Winds of Inspiration

Here's a fun two-minute video about wind power. Click here if you can't view it below.



Last month, mom-in-law treated the kids and me to a mini-vacation. While there, we saw our first live wind turbines in Mackinaw City, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. People, they are beautiful. Tall and slim with the blades gracefully rotating. I would definitely have one in my backyard (especially since my backyard is not a major bird/butterfly migration route).

Anyway, Mackinaw City had one or two turbines on the outskirts of town. We also saw the turbines at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. If I have interpreted this article correctly, what we were seeing was one of the largest wind farms in Canada, which will eventually power 40,000 Canadian homes.

If you live in Michigan and purchase electricity from DTE, they are now offering a new program called Green Currents, which allows both residential and business customers to purchase energy from renewable resources such as wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal. In fact, this new program will help create a 6,500 acre wind farm in Michigan.

Here's more information on the program, from DTE's press release:

"For as little as $2.50 extra a month, residential customers can purchase a block of renewable energy that's equal to 15-20 percent of a typical home's monthly electric usage. Customers also can choose to match 100 percent of their home's electricity consumption with renewable resources by paying an extra $10 to $15 per month for a typical household.

"Business customers can purchase a 1,000 kilowatt hour block of green energy for an extra $20 a month - or match all of their electricity usage with renewable energy for an additional cost of two cents per kilowatt hour."

DTE's web site also has tips on going green. Guess what number 3 is? "Take your own cloth bag to the grocery store and spare the waste of using store-provided paper or plastic ones."

If you came to this site looking for green energy information, thanks! Please take a look at some of our pattern links to the right to make your own reusable grocery bag. (And remember to reuse the ones you already have!)