Global Wind Day
While many holidays celebrate special events, recognize famous and infamous people and celebrate fine food and drink, today’s particular holiday celebrates something you can’t really see, touch or smell but is very beneficial – the wind.
Launched in 2007, Global Wind Day is a worldwide event observed annually on June 15. Coordinated by the European Wind Energy Association and the Global Wind Energy Council, the holiday celebrates wind power and its potential to impact and change the world.
Each year, thousands of people from around the globe take part in various educational events, exhibitions, competitions, seminars and hands-on activities and celebrate the achievements of the renewable energy source thus far.
Wind turbines, fiberglass blades that sit on top of tall, tubular towers, transform the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical or mechanical energy. Unlike other energy sources, wind energy creates no waste and emits no toxic substances.
Alternative forms of energy not only help reduce our reliance on oil, but also benefit the old pocketbook, the environment and create jobs. About 670,000 people were employed directly or indirectly in the global wind power industry in 2011. As wind power becomes more mainstream, more and more wind farms are “cropping” up all over the world. At the end of 2011, there were more than 199,000 wind turbines in the world.
June 15 is also National Lobster Day.