Thursday, July 29, 2010

THE GREEN DREAM NEEDS TO FACE REALITY

This is the heading of a column by Kerry Lynch, a senior fellow at American Institute for Economic Research in Barrington, Mass. She states facts to make the case that despite all the green energy hype and billions spent to subsidize and promote sources like wind and solar, our energy for the forseeable future will come from fossil fuels and nuclear.

Only eight per cent of our energy comes from renewable sources, most of that from hydro-electric power.  Wind accounts for less than one per cent and solar for just one tenth of one per cent.  Billions have been spent on sources that would meet this country's needs for three days.

Nearly 28 per cent of total U.S. energy use goes to transportation and 95 per cent of  that comes from petroleum, while 2 per cent comes from natural gas and 3 per cent from renewable.  Electric utilities consume more than 40 per cent of energy we use. One per cent of that comes from petroleum, 9 per cent from hydro and other renewable sources, 17 per cent from natural gas, 21 per cent from nuclear power and 51 per cent from coal. President Obama has talked about taxing and penalizing coal fired generating plants out of existence, which he admits would raise utility rates.  Not only would costs sky rocket but rationing would be  required.

The point is, Kerry Lynch, points out -- fully 84 per cent of the energy we consume comes from petroleum,     natural gas and coal. To become energy self-sufficient, the United States must increase oil production and avoid importing oil.  Even with government subsidizing and promoting green energy with some 80 billion dollars in tax credits and subsidies in the 2009 stimulus bill alone, the Energy Information Service projects the United States will still get 75 per cent of its energy from fossil fuels 25 years from now.

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