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Washington, DC – Gourmet coffee, hot sauce, beauty products -- these are just a few of the gifts you can give this holiday season with benefits that go beyond the gift itself, helping lead the way to a cleaner environment by harnessing the wind, a pollution-free, domestic resource. Many companies have chosen to use wind energy for a significant part of their electricity supply. Buying their products sends a signal that their support of wind power is important to you as a consumer, which will encourage other companies to make wind power an important part of their electricity mix. Generating electricity in the U.S. today results in many environmentally harmful by-products such as soot, smog, acid rain, water pollution, radioactive waste, and global warming gases. Emission-free wind power accounts for less than 1% of the electricity generation in the U.S., but it is increasingly competitive in many areas with other forms of electricity generation, and has become the fastest-growing type of generation in the U.S. -- averaging over 23% annually in the past five years. Your support can build on this momentum so that wind power can provide 6% of the nation’s electricity by 2020 -- similar to the level that hydropower is producing today -- and build a modern, clean industry that can move forward into the future without the depletion of any of the earth’s resources.
Here are a few gift ideas from companies that support wind power: Gift certificates, hot sauce, or an Austin music CD at the Austin Grill, a D.C.-area restaurant chain: http://www.austingrill.com/buystuff.htm Coffees, teas, and brewing equipment from Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters http://www.batdorfbronson.com/, or Alterra Coffee Roasters http://www.alterracoffee.com/ A book from Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Colo.: http://www.boulderbookstore.com A hand-blown glass vase from Fire Island Hot Glass Studio: http://www.fireislandglass.com/ Goat cheese and other products sold by Haystack Mountain Goat Cheese in Niwot, Colo.: http://www.haystackgoatcheese.com/ Personalized calendars and other photo gifts at Kinko's: http://www.kinkos.com Award-winning wines from Ledgewood Creek Winery & Vineyards: http://www.ledgewoodcreek.com/ Cosmetics and other Johnson & Johnson beauty products: http://www.jnj.com The National Geographic 2004 Desk Diary: http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/
Hand-crafted beers from New Belgium Brewery
http://www.newbelgium.com
, Cozy slippers from NormThompson Outfitters: http://www.normthompson.com An Oregon Country Fair t-shirt or poster: http://www.oregoncountryfair.org A “Tension Tamer” massage at the Running Y Resort in Klamath Falls, Ore.: http://www.runningy.com/ A week’s retreat to Wyoming’s Signal Mountain Lodge: http://www.signalmtnlodge.com/ A high performance windbreaker from Sporthill: http://sporthill.com/ A personal organizer from Staples: http://www.staples.com A hand-crafted chess set from Tom’s Coffee & Gifts: http://www.tomscoffeeandgifts.com Akasha Richmond’s chocolate chip cookies made with White Wave Soy Milk: recipe online at http://www.silkissoy.com ‘Adopt’ a polar bear through World Wildlife Fund: http://www.worldwildlife.org
You can also give a gift certificate for enough wind energy to cover the
electricity used for a household's Christmas lights or other purposes.
Last year, Alek Komarnitsky of Boulder, Colo., used wind power for the
electricity needed to light up the 22,000 Christmas lights that he
displayed at his house, thanks to a suggestion and contribution from
neighbor David Kovsky. Utility experts say that five strands of Christmas
lights can use about 15% more electricity than normal. Since the average
U.S. home uses 650-800 kWh (kilowatt-hours) of electricity per month,
buying 100 kWh of wind power would be enough to offset the pollution from
a moderate amount of lighting. Most important of all: If you buy a gift from one of the companies listed above, be sure to tell them that you are purchasing from them because clean energy is important to you and to your children's future. ### AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy industry. The association’s membership includes turbine manufacturers, wind project developers, utilities, academicians, and interested individuals. More information on wind energy is available at the AWEA web site: www.awea.org |
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©
2003 by the American Wind Energy Association. |
