How To Use Wind Power to Light and Heat Your Home (and Who's Already Doing It)

Book excerpt: Go outside on a gusty day and you'll feel the wild force of the wind. For at least a thousand years, people have sought to harness its power. We've used sails to push boats to new distances, and windmills to pump water or grind corn. Today, we're using the wind to create electricity. In our polluted, energy-hungry world, wind power comes forward as a clean, green, renewable answer. In 2008, the United States became the world's top producer of wind energy, and China doubled its wind power capacity. The real beauty of wind, however, is that you don't have to wait for the power company to install a wind farm near you. Concerned citizens all over the world are looking to be part of the new energy solution, installing their own personal wind turbines in their backyards or even on their roofs. Can your family join them and harness the power of the wind?