‘Capture the Wind’ tour: At the fair & atop the tower

GE’s giant wind blade just breezed into Columbus, Ohio for the city’s Clean Air Fair, which each year turns the spotlight on air pollution — and the clean energy alternatives that are available right in central Ohio to help fight it. Hundreds of people signed the 131-foot blade in support of wind energy and green jobs, including Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, as it makes its way to the industry’s big Windpower 2010 conference in Dallas as part of GE’s “Capture the wind” tour. As April Kasun of Watt Works, a local supplier of energy conserving products, says about wind in the video below: “I just feel like it’s the right thing to do, to try and look at other ways to power our lives. For me, it’s almost like if I can get you to save, and I’m saving, then eventually more people will save.”

While the Middle America highway view during the 2,436 mile blade tour is certainly stunning, it never hurts to get a different perspective — such as the one available in Ransom, Illinois at the Top Crop Windfarm, which has 68 running turbines and is currently constructing a second phase. Check out a blade’s-eye view — 280-feet high — as our Reporter at Large, Vivek Kemp, breathlessly (it’s a long climb) describes his meteoric rise to the top.

You can follow the progress of the “Capture the Wind” tour — and see Vivek’s daily photo and video updates from the road — on www.facebook.com/ecomagination. The blade’s next stop is Louisville, Kentucky, where it will be at GE’s Appliance Park on May 13 and the Louisville Zoo on May 15.

Find other “Capture the Wind” stops by clicking the “Events” tab on our facebook link. And if you can’t make it to one, you can still be a part of the tour by signing the blade virtually and showing your support for a clean energy future.

* Watch Part 1: “Capture the Wind tour: Honk if you like green jobs!” on GE Reports
* Read the launch announcement
* Track the blade’s journey on this map
* See daily updates on http://www.facebook.com/ecomagination
* Read coverage of the Columbus stop in Ohio State University’s The Lantern

Learn more in these GE Reports stories and videos:
* “Blade runners Part 1: How 134-foot wind blades are born”
* “Blade runners Part 2: Truckin’ down I-80 with GE’s wind blade”
* “Blade runners Part 3: GE’s wind blade breezes into town”
* “$450M manufacturing investment powers offshore wind”
* “Took a whole lot of trying, just to get up that hill”
* “Renewables study: 274,000 jobs can be added”
* “Builder of largest US wind farm inks $1.4B turbine deal”