Tournament Round 1, Match 9 - (1) Wind Power vs. (8) Tidal Power

Yay! Time to start the Green Energy Region! (1) Wind Power vs. (8) Tidal Power! Go!

Wind Power

Wind Power is interesting. It's been around for a long time. Much longer than almost everything else in this Tournament. People have been using windmills to grind grains or work textile factories. It wasn't until the past 100 years or so that people started using Wind Power for electricity. Now wind farms are popping up everywhere. Everywhere not near people, of course.

Impact on the Environment (12/15):
Wind Power, for the most part, is fairly neutral for the environment. Yes, you need a bunch of metal for the turbines and yes, you need space to put the turbines and yes, you might kill some birds in the process, but think about it this way: if we put too much carbon in the air from burning fossil fuels, a lot of birds will die from increased temperatures and we'll need more space for farming because all of our farms will dry up and, well, we're either going to have to dig metal out of the ground or dig coal out of the ground. Take your pick.

Practicality (7/10):
Wind Power is very easy to produce. That's not the issue. There really isn't a place on earth that doesn't have some wind. The bad news is that the best wind sources are in places far away from people, like mountainy areas and oceans. So the issue then is transmission of energy. And what about when it isn't windy? Luckily, technology has gotten pretty good in terms of being able to build these things so offshore wind is becoming more popular. In fact, Lake Erie, right by Cleveland, is going to be getting the world's first fresh water wind farm in a few years!

Sustainability (10/10):
The first wind powered machine was made by the Greeks in the 1st century AD. I doubt anything that's been around 2000(ish) years will become obsolete any time soon. Wind turbines, when their bearings are replaced every so often, will last for quite some time.

Awesomeness (9/10):
I don't know why people complain about wind farms blocking their view of beaches and such. I think they look pretty awesome.

User Input (0/5):
You probably knew that your favorite was going to win, so you chose not to comment. I admire your confidence!

Tidal Power

Tidal Power is interesting in the fact that it's been around almost as long as Wind Power, but it is hardly ever used these days. Tidal Power refers to harnessing the forces the tides exert as they flow in and out each day. It's much more complicated than that, involving fluid mechanics, but I chose not to read the Wikipedia article about it so I won't be able to explain it fully.

Impact on the Environment (13/15):
Tidal Power has probably even less of an impact on the environment than Wind Power. These tidal turbines do not disrupt fish for the most part and they're not eyesores. The bad thing is that they're not efficient at all. It takes a whole lot more Tidal Power to generate the same energy as Wind Power. So you're really not saving as much fossil fuels as you'd think.

Practicality (6/10):
Like I mentioned before, these aren't that efficient, so until technology improves, these aren't worth the cost of putting them out there. They are very predictable, which is a bonus to Tidal Power.

Sustainability (9/10):
This is very similar to Wind Power. As long as people make sure to maintain these tidal turbines and scrape the barnacles off every so often, these will be around for quite some time.

Awesomeness (5/10):
Be honest with me, have you even heard of Tidal Power before this? It's a cool theory, but it just doesn't have the awesome factor that other alternative energies have.

User Input (0/5):
Get those comments in, everyone!

Alright, let's tally those scores!

Wind Power: 38
Tidal Power: 33

I have to say, considering Tidal Power was an 8 seed, it put up a pretty good fight! It just needed a little more awesomeness and it would've been the upset of the century. Tune in TOMORROW for a special unprecedented Thursday posting! I want to squeeze in 4 Tournament matches in this week (Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat (or Sun)) so I can get through one Region a week. Tomorrow is (4) Hydroelectric vs. (5) Offshore Wind. Comment away!!