"The wind blows where it wishes," says John 3:8, and apparently it has a preference for red states. Below is a map [click to expand] showing mean annual wind speeds-essential information for anyone planning to invest in a wind turbine. The most consistently windy portion of the nation is that running up the center, right through the Republican heartland. That explains why the Republican governors of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and North and South Dakota joined in the-ultimately successful-lobbying effort to convince Congress to renew the wind industry's federal tax credit.
Map: Peter and Maria Hoey; Source: AWS Truepower
PAUL RAUBER is a senior editor at Sierra. He is the author, with Carl Pope, of the happily outdated Strategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress. Otherwise he is a cyclist, cook, and father of two. Follow him on Twitter @paulrauber
