You have to think that the wind energy industry has entered a new level of public acceptance when a popular American company which specialises in financial information publishes a story promoting the environmental and economic benefits of the emissions-free sector.

In a story headlined “5 green jobs for saving the planet,” Bankrate, Inc. says becoming a wind power salesperson is increasingly appealing to many people, especially considering that the Internal Revenue Service provides tax credits for up to 30% of renewable energy systems.

“Most people want to go green. But if you are going green and saving money at the same time, it’s a really good incentive,” says Loree Long in the story by Bankrate, which describes itself as the Web’s leading aggregator of financial rate information. According to the story, Long, co-owner of wind-turbine sales company Win-Gen Power in Weatherford, Texas, says she and husband Ted, who have installed a wind turbine on their own property, sell an average of one system per month.

The other green jobs identified as helping to save the planet include being a green teacher, a green civil and/or mechanical engineer, a home energy auditor, and a weatherization expert.

“At a time when many career paths seem to be losing ground, green jobs seem to be on the upswing,” the story notes, adding a study released last year by the U.S. Green Building Council estimates that environmentally-friendly construction projects will add 7.9 million green jobs and $554 billion to the American economy by 2012.

Long’s story is yet again more proof that the global wind power industry is reaching new levels of popularity because it can simultaneously provide increasing amounts of green electricity for a growing world, provide tens of thousands of well-paying new jobs and help mitigate environmental damage caused by burning fossil fuels.

Taken together, wind power is indeed helping to save the planet.

With a 29.5m turbine blade standing tall in the middle of the EU quarter surrounded by information panels all about wind energy, EWEA is certainly focussing attention on the climate, energy and employment benefits of wind energy. But this weekend we’ll be at the Fête de l’Environnement in Brussels to spread the positive messages about wind power even further.

The Fête de l’Environnement takes place in Parc du Cinquantenaire on Sunday 6 June, right near the European Commission and European Council buildings in Brussels. Numerous environment organisations will be there, including EWEA, and there’ll be street entertainment, organic food stalls, games for adults and children, farm animals and a music concert at the end of the day.

EWEA will be there in the lead up to Global Wind Day on 15 June – a worldwide celebration of wind energy.

For all readers who live in Brussels or nearby, pop by the EWEA stand (number 30) to come and meet us, learn all about how wind energy is already fighting climate change, and pick up your own pinwheel, beach ball, wind energy cap and wooden yoyo. We look forward to seeing you there this Sunday from 11 am!

On the same day last week, two groups of entrepreneurs, manufacturers and environmentalists who are alarmed at the worst oil spill in US history sent petitions to President Barack Obama stating that his administration should get on with the proposed climate change bill as a first step in helping America become a low-carbon economic power.

“The United States has an opportunity to lower greenhouse gas emissions and become the world’s leader in a burgeoning clean energy economy,” said a letter to the White House from 60 major corporations, including DuPont, Ford Motor Company and PepsiCo. “We face a critical moment that will determine whether we will be able to unleash homegrown American innovation or remain stuck in the economic status quo.”

A second petition also noted the need for new renewable energies.

“Your administration and Congress should commit the nation to a path that ends our dependence on oil,” said the petition, which was signed by 23 organisations, including Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and Sierra Club. “You should immediately put policies in place to dramatically cut our oil use. Most urgently, you should speed the transition to a clean energy economy by enacting comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation that creates jobs, makes America energy independent, and reduces global warming pollution.”

As the two petitions indicate, the appalling environmental catastrophe that continues to unfold in the Gulf of Mexico can provide the US the opportunity to finally substitute its costly and unhealthy addiction to oil with an innovative energy revolution that taps into the power of wind energy and other renewables.

Such a transformation is badly needed for the world’s largest economy and the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses caused by burning fossil fuels.

This realization is highlighted by the unwelcome news that it may now take until August to fully curtail the massive pollution caused by BP’s offshore oil drilling.

In addition to severely restricting important and lucrative Gulf fisheries, destroying marshes and beaches used by birds and other animals, the plumes of toxic oil are sure to sharply curtail a vibrant tourism industry. Simply put, the shorelines in at least four American states may never be the same again.

A disaster of this scale is a wake-up call to US lawmakers slow to change the way the nation produces and uses energy. Even those stubbornly refusing to budge from the destructive business-as-usual scenarios must now admit that oil has met its end game.

In comparison to the worsening nightmare now being played out on US coastal shores, emissions-free wind power continues to show it is at the forefront of a new green revolution for a growing, and electricity-hungry, world.

Blade arrives at Schuman

Sparkling white, tall and sleek, right in the middle of the EU-quarter stands a 29.5 metre wind turbine blade. The slender wing casts a shadow on the European Council Justis Liptus building and is visible to anyone going into the European Commission and Council main buildings on their way to work this morning.

It is a symbol of Europe’s leading renewable energy – wind power – a clean, CO2-free fuel that is driving the fight against climate change, securing economic benefits and increasing the security of our energy supplies. Seeing this aerodynamic feat of engineering up close is a rare and impressive experience.

Weighing in at 4,100kg, this type of blade is used in 1-1.3MW turbines which can produce enough electricity to meet the annual average electricity consumption of over 760 households. Despite its size – it’s nearly as tall as the 16-floor Commission headquarters – it is relatively small compared to the 60m blades used to power 6-7MW turbines today.

The blade arrived on trucks in Brussels last night after a long haul from the Netherlands already adorned with EWEA and sponsors ENEL Green Power labels. It took several hours and a team of engineers to put up the foundation, fit the main blade exactly into it and finally the pointed tip which needed a massive crane to put it in place.

“We are very excited this project worked out, the setup alone was spectacular and the finished installation is all the more impressive and shows that wind energy is not only providing environmental and economic benefits but can also be an aesthetic object, a symbol for a renewable energy future,” said Elke Zander, EWEA’s campaigns officer.

The blade has been put up to mark Global Wind Day on 15 June, but also for the beginning of the EU’s Green Week (1-4 June) and the Fête de l’environnement (6 June). Information panels will (from this afternoon) surround the blade highlighting the benefits of wind power.

Blade tip is lowered in place

“It is also a reminder that Europe need not forever be dependent on imported, polluting and expensive fossil fuels. There is, in fact, enough wind blowing across the continent to power it seven times over,” Zander said.

Visit the Global Wind Day website for more information on what’s going on near you, and check out our campaign website to see how you can show your support for wind energy by adopting your own turbine. And for more photos of the blade, check our facebook page!