By: Norris McDonald
Solyndra, Keystone XL pipeline, Occupy the EPA and Durban, South Africa. Energy and environmental issues are turning left and right like never before. Who would have thought that green activists would be circling the White House in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline? Who would have thought that Occupy Wall Street would turn into Occupy EPA in Washington, DC? And who would have thought that the climate talks in Durban would hardly cause a whisper?
Yet energy remains a challenge in the USA. How do we power the American economic engine without exacerbating climate change? How should government policies affect our energy development scenarios? With 9 plus percent unemployment, can we afford to turn away from any energy project that produces jobs? These and many other questions are the challenge of the 21st century.
Should Asia build her economic empire on coal the way the USA did? Can America tell Asia that they should not use coal when coal powers the American economy? What manner of hypocrisy could be used to justify this position?
We need bold thinking and action. We need revolutionary concepts to provide the power that America needs in order to support a dynamic economy that provides an adequate number of jobs. I guess we will just have to muddle through and figure it out as we go along.
No comments:
Post a Comment