming is pushing it up another notch. Ken Kunkel, director, stated that the computer models show that soon we’ll get many more and they will become increasingly hotter.

In the past twenty-five years, evenings in the summer have gotten warmer. The studies have shown that European heat waves have increased in frequency since 1880. They will continue to increase. In the United States, California seems to be hit hardest. The temperature in Death Valley last week reached one hundred twenty ? six degrees.

The United States is experiencing higher temperatures in general and a study done between 1999 and 2003 showed nine hundred heat related deaths. This year there have been one hundred thirty two in central California already.

It is important to recognize that we are becoming more vulnerable to the heat and temperature. It is important that each of us gets at least three hours a day of cooling to avoid serious problems. Encourage your elderly friends and neighbors to be alert to the problem. If each of us looks out for our neighbors, there will be less heat related deaths.