Slowing winds?

[sinimod]

There is a recent AP article http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090610/...inishing_winds and discussion in RealClimate about the possibility of winds slowing down, possibly due to global warming. From the article:

"It also makes sense based on how weather and climate work, Takle said. In global warming, the poles warm more and faster than the rest of the globe, and temperature records, especially in the Arctic, show this. That means the temperature difference between the poles and the equator shrinks and with it the difference in air pressure in the two regions. Differences in barometric pressure are a main driver in strong winds. Lower pressure difference means less wind."

How ironic it would be if one of the major alternative sources of energy humanity could tap to replace fossil fuels, is being degraded by the main atmospheric effect of fossil fuel use: global warming.