THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 40, March 7, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
BLOWING WIND UP YOUR SKIRT
By Alan Caruba
THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY & U.S. ENERGY POLICY: OBAMA'S EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE & WASTEFUL FOCUS ON THE
DEVELOPMENT & UTILIZATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES -- ALLOCATION OF BILLIONS IN FEDERAL FUNDS TO
WIND & SOLAR ENERGY PRODUCERS -- SEEKING TO REPLACE AMERICA'S PROVEN ENERGY SOURCES, SUCH AS COAL,
NATURAL GAS & NUCLEAR FISSIONABLE MATERIALS, WHICH CURRENTLY PROVIDE MORE THAN EIGHTY PERCENT OF OUR
ELECTRICITY NEEDS
FULL STORY:
One of the keystones of the Obama administration’s energy policies has been a very expensive emphasis on “clean
energy,” sometimes called “renewable energy,” allocating billions to the wind and solar energy producers. Like much of
the “stimulus” bill, that money is a waste.
The wind power trade group, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has been pouring big bucks into a public
relations effort to convince Americans that wind is the energy source of the future and that acres of wind turbines should
be installed to replace the proven sources, primarily coal-fired, natural gas, and nuclear plants currently providing more
than 80% of the nation’s electricity needs.
Thanks to Freedom of Information requests, the Chicago Tribune revealed significant collusion among Department
of Energy officials and AWEA, as well as other third-party special interest groups, such as the Center for American
Progress, a think tank that pushes Green and other Liberal agendas.
The Chicago Tribune reported that an Assistant Secretary of Energy, Cathy Zoi, who formerly held top positions at
Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection, was charged with crafting renewable energy policy for the Obama administration,
and emails obtained revealed that she was working closely with AWEA to rebut and discredit a ground-breaking study by
Dr. Gabriel Calzada of Madrid’s King Juan Carlos University.
Dr. Calzada’s research concluded that, for every “green job” the Spanish government created, 2.2 jobs were destroyed and
that nine out of ten government-created “green jobs” were temporary at a time when Spain’s unemployment rate is at an
all-time high, not unlike the situation in the U.S.A.
At the time that Dr. Calzada’s study was reported, the Obama administration was pushing “Cap-and-Trade” legislation
through the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation would set up a system for the sale, auction, and trade of
“carbon credits” based on the totally discredited assertion that “greenhouse gases,” primarily carbon dioxide, were
“causing” global warming. The bill remains in the U.S. Senate, awaiting a vote.
Back in January, AWEA was ecstatic over an Obama administration award of $2.3 billion in “clean energy manufacturing
tax credits and the President’s call for an additional $5 billion.” There is no economic or scientific justification for the waste
of taxpayer dollars in this fashion.
Also in January, a Boston Herald article by Jay Fitzgerald revealed that “National Grid customers will experience
sticker shock after the giant utility negotiates a longterm electric contract with Cape Wind developers, energy experts
warn.”
“The Rhode Island deal calls for National Grid to pay an
eye-popping 24 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity from
Deepwater Wind’s proposed wind farm off Block Island
for 20 years. That’s three times higher than the current
price of natural-gas generated electricity — and the
Rhode Island deal includes a 3.5 percent annual increase
over the life of the contract.”
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, in February, eleven wind turbines froze because their hydraulic fluid had turned to gel and oil
lubricants were rendered sluggish. These kinds of problems do not occur in other sources of electricity. In Oregon,
General Electric had announced a big wind project involving 338 wind turbines that it claimed would power 235,000 homes.
Naturally, it was applying for federal subsidies.
In Great Britain, in January, its wind turbines -- representing six percent of total generating capacity and billions invested
-- supplied virtually no power most days because, as Dennis T. Avery, a former senior policy analyst for the U.S. State
Department, noted “The wind tends not to blow when and where it’s already cold.”
Avery pointed out that neither Denmark nor Germany, both leaders in wind energy projects, has decommissioned any
fossil fuel plants. “The fossil generators are kept in ‘spinning reserve’ to keep the lights on in the schools, factories, and
hospitals when the wind dies.”
The wind and solar energy industries, as well as the biofuels industry, continue to depend on government subsidies to
exist, as opposed to private enterprises that have a long track record of providing affordable electricity.
First, the government gives the wind energy producers your money and, then, you end up paying higher energy bills as
a result. Both wind and solar energy depend on government mandates for their use.
These are facts you need to keep in mind every time President Obama speaks of “clean energy” and “green jobs.” Like so
much else one hears from the TelePrompter-in-Chief, it has no relation to the truth.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Alan Caruba writes a daily post at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com. An author and a business and science writer, he
is the Founder of The National Anxiety Center.
Return to Top of Page
Go to the WEBSITE INDEX
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
Most Recent Articles
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume XII, 2010
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights
Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage
CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION
This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics,
civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy, and political
philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.
POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS
POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE
Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs,
International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests,
Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy
INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity