Russ Steele
Even if we doubled or tripled wind and solar power which only accounts for 0.39% of Americas total energy out put we could not "fuel our cars and run our factories." Joel Kotkin has the numbers in an interesting article on Obama, Fight The Green Agenda.
Just look at the numbers. According to the latest (2007) figures from the Energy Information Agency, renewable energy accounts for less than 7% of U.S. consumption – and almost all of that is derived from burning wood and waste and hydroelectric power. Nuclear generation accounts for over 8%, while fossil fuels meet nearly 85% of America's energy needs. On the other hand, wind and solar power, which the new president has promised to "harness," account for just 0.39% of total American energy.
I think that most Americans would agree with Kotkin we need a balance approach to meeting our energy needs:
We can only solve America's energy needs by blending a variety of alternative solutions – renewables, conservation, nuclear – with fossil fuel-based energy. This approach, which would vary by region, would also help revive manufacturing, agriculture and other productive industries. A renewables-only approach, in contrast, would impose very high prices and require massive subsidization, leading to greater dependence on overseas energy and also, perhaps, to a permanently shrunken economy.
As I have pointed out here Cap and Trade programs are going to shrink our economy. It is time for action, let the political classes know how you as a consumer feel about increasing the cost of energy just to fulfill Obama's promises to his lefty supporters to "fuel our cars and run our factories" with wind and solar power.
