Left Coast Magical Thinking on Energy
Anna Eshoo, my US Representative here in California's 14th district, sends along her latest newsletter on the occasion of World Ocean Day.
This disaster [BP oil spill] serves as a sobering reminder of the destructive power of our energy habits and how we must continue to protect our nation’s precious natural resources.
Note that natural resources themselves now deserve protection from the "destructive power of our energy habits," the by-product of what we used to call a free market economy. At least we all get to join BP as villains in this story.
What follows is a lengthy recitation of the various measures Eshoo is sponsoring to punish BP financially while hermetically capping any possibility of extracting oil anywhere in the United States. My favorite paragraph:
The BP/Transocean Oil Spill is a startling reminder that we need to end our dependence on fuels that can destroy our environment and hamstring our economy when “accidents” happen. Our country must move swiftly and without hesitation towards a clean energy future using domestic renewable resources, such as wind, solar, waves to create domestic jobs and secure our energy independence. We have the innovative people, companies, and communities to tackle this problem.
Okay, no technologies where destructive accidents are allowed to happen; all our power from “wind, solar, waves”; lots of jobs and energy independence in the process. For free? I certainly hope so. But first, how about legislation requiring our elected representatives to pass a Physics-for-Poets class prior to penning nonsense?
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Comments:
May '10
Re: Left Coast Magical Thinking on Energy
It is technologically impossible to produce electricity in California exclusively with solar, wind, and hydro-electric energy. Period. Anyone who argues otherwise is simply talking out of their behind.
Is she crazy?
Re: Left Coast Magical Thinking on Energy
Michael Labeit: It is technologically impossible to produce electricity in California exclusively with solar, wind, and hydro-electric energy. Period. Anyone who argues otherwise is simply talking out of their behind.
Is she crazy? · Jun 8 at 9:22pm
If Eshoo is crazy, she certainly has a lot of company in our district. Please note that she is not advocating conventional hydro-electric generation, probably because hydro actually is a practical means of generating baseload electricity. Eshoo wants wave power generation, which is cool as a technology but not ready for commercial use.
May '10
Re: Left Coast Magical Thinking on Energy
Who knew that the French would be the source of energy wisdom internationally? Around 80% of their electricity comes from nuclear power. c'est magnifique!
May '10
Re: Left Coast Magical Thinking on Energy
I'd bet that just as many fish and dolphins get chewed by by wave power turbines as there are birds being sliced up by windmill blades. I expect a major "Cape Wind"-type legal challenge to any wave power installation by the Ocean Conservancy the instant that a proposal is on the verge of reality, as opposed to feeding speeches trashing Big Owyl.
That said, why not? If a technology really works and could be competitive on an ongoing variable cost basis with reasonable capital depreciation, we should encourage it even if Ed Begley and the "greens" favor it. I want more and mnore energy- including 100 new nuke plants, particularly the factory-built, buried and sealed mini-modules that connect to above-ground turbines.
I would sell it this way- we need to produce fossil fuels like crazy now to generate the savings needed to develop the replacement energy stocks. Any smart businessman looks ahead and feeds a sinking fund to replenish his seed corn.