I have heard Conservatives say that Progressives want "a Windmill on every corner! Ha!"
So? Maybe you've noticed that in some parts of town we have a Gas Station on every corner. Is that some how better? But, windmills? On every block? Don't know?
You'd have to be a jingo imperialist to dismiss out-of-hand efforts at energy conservation by other nations, right? Especially the poor, "can't afford to pay up" third-world economies or, say, economies like China?
Here's how China is dealing with energy costs and availability: a windmill on every street lamp. Scroll down on that page if you missed it - picture after picture of real, live Chinese technology - free energy and improved standard of living for the Citizens of the People's Republic. In these photos is home-grown Chinese technology locally engineered and produced just like, well, like the Model-T.
Why can't America seem to "get" the advantage of this? Are we just too proud to use free fuel, or what? How does that last paragraph make you feel? I'll share how it makes me feel - like we'd better get CAUGHT UP over here!
Toyota Motors can't build the Prius Hybrid fast enough; is moving production to the US to try to meet demand. Ford and GM lose Billions and Billions every year; lay off tens of thousands; close plants; advertise "very limited" quantities of their brand of hybrid electrics that get 2 mpg better fuel economy than their gas models (source: Saturn website). Are we, as Americans, proud of that astonishing record by our grossly overpaid and over-rated Automotive Executive Heads of American Industry?
I, for one, am tired of America looking The Fool in the worlds of Industry and Technology. Are you?
Why do Conservatives ridicule the notion of wind power? [Try this - say it laughingly for the proper effect: "a windmill on every corner?".]
Even T. Boone Pickens is into it now.
Who has the Leadership skills and Vision to go to Washington and catch this country up with the rest of the world?
- JT
Monday, July 21, 2008
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2 comments:
We have to do something about energy. maybe even build some more nuclear plants.
Thanks for your comment! I have thought about this, too. But, Nuclear is a huge up-front expense. No one wants a new Nuc Plant in their Town, OR their State. They're only good for about 40 years, then you have a 250,000 year waste problem. The actual expense to de-commission them is not calculable because it's literally never been done before. There's a Nuc waste site in Arizona (I believe) - Yucca Mountain - that the US Government has been unable to bring on line after maybe 30 years of wrestling. Plus, you'd have to ship nuclear waste across the entire nation to get it there. Then there's the issue of security around the waste - being used in "dirty bomb" attacks. Oh, and more nuclear generating plants would add to the list of already great terrorist attack targets.
You see here that I have not raised the issue of operational safety, yet the case is clearly stacked against Nuclear even so. Companies that have been involved in Nuclear technology like GE have wisely moved to developing their Wind presence. The development expense of Wind off-shore is coming down. Plus, in Nebraska, when it's 103 degrees, the wind still howls - making A/C Electrical generation a, well, a breeze.
The one really appealing thing about nuclear is that it does not generate greenhouse gases. But all in all, it's a distance second or third to newer alternatives.
JT
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