THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 198, August 10, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
HOW NOT TO HAVE ELECTRICITY
By Alan Caruba
GENERATION & USE OF ELECTRICITY IN THE U.S.A.: OIL, COAL, NATURAL GAS, HYDROELECTRIC PLANTS, &
NUCLEAR FISSION ESSENTIAL TO PRODUCING ADEQUATE SUPPLIES OF ELECTRICITY FOR AMERICANS -- THE INADEQUACY
OF WIND & SOLAR POWER AS MEANS OF GENERATING ELECTRICAL ENERGY -- THE NEED TO REJECT THE NONSENSICAL
PROPAGANDA REGARDING GREENHOUSE GASES & GLOBAL WARMING, "CLEAN" & PRACTICALLY "FREE" WIND & SOLAR
POWER, & USE OF LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS AS A MOTOR FUEL IN AUTOMOBILES
FULL STORY:
Electricity is so commonplace that no one gives any thought to not having access to it. Few give any consideration to
how it is generated, but we are now being inundated with the most virulent nonsense about how wind or solar power is
“clean” and practically “free.” Every week there’s some new proposal to cover the nation with wind farms and solar
panels.
The problem for everyone who wants to get rich with these energy sources or those who think they are the answer to our
energy needs is that neither wind nor solar can ever power anything more than relatively small projects like a farm or a
local stadium. A nation of more than three hundred million people, however, needs a lot of generation capacity.
All the razzle-dazzle of television advertising and public relations propaganda cannot justify the building of massive wind
or solar farms. They are simply inadequate to the production of the electricity the nation requires now and in the future.
The weird thing about T. Boone Picken’s pitch is that he talks about oil dependency to justify wind power, but vehicles
are not powered by wind. Nor are they likely to be powered by liquefied natural gas as Pickens suggests.
By contrast, the July, 2008, edition of Energy Tribune devoted some of its pages to the comeback of nuclear power
in America. What jumped out at me was Co-Editor Robert Bryce’s citation of the fact that “The U.S. government has
spent some $7 billion building a repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada” and that U.S. Senate Majority
Leader, Senator Harry Reid (Democrat - Nevada) has declared that it “is never going to open” and is “not the answer to
nuclear waste storage.”
Senator Reid recently said that “Coal is making us sick. Oil is making us sick” and then went on to blather insanely about
global warming.
According to Bryce,
“On June 3, the Department of Energy submitted an
8,600-page application to the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission seeking approval of the Yucca Mountain
site for waste storage. Just one day later, Nevada
urged the agency to reject the application.”
This is a glaring example of how to make sure America lacks the electrical energy it needs.
Throughout the debate over energy use, the Big Lie has been that industrial and other activities generate carbon dioxide
emissions that, in turn, are causing global warming. Ergo, we have to radically alter every aspect of modern life to avoid the
Earth’s destruction.
The problem with that is a decade-old cooling period which the Earth entered in 1998 and which is getting colder, not
warmer. The other problem is the fact that the Earth has passed through periods in which the levels of CO2 in our
atmosphere were much higher than they are today.
Since it is getting colder, we are going to need more electricity and other sources of energy to keep us warm in our homes,
offices, schools, et cetera. We are going to have to burn coal, currently the major source of power to generate electricity,
as well as the cheapest and most abundant. We will continue to use natural gas as well. All the hydroelectric sources have
been identified and are in use at present.
That leaves nuclear power. An Energy Tribune article by William E. Burchill serves up lots of information about the
nuclear production of electrical energy. Worldwide, 441 nuclear reactors are providing electricity to one billion people.
Presently, it provides twenty percent of America’s electricity needs, thanks to the 104 nuclear plants operating in the U.S.A.
Here’s something to keep in mind. “No U.S. plant worker or member of the public has ever been injured or killed by an
accident caused by nuclear power.” Moreover, amidst the frenzy over CO2, nuclear is “an emissions-free source of
electricity.”
There is a literal renaissance of nuclear energy in America and this is a good thing. The U.S. Department of Energy
forecasts that, by 2030, U.S. demand will increase by 30 percent. This increase reflects a worldwide trend. Currently, China,
India, Russia, South Korea, Pakistan, and Japan are in the process of building a total of thirty-five nuclear plants and other
nations have announced plans.
The worldwide demand for more electricity is growing right along with population growth and the spurt of industrialization
occurring in nations that have looked at the Western model and are now beginning to compete in the process called
globalization. By mid-century, the demand for electricity will double or triple.
The elected leaders of America have been largely deaf and blind to our national needs, opposing electrical generation no
matter what source is used. Resistance to nuclear energy was part of the environmentalist agenda, but, these days, their
cries and lies are mostly about what they now call “dirty fuels” -- i.e., oil and coal.
What can Americans do when we have loonies like Senator Harry Reid or U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spouting
nonsense and blocking efforts to meet current and future energy needs? One answer is almost too obvious. They and
others can and should be voted out of office. They can be replaced!
Or maybe you want to wait while wind power, currently 0.77 percent of the sources of electrical energy, or solar power,
about 0.01 percent, replaces coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydroelectric power. Bundle up! You’re going to be very cold
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
The Earth's Natural History, Global Climate Changes,
& the Future of Human Life & Civilization on the Planet:
Science, Ideology, & Public Policy
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba has a daily blog at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com.
Caruba’s new book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press.
© Alan Caruba 2008
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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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