Notebook. Tilting at Windmills: The Search for Alternative Energy Sources / Saving the Earth: Teens Fish for Answers.

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1 SKILLS FOCUS Reading Skills Identify and understand cause-and-effect organization/text structure; follow a causeand-effect chain. Tilting at Windmills: The Search for Alternative Energy Sources / Saving the Earth: Teens Fish for Answers Cause and Effect You know from experience that one thing leads to another. If you sleep through your alarm, you know you ll be late for school. Sleeping through your alarm is a cause it makes something happen. An effect is what happens as a result of some event you re late for school. When you read a text and ask yourself, Why did this happen? and What happened because of this? you are asking about causes and effects. Into Action Read Tilting at Windmills, keeping track of the cause-and-effect chain by filling out a chart like the one below. Start each cause statement with the word because. Cause Reader/Writer Notebook Use your RWN to complete the activities for these selections. Vocabulary Tilting at Windmills shortages (SHAWR tihj ihz) n.: situations in which needed items cannot be gotten in sufficient amounts. There were shortages of oil in the 1970s. Saving the Earth habitat (HAB uh tat) n. used as adj.: place where an animal or plant naturally lives. Habitat destruction caused a decrease in the brook trout population. hazards (HAZ uhrdz) n.: dangers. Environmental hazards threatened the watershed. Effect/Cause Effect TechFocus As you read, think about how you would visually represent environmental issues. Preparing for Constructed Response Writers of cause-and-effect articles often use transitions to show how one idea is connected to another. Some transition terms that help the reader follow the cause-and-effect pattern are after, as a result, because, consequently, so, then, therefore, and since. As you read the articles that follow, make a list of all the transitions you find. Percentages We use percentages to simplify the discussion of numbers. The word percent is made from the Latin words per and centum and means parts out of one hundred. In these articles, statistics, or information in number form, that use percentages are given. When the first article states Wind supplies 20 percent of Denmark s power, it is saying that out of every 100 units of electricity produced, 20 are produced by wind power. In what other contexts are percentages used? Learn It Online To read more articles like this, go to the interactive Reading Workshops on: go.hrw.com L7-619 Go Preparing to Read 619

2 MAGAZINE ARTICLE Seventeenth-century sailing ship sails past twenty-first-century offshore wind farm. TILTING AT WINDMILLS: THE SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES Read with a Purpose Read this selection to learn about using wind power to generate electricity. W hen you turn on a light, a television, or a computer, you probably don t give much thought to how the electricity powering those devices got there. But fuel was used to create that electrical charge. And chances are, it was a fossil fuel, gotten from decaying plants and animals. Over millions of years, dead plants and animals get buried and then turn into substances like coal, oil, and natural gas. These products are found in underground deposits that are mined by energy companies. Fossil fuels are natural, in a sense, but using them can create some nasty by-products. Coal and the like are burned to release their energy, and the burning fuel releases harmful substances called emissions into the atmosphere. A In addition to the problem of causing pollution, fossil fuels are also running out. There is a limited supply of fossil fuel in the ground, and because it takes millions of A Reading Focus Cause and Effect What is the effect of burning fossil fuels? 620 Unit 3 Collection 6

3 years to form, it is considered a nonrenewable energy source. So power companies are increasingly turning to an alternative source of energy: the wind. Strong growth figures in the U.S. prove that wind is now a mainstream option for new power generation, said Randy Swisher. He is president of the American Wind Energy Association. AS OLD AS THE WIND Wind is the fastest-growing source of renewable energy, according to the United States Department of Energy. A renewable power source, such as wind or solar power, does not depend on a limited fuel supply. Wind is freely available and is used to generate power in more than thirty states. It keeps more than two million households running. People first used wind to generate power around five thousand years ago. They used it to propel sailboats up and down the Nile River. Sometime between a.d. 500 and a.d. 900, the Persians realized that wind could be used to turn a wheel. They attached several sails to a central axle, and the windmill was born. Early windmills were used to pump water and grind grain, and many are still used for these tasks today. In the Netherlands, flooding is common, and farmers often need to move large amounts of water. Windmills are a workable solution. Because they are part of everyday life in the Netherlands, people have tried to make these hardworking machines B Read and Discuss What do you learn about windmills? attractive. The country has become famous for its beautiful windmills, which dot the landscape. B RUNNING WITH THE WIND The most widespread use of modern windmills is for creating electricity. Generating electricity requires a turbine, which is a kind of engine. Steam, water, air, or some other force turns a wheel or a set of wheels, which turns a shaft. This shaft usually turns a generator, which produces electricity. Beginning in the 1920s, wind was used in a limited way to generate electricity in rural areas of the United States. Then came the energy crisis of the 1970s. Around the world, there were shortages of oil. The cost of fossil fuels soared. Because of these difficulties, interest in generating power from wind on a large scale grew. Giant wind farms were built in remote areas, where wind sweeps across the landscape. Other wind farms were built offshore, to capture sea breezes. As security of energy supply and climate change are ranging high on the political agendas of the world s governments, wind energy has already become a mainstream energy source in many countries around the world, said Arthouros Zervos. He is the chairman of the Global Wind Energy Council. Wind energy is clean and fuel-free, which makes it the most attractive solution to the world s energy challenges. Vocabulary shortages (SHAWR tihj ihz) n.: situations in which needed items cannot be gotten in sufficient amounts. Tilting at Windmills: The Search for Alternative Energy Sources 621

4 Analyzing Visuals Viewing and Interpreting What is causing the windmills to appear as they do in this photo? C Read and Discuss What is your response to this statement? Two gigantic wind farms are located off the coast of Denmark. Wind supplies 20 percent of Denmark s power. The United States ranks third, behind Germany and Spain, in the amount of power it generates from the wind. C FACING THE WIND Wind farms are quite a sight. A typical power-generating windmill is enormous. It is around twenty stories tall, and the diameter of its blades is about 200 feet across. The taller the windmill and the longer its blades, the more wind it can capture. But giant wind farms are not always welcome. Some groups complain that wind farms spoil the landscape or seascape. The construction of a wind farm planned for an area near Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has been delayed because many people say it will ruin their view of the Atlantic Ocean. Large windmills can also be harmful to birds and other wildlife. And because wind is not constant, other power sources must be used when the wind is not blowing. Government programs, however, especially in the United States and Europe, are encouraging the use of wind power as an alternative to fossil fuels. This ancient technology can help us meet our energy needs without using up our natural resources and polluting the atmosphere. D Read with a Purpose What are the benefits of using wind power to generate energy? D Read and Discuss What is the author prompting you to think about? 622 Unit 3 Collection 6

5 SKILLS FOCUS Reading Skills Analyze cause-and- effect structure. Vocabulary Skills Identify synonyms; identify antonyms. Tilting at Windmills Informational Text and Vocabulary 1. This article suggests that all of the following might have caused the rise of wind power except A the need to generate electricity in remote places B the desire to generate energy without causing pollution C the attempt to conserve our supply of fossil fuels D the desire to create beautiful windmills 2. What caused many people to become interested in using wind power as a resource? A Energy crisis of the 1970s B Beauty of the Dutch windmills C View of the ocean from Cape Cod D Desire to fill unused land 3. Why can t people rely on wind power alone to satisfy their energy needs? A Wind is a renewable resource. B Large windmills are dangers to birds. C Wind does not always blow. D Wind farms exist around the country. 4. Which of the following sentences contains a cause and an effect? A Burning coal or oil releases its energy. B Solar power does not depend on a limited fuel supply. C The Persians attached sails to a central axle. D Fossil fuels take millions of years to form. Practicing the Standards 5. According to the article, which of the following is a major effect of burning fossil fuels? A Creation of a secure energy supply B Capture of the energy in sea breezes C Provision of power to two million households D Release of harmful substances into the air 6. Another word for renewable is A clean B replaceable C sufficient D decaying 7. An antonym for shortages is A excesses B supplies C growths D insufficiencies Constructed Response Briefly explain the effects of using wind power instead of fossil fuels as an energy resource. Cite evidence from the article in your response. Applying Your Skills 623