I recently sent this op/ed piece to our local newspaper, The Standard Times. I have no idea if it will be printed, but I needed to do it.
Diversifying energy solutions is the sane thing to do
Both Mark Perry (October 21 – “Wind an even bigger boondoggle than ethanol”) and Rob Gramich (October 26 – “Wind is certainly no ‘boondoggle’”) focus solely on the financial aspects of alternative energy. What about the environmental and human impacts? I recommend a book by Thom Hartmann titled “The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight”, where he details how the increased population’s need for food, water and heat have led us down the path to increased consumption of fossil fuels, basically the “sunlight” in the title.
Does anyone really think we have 300 million years of available fossil fuels to allow that process to repeat itself?
The earth’s landmass during the Carboniferous period was covered by dense vegetation and a rotting ground cover of dead plant matter. 300 million year ago tectonic plate collision and the volcanoes that followed swallowed up much of that matter and vegetation and locked it up with carbon. It took 300 million years to create the coal, oil and gas reserves we have today. Does anyone really think we have 300 million years of available fossil fuels to allow that process to repeat itself? We are using up the fuels at an alarming rate, and because the cost is low we don’t even think about the outcome. When it begins to dwindle, and it eventually will, if man has not figured out how to use the available sunlight, which includes wind and solar power both, we will see what living beyond all of our means from a fuel perspective will do to our world. Wars have been fought for less. When people can no longer provide heat for their homes deforestation will occur as they return to burning wood. The environment will suffer as the carbon dioxide levels climb, the ensuing environmental collapse will involve food supplies and create clean water shortages. This is an oversimplification of a complicated process, but you get my point.
We are at a critical juncture in our ability to maintain life as we know it on earth for future generations. Alternative energy is a big part of the answer.
Now I need to go recycle something.
Wonderful. Brava. Perfectly and eloquently expressed. That will get printed!
Thanks, Deb. I have been thinking similarly–and sadly–most of this month, given the reports
that all the oyster beds from Prince Edward Island down to the Carolinas are polluted–and as you may have heard the Annual Oyster Festival at the Cape was scheduled as usual a few weeks ago, but without oysters! So much of all that we take for granted is threatened. It is a matter essentially
of political will to make the global changes necessary. You have just been out west. Thousands of acres of American Indian tribal land–guaranteed to them–are now in jeopardy by Big Oil. The promise of environmental change is approaching nearly a century–and yet, nothing happens. There are many active coalitions but it is obviously not enough–to protect our air ,water and land.
Deb – first I agree with the over all idea – however we also must be extremely careful with alternative energy as well. Wind – I had been a very strong proponent of wind resource and have no issues with the added “cost” however I can tell you that the law of unintended consequences has made me re evaluate that particular situation. The blades cause huge amount of damage to local wildlife – birds of prey are particularly susceptible to the blades as an example and the wind is silent but the blades are not. If you look at Maine and some of the wind turbines that have be installed on top of mountains has started a real issue with wildlife and a large of amount of environmentalists don’t support them. Solar seems ideal as long as we aren’t using batteries for storage as that adds another nasty item to the polluted environment. Just my random thoughts and recycle on.
I hear you, Mark. I, too, am concerned about wildlife and humans being impacted by wind turbines, but I feel the cost/benefit tips toward wind, and hopefully the wildlife will evolve to deal with it as humans will have to. Of course, the flip side is we do nothing which will eventually destroy the human population and animals will thrive in our dystopia. LOTS of soul searching must be done before we come to the best answers, as always. Hopefully North Korea won’t solve the problem for us far sooner than any of us would like.
D.
Right on, you go girl!
Can’t have wind farms off the coast of Scotland as planned. Our pres-elect objects to spoiling the view from his golf courses.