Just Like the Stone Age

“The stone age didn't end because
they ran out of stone” was the quote from one of Charlie Rose's
guests. That phrase slapped me across the face because it so clearly
points out the fallacy of most of the arguments for not cutting back
on carbon emissions to reduce the impact of climate change. In one
sentence the arguments about economic impact, lost jobs and reliable
fossil fuel sources are shown to be distractions from the truths that
argue for dramatically developing clean energy.

The buggy and whip industry was wiped
out by the automobile. The ocean liner was docked by the airlines.
Ships with sails lost out to steam powered vessels. Manual labor was
replaced by the movable assembly line and the list goes on and on.
Yes, we are losing those jobs mining coal but the fact of the matter
is that it is not EPA regulations doing it. It is plain old
economics. Profit and loss. Now there are cheaper fuels such as an
abundance of natural gas but, truthfully, it is only a matter of time
before the evidence mounts that using it is little better than
burning coal or oil.

The fossil fuel industry as we know it
is going to die. It may be a long death, a painful death but die it
will because the downside of using those fuels is so devastating that
humanity cannot survive using them in such great quantities.

Solar is gaining traction, not through
subsidies but through simple economics. The power companies realize
it and are lobbying Congress to make it more expensive to use solar.
As it is in most places one can sell an abundance of solar generated
electricity back to the power company at the same rate the power
companies charge to deliver electricity. Now the utilities want
legislation to cut that resale price to a fraction of what it is in
order to make the cost of installation require a longer payback
period. One of the great benefits of individual electrical
generation sites is that power generation would not be so centralized
and would not require as massive an investment in electrical grid
infrastructure as bringing new plants on line. This is an effort
that the federal government should subsidize in the national
interests.

Solar will not serve to replace all
generation now on line but it can serve a significant part. You may
recall that a few years ago the federal government provided loans to
clean energy startups which was a good plan. Problem is that when
those efforts were unable to provide profits they were allowed to
fail. When they failed the intellectual property that was developed
was bought largely by the Chinese who are leading the world in solar
generation and the panels required to accomplish it. As a result
estimates are that the cost of solar panels have fallen by as much as
80%. Our domestic industry doesn't like that and want tariffs placed
on Chinese panels. The domestic industry is a casualty of
shortsightedness. We simply cannot allow unyielding allegiance to
market forces dictate the pace or feasibility of new energy sources.

There are powerful forces arrayed
against the emerging industries. The existing extraction and
generation industries are furiously lobbying Congress to protect
their financial base which should be allowed to die a natural death.
Obviously we will need to keep it on life support while we bring new
generation on line but the movement is in that direction.

Such new industries will generate
thousands, maybe millions, of new jobs in new, emerging technologies
that will once again return the United States to the pinnacle of
economic might. If we do not grasp it then someone else will. There
are those poised to do so.

We have been in the age of steam for
over 200 years. Even the latest turbine using generation plants are
simply steam engines. They differ only in the types of fuel used to
generate the steam to drive the turbines. Just as the stone age did
not die from a lack of stone so steam will not die from a lack of
coal or oil or nuclear. Like stone it will die from new and better
technologies. The only question is how painful will it be? Will our
politicians who worship at the feet of King Coal do its bidding to
hold the line against the inevitable demise or will the people demand
that they now lead us to make the transition in favor of the people
rather than corporate interests? We know what the tendency is.

This is My Take on this issue. Since
my early years I have read magazines such as Popular Science and
Popular Mechanics that predicted that new technologies would provide
all people with adequate resources and leisure time. What happened?
Why have the people not prospered? It is because our system of
corporate influence is such that new technologies don't come on line
until the CEOs and hedge fund managers figure out how to make money
on it. The wealth generated is not shared with the people of the
United States. We need to get past that.