Right. The consciousness that thought the Clean Air Act was a waste of time. That cleaning up the Great Lakes was an unnecessary expense. Now thinks clean energy is a waste of time. Conservatives simply conserve the status quo rather than conserving the planet.
Germany’s renewable energy sector is among the most innovative and successful worldwide. Net-generation from renewable energy sources in the German electricity sector has increased from 6.3% in 2000 to about 30% in 2014 and it keeps getting better every year. It’s too bad the US is always lagging behind, we used to be the innovators and early adopters.
Part of the problem is that those lines and transmission towers belong to the ‘old skool’ power companies, who are resisting letting the renewable energy companies hook up to the grid.But for once, they have a legitimate complaint; why should the renewable energy companies get a free ride on the power lines, the Old Schoolers paid to put up and maintain? Fair’s fair, after all.
The US would need 7.2 million acres of solar panels which would take over 900 years to build. And who are you going to get to clean them to keep them operating at peak efficiency? And how much water will that take?
I have to laugh at you guys. This plan has an estimated cost of $2.5 trillion in economic loss for every-day people, and yet it will only provide a change of .02 degrees Celsius by 2100. Whoo boy, it’s totally worth the increased costs to the working poor, the middle class, and everyone else who isn’t independently wealthy.With this plan we will: - pay higher costs on our utility/electricity bills- pay higher costs at the fuel pump- pay more for items manufactured in this country (cars, etc)- pay more in local taxes to supply funding to keep the lights on in the town/city/whatever we live.And for what? I don’t disagree that we need to do something to encourage the usage of renewables, but nothing we have right now will offset the cost of this plan or any of the other plans. Solar and wind squeak out a miniscule amount of power, and are unreliable. What happens when the wind doesn’t blow? Or perhaps the sun is covered with clouds? Or it rains? Or… all sorts of things that can prevent these two things from working. What’s your plan? If we have 30% of our power being provided by renewables by 2030, a bad day means we will suffer (as a NATION) rolling brownouts or blackouts. You guys need to stop comparing us to Europe. WE ARE NOT EUROPE. If for no other reason than a matter of scale. The whole of the entire European continent fits into the eastern half of our country. Germany, UK, and France COMBINED have roughly half our population. And their tax rate for every living person is much higher than our individual tax rates, because of their idiotic cradle-to-grave welfare system. Most of them have a 20% VAT (Value-Added Tax). That’s a cost that is added to every step of a product’s life. A large majority of Europe’s combined individual tax rate is between 35-50%, some of which exceed that by a large margin. This is what you want us to model after?But I guess many liberals don’t really care, because they don’t have any taxable income at the end of the year. So people who actually produce in this country (mostly conservatives) are the ones who would get screwed in that deal. Hence the rush to accept these kinds of plans: liberals are great at reaching into other people’s pockets to pay for initiatives they like.No, this plan is a foolhardy endeavor to push us to be more European without an ounce of meaningful impact on our environment. This will cost taxpayers like me a large sum of money, and we also will need to suffer through a renewable-energy disaster in the making. I’m all for nuclear power, fission or fusion. But solar and wind are a useless boondoggle that does not meet the needs of this country.
AAAAaaaand… let’s not forget to add in the Gini coefficient, which measure income disparity. Here is another example of how just because you have a “rich” state doesn’t mean the rank and file citizen is better off. California’s doing a real bang-up job on this ranking, too.
OC, usually your posts are fascinating. You forgot one issue of nuclear waste storage. Nobody wants it.I’m sure the method you describe is perfectly safe, so I’m assuming you are volunteering your backyard? It would make a great jungle gym.
Are you going to Ignore the fact tha No Nuclear Power plant to date has turned a Profit without Enormous Tax Subsidies?.Not to mention Chernobyl & Fukushima ….Oh, and 3 Mile Island…
colinmichaeljames almost 9 years ago
Right. The consciousness that thought the Clean Air Act was a waste of time. That cleaning up the Great Lakes was an unnecessary expense. Now thinks clean energy is a waste of time. Conservatives simply conserve the status quo rather than conserving the planet.
Theodore E. Lind Premium Member almost 9 years ago
Germany’s renewable energy sector is among the most innovative and successful worldwide. Net-generation from renewable energy sources in the German electricity sector has increased from 6.3% in 2000 to about 30% in 2014 and it keeps getting better every year. It’s too bad the US is always lagging behind, we used to be the innovators and early adopters.
TCCulberson almost 9 years ago
why does everyone ignore nuclear? No CO2, no environmental destroying of birds, and controlled energy that is cheap and long lasting.
Simon_Jester almost 9 years ago
Part of the problem is that those lines and transmission towers belong to the ‘old skool’ power companies, who are resisting letting the renewable energy companies hook up to the grid.But for once, they have a legitimate complaint; why should the renewable energy companies get a free ride on the power lines, the Old Schoolers paid to put up and maintain? Fair’s fair, after all.
BloomCo almost 9 years ago
The US would need 7.2 million acres of solar panels which would take over 900 years to build. And who are you going to get to clean them to keep them operating at peak efficiency? And how much water will that take?
Wraithkin over 8 years ago
I have to laugh at you guys. This plan has an estimated cost of $2.5 trillion in economic loss for every-day people, and yet it will only provide a change of .02 degrees Celsius by 2100. Whoo boy, it’s totally worth the increased costs to the working poor, the middle class, and everyone else who isn’t independently wealthy.With this plan we will: - pay higher costs on our utility/electricity bills- pay higher costs at the fuel pump- pay more for items manufactured in this country (cars, etc)- pay more in local taxes to supply funding to keep the lights on in the town/city/whatever we live.And for what? I don’t disagree that we need to do something to encourage the usage of renewables, but nothing we have right now will offset the cost of this plan or any of the other plans. Solar and wind squeak out a miniscule amount of power, and are unreliable. What happens when the wind doesn’t blow? Or perhaps the sun is covered with clouds? Or it rains? Or… all sorts of things that can prevent these two things from working. What’s your plan? If we have 30% of our power being provided by renewables by 2030, a bad day means we will suffer (as a NATION) rolling brownouts or blackouts. You guys need to stop comparing us to Europe. WE ARE NOT EUROPE. If for no other reason than a matter of scale. The whole of the entire European continent fits into the eastern half of our country. Germany, UK, and France COMBINED have roughly half our population. And their tax rate for every living person is much higher than our individual tax rates, because of their idiotic cradle-to-grave welfare system. Most of them have a 20% VAT (Value-Added Tax). That’s a cost that is added to every step of a product’s life. A large majority of Europe’s combined individual tax rate is between 35-50%, some of which exceed that by a large margin. This is what you want us to model after?But I guess many liberals don’t really care, because they don’t have any taxable income at the end of the year. So people who actually produce in this country (mostly conservatives) are the ones who would get screwed in that deal. Hence the rush to accept these kinds of plans: liberals are great at reaching into other people’s pockets to pay for initiatives they like.No, this plan is a foolhardy endeavor to push us to be more European without an ounce of meaningful impact on our environment. This will cost taxpayers like me a large sum of money, and we also will need to suffer through a renewable-energy disaster in the making. I’m all for nuclear power, fission or fusion. But solar and wind are a useless boondoggle that does not meet the needs of this country.
superposition over 8 years ago
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2555698/
Mike Herman over 8 years ago
Libs will spend as much of your money as they have to in order to feel good about themselves.
Mike Herman over 8 years ago
Skyrocketing utility bills. FINALLY, a promise Barry intends to keep.
Wraithkin over 8 years ago
Correction: The ratio is median WAGE per square foot cost. Not median cost per square foot. Can’t edit… bah.
Wraithkin over 8 years ago
AAAAaaaand… let’s not forget to add in the Gini coefficient, which measure income disparity. Here is another example of how just because you have a “rich” state doesn’t mean the rank and file citizen is better off. California’s doing a real bang-up job on this ranking, too.
kaffekup over 8 years ago
OC, usually your posts are fascinating. You forgot one issue of nuclear waste storage. Nobody wants it.I’m sure the method you describe is perfectly safe, so I’m assuming you are volunteering your backyard? It would make a great jungle gym.
Tarredandfeathered over 8 years ago
Are you going to Ignore the fact tha No Nuclear Power plant to date has turned a Profit without Enormous Tax Subsidies?.Not to mention Chernobyl & Fukushima ….Oh, and 3 Mile Island…