Today the torch atop the Statue of Liberty—the proud symbol of hope and freedom—is powered by wind energy. What a powerful symbol of our determination to become less dependent on foreign oil and more optimistic about America's energy future.

During the last five years, wind energy development in the U.S. has more than doubled. Proponents claim that wind energy is reaching a critical "tipping point," what author Malcolm Gladwell calls the “magic moment when an idea crosses the threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” Certainly, northwest Missouri farmers and the Missouri Rural Electric Cooperatives would agree. They recently joined with John Deere and Wind Capital Group in breaking ground in King City for the state's first utility-scale wind power facility. The Bluegrass Ridge wind farm will be operational by December and provide enough power to supply approximately twenty thousand homes. The same group recently announced a second project, which will be built next spring in nearby Atchison County.

While skeptics dismiss renewable power as costly, unreliable, and insufficient, several factors suggest otherwise.

First, wind power is beginning to make economic sense and may soon be the nation’s most affordable energy source. Not only is the wind abundant, local, and free, but we now have technology that makes turbines more efficient. While the cost of electricity produced from coal and natural gas fluctuates with the market, the cost of wind power will remain the same over the twenty-year life of a project.

Undoubtedly, the U.S. will continue to rely heavily upon coal for decades to come, but one thing is certain: Fossil fuel sources are depleting and their prices will continue to rise, while the price of renewable energy will continue to fall.

Secondly, our energy policy is now a national security issue. The dominant oil producing areas upon which we rely are located in unstable parts of the world or are hostile to U.S. interests. This leaves us vulnerable to the whims of foreign governments, willing to use their oil deposits as political levers. It also provides plenty of opportunities for terrorists to interrupt the importation and transportation of oil to the U.S.

But perhaps the most immediate appeal of wind energy development is its transformation of rural communities. During the 1930s, farm communities were dramatically changed thanks to the Rural Electric Association. Families traded their kerosene-operated refrigerators for electric ones, replaced their battery-operated radios with ones that plugged in, and exchanged coal oil lamps for incandescent light.

Many of those same communities experienced a decline in the late 20th century. Their children moved away and small businesses closed. King City during its heyday was a thriving community known for its production of high quality bluegrass seed. Since then it has declined in population, jobs, and income.

But now there is a buzz in the air around King City. Their bluegrass seed has been replaced with a new cash crop from the Bluegrass Ridge wind energy project. Today the cafes are full again and trucks loaded with building supplies and equipment remind residents that they are experiencing the area’s largest economic investment in history. While the annual cash payments to participating farmers are welcomed, most will tell you that they are more pleased with the new tax base and increased funds for schools.

A Chinese proverb says, “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.”

Now is the time to invest in our communities and improve our national security through the development of locally-produced wind. This is the time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting a completely clean source of power. It is a time for our local, state, and federal elected officials to seize the "magic moment."

The winds of change are blowing. Let's prepare to catch the wind.

NOTE: “This commentary originally appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Aug. 23, 2006.”