Thursday, March 17, 2011

Bending the Reality Curve

“Green Energy,” is a pipe dream.

The Center for American Progress (the Obama White House's unofficial think tank) argues for a federal "35 by 35" standard—mandating that 35 percent of America's energy come from renewables by 2035. This means the feds would force all utilities to generate more than a third of their electricity from renewables—a guarantee of far higher prices.

A Heritage Foundation study found that even a scaled-down version of the plan, a 22.5 percent renewable standard by 2025, would bump household-electricity prices 36 percent and industry prices 60 percent by 2035—producing a net GDP loss of $5.2 trillion between 2012 and 2035. ( Shikha Dalmia – Global Warming by Another Name)
But don't take Heritage and Reason Mag's word for it.  Listen to the liberal El Lay Times explain a green energy fiasco right in the heart of liberal la la land:
As head of a $5.7-billion, taxpayer-funded program to rebuild the college campuses, Eisenberg commanded attention. But his plan for energy independence was seriously flawed.

He overestimated how much power the colleges could generate. He underestimated the cost. And he poured millions of dollars into designs for projects that proved so impractical or unpopular they were never built.
These and other blunders cost nearly $10 million that could have paid for new classrooms, laboratories and other college facilities, a Times investigation found.
Instead of saving an advertised millions of dollars per year, a multi-billion dollar community college green energy project ended up wasting $10 million...

Get it? They blew $6 billion, expecting energy savings. Instead, they bled out another $10 million, in addition to the existing energy costs…

Here’s the fundamental truth that destroys the green energy myth:
“But Eisenberg's enthusiasm obscured an inconvenient reality: With the technology now available, the cost of renewable power exceeds that of energy derived from burning coal and natural gas.” (El Lay Times – Grand Dream)
For those who cheer on the absurd notion of government paying to create jobs… OK, why not have government blow two trillion and completely wipe out unemployment?

John Stossel – Obama’s Green Jobs Fantasy
Vincent Carroll – A Double Standard
AEI – The Myth of Green Energy Jobs

11 comments:

Fredd said...

Question for greenies everywhere, try and focus:

a) Wind power
b) Solar power
c) Wave power

Which of these green sources of energy can get a Boeing 777 jet aircraft into the air?

Go ahead, take your time, this is a toughie....

Silverfiddle said...

:) Fredd: You are a light of clarity cutting through the liberal fog.

Christopher - Conservative Perspective said...

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

That's my 'green ppwer'

Jersey McJones said...

"The Center for American Progress (the Obama White House's unofficial think tank)..."

LOL! I WISH the CAP was "the Obama White House's unofficial think tank!" If only they actually listened to them!

In the not-so-distant future we will have abosultely no choice whatsoever but to move to different energy sources. Oil is a limited resource and we are using it radically exponentially faster than nature can reproduce it.

We can start to act now, or be typical consrevatives, bury our heads in the sand, and wait for a severe energy crisis.

I know any and all change is antithetical to conservative thought, but we don't live in a static universe, no matter what your epistemology informs you, and if we don't embrace change we are doomed to succumb to it's consequences.

Fredd,

That is such a stupid question! You can use any of a thousand examples of where oil must be used and will be for a long, long time. But we do have other options for other needs. Do we have to have oil heat and power? Do our cars and trucks all have to run on petroleum? Our ships and trains? There are plenty of ways we use oil, far many more than just for flight, with which we could use something else.

Remember, anecdotes are like @$$holes... ;)

JMJ

Silverfiddle said...

Of course oil is limited, Jersey, what in this world isn't? The experts cannot even agree whether we've reached peak oil or not.

Only a liberal could wring his hands over an energy source that is abundant, but insist Washington has an infinite money source. LOL!

Let the technology research continue, but it's just not there yet, as evidenced by the LA Times story about the liberal money wasting project.

Jersey McJones said...

Silver,

There are lots of bad ideas when it comes to "alternative energy sources" too, of course. But oil is not "abundant," not when compared to demand. With the rise of China and India, oil is going to become a more and more expensive commodity. We have to get realistic about this. Flubbing around with endless research is just more of the ol' Law of Diminishing Returns. It's time to act.

JMJ

The Wool Cupboard said...

Quote ~ "Only a liberal could wring his hands over an energy source that is abundant, but insist Washington has an infinite money source."

SO TRUE!! The dirty little secret is that many of the liberals don't believe the clap-trap either...it is all about control, money to be confiscated from the masses, and never-ending power over the little people.

Jersey McJones said...

Linda, c'mon. Get real. Oil is becoming less and less "abundant" every day, demand is rising very fast and strong, and no Liberal is stupid enough to believe Washington can raise revenues and spend without limit.

You'd have to be an idiot to think otherwise. Silver was being more than a little tongue 'n cheek there, I hope. I think the economics of oil, however, are above the head of most conservatives. I don't know why for certain, but I think it's willful ignorance for the sake of pure ideological convenience.

JMJ

Silverfiddle said...

@Jersey: Oil is becoming less and less "abundant" every day

Congratulations for the simplistic statement of the day. Of course it is! But we have not reached a crisis state, which is why Van Jones and his ilk must invent them and plant Malthusian fears in the minds of the fools who listen to them.

Always On Watch said...

As if the budget of average Americans can afford such a hike in prices! Some of us have cut back all that we can already.

Silverfiddle said...

AOW: And the dems claim to be for the working people...