Tulsa World: Wind turbine generates excitement at TPS facility

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Wind turbine generates excitement at TPS facility

Hamilton Middle School student Adriana Rodriguez is the winner of an essay contest about renewable energy. In the background is the vertical axis wind turbine that was installed at a Tulsa Public Schools facility. DARYL WILSON/Tulsa World

By SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer
Published: 11/6/2009 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 11/6/2009 4:12 AM

With a nod to the people who will be charged with determining America's future in energy, city and education officials unveiled a wind turbine on Tulsa Public Schools property Thursday afternoon.

A crowd of students, including the winners of an essay contest about alternative energy, gathered at the HelmZar Challenge Course and Facility to watch the new turbine in action.

"You understand the importance of alternative energy in this community," Mayor Kathy Taylor told the students.

The 30-foot-tall, vertical-axis wind turbine will have a 10-amp output, enough to power the lights in the classroom at the facility.

It is a donation from Global NES-Oklahoma, a renewable energy consulting firm.

The company also provided kits for students to build alternative energy experiments.

Lisa Randolph, CEO of NES affiliate Kaizen Renewable Energy, said it will be up to today's middle school students to teach the world about energy.

"We need to find an alternative, and you guys are going to be the pioneers of that," she said.

Hamilton Middle School student Adriana Rodriguez, who won the essay contest, said children do pay attention to tough problems in the world, including economic trouble and the need for alternative energy.

People are "wasting the Earth," she said.

"That's why we have to stand up and do something about it before it's too late," she said.

Jana Rowlands, science director for the Oklahoma State Department of Education, attended the ceremony on behalf of state Superintendent Sandy Garrett.

Wind energy will be a big part of Oklahoma's future, and the state needs to educate more scientists who can continue its work, she said.

"I want you to remember: Science is fun," Rowlands said. "Science is exciting."

Shannon Muchmore 581-8378
shannon.muchmore@tulsaworld.com By SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer

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Some reader comments for this story were copied from "Wind turbine unveiled at TPS HelmZar Challenge Course," which was published on 11/5/2009.

	Report Comment true2form, Grand Lake (11/5/2009 6:44:31 PM) Teach your parents well Their children's hell Will slowly go by And feed them on your dreams -Graham Nash
	Report Comment FUTURE WORLD, Tulsa (11/6/2009 12:58:06 AM) It's a slow march, but non the less small steps are taking place, to move us towards the use of renewable forms of energy.
	Report Comment parksport, (11/6/2009 2:24:35 AM) Someone needs to explain the electric grid better and the differences in current from point A down to point Z.
	Report Comment fredsdad, Tulsa, OK (11/6/2009 8:10:14 AM) The new turbine - at an undisclosed but certainly high price - generates a lot of excitement. Natural gas and oil and coal and nuclear generate a lot of power. If we could just get all the liberals to plug into that excitement when they find themselves in the cold and the dark and stay there waiting for all that excitement to provide needed warmth and light, all of our power problems (and most of our other problems) would be solved.
	Report Comment love 918, (11/6/2009 8:32:42 AM) This thing will never pay for itself. We (Green Country) don't have a fraction of the wind it takes to keep one of these things economical. But what's important is that we're teaching kids that its more important to get excited about something than it is to think about whether the something has any substance or logic. "Yes we can" is more important than "Is this a good idea?"
	Report Comment CWG, Tulsa (11/6/2009 6:23:33 PM) People are not wasting the earth, only resources,the earth will survive, mankind?.
	Report Comment Few Clothes, America (11/11/2009 9:42:41 AM) Agree with you fredsdad.

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