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Monday, August 4, 2008
Kids, Don't Write Disinformation Like This In Your Newspaper
I don't know why I am even posting this on my blog, but I was looking for a contrarian position on renewable energy today. I post a lot of pro-RE stuff and tend to avoid opposite viewpoints. But this opinion piece is typical of the reason why I can't find any well-thought and factually supported opposing viewpoints. And it's from a professor in the department of chemical and petroleum engineering at Kansas University who just cherry picked certain things to prove his point. The article is sort of like listening to your grandpa provide black and white solutions to current gray problems. Anyway, I could pick the opinion piece apart line by line, but I'll leave it up to you to sift through the sludge. Oh and by the way check out the comments at the bottom of the article.
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Wishful Thinking
*Before adding PV, wind, or solar thermal to your residential or commercial structure, the first step is to analyze this structure's energy consumption through a professional energy audit. I'd like to see some public education on the importance of an energy audit for any structure. Remember Smokey the Bear's forest fire shtick drilled into our heads over the last few decades? How about something like, "Henry the House" desperately wanting to know how much energy he consumes and wastes throughout the day?
*With over 300 sunny days a year on the Front Range is it too much to ask for solar PV and thermal modules on every residential and commercial unit (after an energy audit of course)?
*How about affordable plug-in electric cars that go more than 100 miles on a charge with PV and wind powered recharging stations?
*Dreaming of companies large and small adopting business sustainability practices to maximize profits, reduce their carbon footprint, and enhance the lives of their employees and the communities that surround them.
*With over 300 sunny days a year on the Front Range is it too much to ask for solar PV and thermal modules on every residential and commercial unit (after an energy audit of course)?
*How about affordable plug-in electric cars that go more than 100 miles on a charge with PV and wind powered recharging stations?
*Dreaming of companies large and small adopting business sustainability practices to maximize profits, reduce their carbon footprint, and enhance the lives of their employees and the communities that surround them.
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2 comments:
The giveaway is that he references the National Center for Policy Analysis, a conservative think tank, rather than a neutral source like the Department of Energy. Read no more.
I went to check out the NCPA site and I got a chuckle from the tag line, "A Leader in Promoting Private Alternatives to Government Regulation and Control." There's just some things the private sector can't do well without oversight and regulation. One thing that comes to mind is running banks.
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