Doug forwarded this link about the Northern Pass foo-foo. My instant response was this:
I dunno about Jeanie, but at some point, all the NIBY’s and BANANAs will force us all to wood heat and kerosene -> and not by our choice.
But it may be their choice.
Not In My Backyard. Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone
Let me discuss this a bit more. I have not been happy as the enviro-wackos watermelons (green on the outside, red on the inside) that have infiltrated EPA and the Dept. of Interior seems to want to slowly clamp down on America’s use of energy. We have, in the past, seeming as a public, sort of dismissed some of these folks that have decided that a de-industrialized America is a better America; the "Noble Savage" ideal taken country-wide.
We have seen that in Texas and other southern border states this past winter when the colder weather hit those states and they suffered rolling blackouts from a lack of capability of meeting the energy demand. And the EPA thinks it knows best as it is trying to put its own version of Cap N Trade into effect and the Interior defies court order after court order as it kills off the oil drilling industry (both on and off-shore) by not issuing permits.
And doing so with our collective permission? I think not (although we did elect the head honcho that has put these yo-yo’s into places of power.
Certainly, I keep hearing that "America is only 5% of the world’s population but uses 40% of the world’s energy". What I do NOT hear is that America also produces about 40% of the world’s wealth (call it GDP). The question to be asked is NOT
"why do so few consume so much?"
It also shouldn’t be:
"Why do we use so much oil / energy / gas; in short – energy?"
The question that should be asked is:
Why can so few produce so much?
Instead of phrasing the situation as OUR problem, it should be phrased as two questions:
Why do we phrase the situation as a problem when it is an advantage?
and
Why are we able to do so and the rest of the world hasn’t? And when you look at the stats, why do we use it more efficiently than others?
Could we conserve more? Yup. Can we use more clean energy? Sure (I speak from experience as I have previously owned an active solar heated house and live in a passive one now). But I also own a 4 wheel drive Suburban as I live on the side of a mountain – heavy and powerful enough to run a plow. There is no way that the dinky little vehicles that Prez Obama would allow us to have (via raising the EPA CAFE standards) and Transportation Sec LaHood deciding that transportation is not really where its at, but has made it his mission, as part of the Executive Branch, to tell us how to live (e.g., he is in favor of policies that would move us all into high density living, using only public transportation to move us from A to B.)
But I digress, back to the Northern Pass article….a couple of things:
As to concerns that Northern Pass would put small biomass energy producers in the state out of business, Long said that was a "red herring," but Burton on Friday questioned PSNH’s seeming reluctance to sign contracts to buy power from plants in Bridgewater, Tamworth and Bethlehem.
Failure to sign those contracts, Burton said, puts at risk hundreds of New Hampshire jobs; Long said that, at present, it costs more to make energy from biomass than natural gas. Burton urged the public to contact Gov. John Lynch and members of the state’s congressional delegation and ask them "to look at this issue and look at it very carefully and see what it is doing for New Hampshire people."
Opposing Northern Pass "is not a NIMBY issue, it’s a long-range economic issue," said Burton, who said he will contact President Obama and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who will consider whether to grant Northern Pass a special-use permit to go through the White Mountain National Forest.
What we see here is plain – rent-seeking (companies using Government to obtain market share and profit over their competition). PSNH’s Long is absolutely right – alternative energy IS more expensive than traditional power: in fact solar has far more government subsidies applied to them than other forms. None of them would be competitive without the hand of Govt choosing the winners and losers. In their attempt to "save jobs", Burton either doesn’t want to acknowledge or is too dumb to know that with this ham handed attempt at ‘fairness’, it will cost jobs. Tim is right, we "win" by having cheap, plentiful energy sources – getting MORE government involved is a wrong headed, and in the long therm, more costly solution. While Burton might think that he may be saving jobs, what about the jobs that will go uncreated because jobs that go uncreated. This is simply pandering for votes instead of thinking long term.
Should Northern Pass not be prepared to go underground, Mullen wants it to go away, noting that at present, New Hampshire is a net exporter of energy and the power from Northern Pass was "only coming through New Hampshire and it is not benefiting New Hampshire in any manner, shape or form."
Make no mistake – there are still those that would love to see Seabrook shuttered. We are a net exporter ONLY because of that nuke plant. It also is rather shortsighted to believe that being a "net exporter’ will continue into the future simply because it is in the present. That simply disregards that future and the growth we would like to see.
For Pam and Peter Martin of Plymouth, Northern Pass is not a good idea, nor is its energy as "green" as supporters would have the public believe, since it was generated by first creating a vast reservoir, which is inherently not environmentally friendly.
As with other projects proposed all over the nation, from windmill farms to PV cell installations to solar thermal plants, each and everyone seems to have one set of enviro-folks for, but yet even more enviro-folks always seem to line up against those projects for each and every nit possible. For the true believers, nothing is acceptable – except for absolutely nothing.
During her current round of visits to all 31 towns in her district, Forrester said she’s hearing many unfavorable things about Northern Pass "and it just strengthens my feeling that this is not a good thing for New Hampshire."
I have no problem in constraining government – I do in constraining our energy sources. And for the record, NO energy source is ever carbon neutral or completely enviro-friendly – everything is a risk and everything is a tradeoff. The question for the good Senator is this: thinking long term, modern society requires energy. Please, a few pithy words with enviro-platitudes abstracted:
- if not from the Northern Pass project, from where?
- Are you in favor of adding a second reactor at Seabrook?
- Are you in favor of natural gas turbine generated capacity?
- Are you in favor of Government mandating winners and losers in the energy industry?
We know that Ray Burton will pander, and we know that he is a "fixer" (and not generally meant in the most positive manner, either).
Jeanie, what say you?
As for the rest of the article:
Mullen likened Northern Pass as the White Mountains equivalent of "a day that will live on in infamy" in America’s national memory.
"I don’t think we’ve had such a challenge to the peace and tranquility of New Hampshire since Pearl Harbor, that’s how seriously I think this attack on the White Mountains really comes down to. This is not an economic issue; it’s not a NIMBY issue. They’re going to do so much damage to our economy, especially in the North Country, that I don’t know how we’re all going to recover from this."
There’s "not much industry up here," Mullen continued, and the second-home market "is flat and this (Northern Pass) is like driving the final spike into the crucifix. It’s just brutal, but slowly and surely, New Hampshire is waking up to what’s really going on."
I think the overarching hyperbole speaks for the general nature of NYMBYism and BANANAism: Not here, not now, and now where else. Right – Pearl Harbor, economic ruin, and dying on the Cross.
Yeah, sure, I’ll support you.
Again, life is merely a set of tradeoffs. If you wish to condemn yourself, your family, and your community to "rolling blackouts" or a return to whale oil, be my guest.
Just don’t expect us to be led by the nose like obedient oxen….
