Tuesday, March 15, 2011

There’s No Fallout from Clean Energy

The horrific news out of Japan continues to worsen and has put a spotlight on the downside of nuclear energy. For years we’ve been hearing that clean solar and wind energy is “not ready yet” but we know that’s not true. At this time, when there is growing concern about disasters --- natural and man-made -- that can come from oil and gas exploration and now, nuclear, we’re here to tell you, we ARE ready. Now is the time to increase demand for clean energy so that more is invested in research and costs will go down.

Proponents of clean energy need to educate the public about how this reliable power differs from fossil fuel and nuclear in that it poses no hardship to nearby communities. The danger from nuclear power is real. It’s not only Japanese authorities who are worried about the aftermath of the earthquake. Radiation can move with the wind. A US naval warship floating 100 miles from one of the Japanese nuclear power plants had to move because of radiation readings and is now in scrub-down mode.

The fish we eat, the air we breathe, the land we cultivate and our oceans are too important to leave to chance.

There is a wealth of information about the downside of nuclear. If the public truly knew some of the issues surrounding this form of power I think that the conversation would not even start and no more plants would be built. The thing about nuclear energy is that even if the plants are well-built and well-run and no disasters affect their safety, the waste will be a threat forever. No wonder Nevada and other states refuse to have that stuff dumped in their backyards. Even France, a country that claims to have perfected this form of energy, is actually dumping its radioactive waste in Siberia. As Linda Gunter of Beyond Nuclear put it, “You can actually see the Siberian nuclear waste site on Google Earth.”

The subject of capacity is always mentioned when comparing nuclear and fossil fuel energy to clean energy. Renewable energy has solar, wind, geothermal and hydro capabilities. If all of these were brought to their maximum capacity with today’s and tomorrow’s technologies, we would have more than enough to supply every household in America, especially if conservation took hold in the public’s consciousness. How about some out-of-the-box thinking? What if we treat electricity like a valuable commodity that should not be wasted? If we spent our money building efficient homes or retrofitting the existing housing stock with six- and eight-inch, properly insulated walls, better windows, and better insulated roofs, the amount of electricity needed would be much less.

It’s a shame that the public needs constant reminders like the oil spill in the Gulf and the earthquake in Japan to remember that clean energy is the real deal. Those reminders almost always cost pain and agony for someone. It’s up to us to continue to do our part to expand the market for clean energy so cost will not be an issue anymore and to lobby our elected officials to increase research money and provide financial incentives to producers and consumers. If politics runs on money, then clean energy needs to be the highest bidder.

It is unfair to judge renewable energy by today’s standards when we have yet to make the proper investments in the technology. Fossil fuels have had a 100-year run. And we still feel as though we are still living in the past. Efficiency hasn’t increased enough to make the good outweigh the damage it’s done to our environment and our foreign policy. With renewable energy the conversation is about capacity, not about where to get it, or about balancing energy against the environment. In fact, developing nations will benefit by being able to power themselves to same extent as developed nations. Clean energy is a key component to taking us out of the current economic downturn while helping create economic equality and political stability.

To me, clean energy is good energy and the time for it is now. We can make it happen!

by George Lopez
http://www.theslarandwindexpo.com/

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