Is there a windmill (or equivalent) I can put in my backyard? Not more
than 6 feet tall? How much power would it generate and how much would
it cost? It's not overly windy where I live-- let's call it average.

A few options would be cool. (I'm not worried about legal permits and such, btw.)

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Request for Question Clarification by byrd-ga on 12 Feb 2006 05:36 PST

Hi newyorkguy-ga,

There are actually quite a few relatively low-cost wind devices
designed for the type of installation you have in mind, ranging in
price from under $600 to several thousands. Some are on towers, while
others can be mounted directly on your roof. Their power output is
generally in the range of 12v or 24v, which can then be converted to
the right type of power for household needs. Some are tower-type
installations, while others can be mounted directly on the roof of
your house.

Would you be interested in this type of information? If so, how many
sources would you consider a satisfactory answer?  Let me know ---

Best,
Byrd-ga

6 feet is a little small for wind power. A new invention called
'turby' is out http://www.turby.nl/ however it is a bit bigger than
what you are after, and it isn't cheap at around 14,000 euros it is
more aimed at the commercial market, it produced about 2.5kWh which is
not too bad. This was the smallest i could find, i shall keep
searching for you

There are cheaper solutions it seems:
http://www.d400.co.uk/
http://search.ebay.com/wind-generator_W0QQfnuZ1

Of course, I don't think these are geared to produce 110 v current.

Still better options than my efforts at searching

The Rainbow Power Company http://www.rpc.com.au/ 
has many alternative energy options including wind turbines. 
They have been around for years and do ship internationally.

something to keep in mind,  the amount of power is proportional to windspeed

if windspeed doubles, the power increases by a factor of 8

wind speed gets faster the higher up you go, and also  smaller
turbines have a higher tip speed, generating more noise