Undoubtedly, in less than a year a well-sited and well-built wind turbine will generate as much energy as it took to produce it. However, all of it will be in the form of intermittent electricity—while its production, installation, and maintenance remain critically dependent on specific fossil energies. Moreover, for most of these energies—coke for iron-ore smelting; coal and petroleum coke to fuel cement kilns; naphtha and natural gas as feedstock and fuel for the synthesis of plastics and the making of fiberglass; diesel fuel for ships, trucks, and construction machinery; lubricant for
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