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Convinced that global warming is a myth? Then consider this: Fossil fuels are a finite resource, and the era of cheap oil is over.
It doesn’t require a belief in global warming to recognize the immediate need for alternative energy. The House of Representatives took a modest step in that direction last week by passing a cap-and-trade bill to limit carbon emissions, and 3rd District Congressman Ron Kind (D-La Crosse) deserves credit for casting a tough vote in favor of the bill. If passed, the legislation will encourage research and development of alternative energy sources.
The need for alternative energy is clear, and the longer we delay the transition from carbon-based fuels, the more painful the transition will be. Oil has already reached peak production, and most of the easily accessible oil has been pumped. What’s left is increasingly buried deep below the ocean floor or underneath forbidding arctic ice packs. Remember “Drill, baby, drill?” It’s only plausible off the coast of Florida once oil prices can sustain $60 per barrel. The era of $1 per gallon gas is over no matter how much of the world’s landscape is open to drilling.
Coal also has problems independent of global warming. It’s dangerous to mine, and nobody disputes that it’s responsible for abnormal mercury levels in Wisconsin lakes. While it’s more plentiful than oil, it’s still a resource that will one day be exhausted.
There are clean, efficient and renewable alternatives. The benefits of wind and solar are obvious, and more research is needed to generate fuel from plants. Corn ethanol has been a bust, but there are other plants (sugar cane, for example) that show far more promise.
There is no reason to delay aggressive research into alternative energy, and if the private sector can’t do it, then the government must step in. The same federal government that developed synthetic rubber to sustain a war effort nearly 70 years ago certainly has the ability to nudge America toward a new era of energy use.
Oil will run out. Coal will run out. They are, to quote Al Gore, inconvenient truths.
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Joe Six Pack wrote on Jul 5, 2009 3:35 PM:
Its time for people to wake up. Cap and trade will raise energy costs by approx. $800/year/family, according to CBO measurements. Don't believe the 140/year that you've heard. Read it closely it's about $800/year, then with a bunch of wealth redistribution and free money from the government, via tax "credits," for low-income folks. The fact is that those that actually pay taxes will again bear the brunt of the progressive agenda. Finally, the cost to the economy when the price of EVERYTHING goes up because it's more expensive to produce is immeasurable! Cap and trade must die in the Senate! "