Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Letter: Push for renewables based on fear, not facts

The fact that the Batavia Daily News printed the Global Alarmism rantings of an out-of-stater that pushes for “the transfer of energy to environmentally favored sources” in their hard-copy edition — while not allowing local New York state citizens the same courtesy regarding current Albany and Washington, D.C., “renewable” energy policies that are having devastating impacts on local citizens’ lives and communities (as per The Daily News staff decision in early 2013), is both perplexing and disturbing.

The Daily News’ double-standard aside, the facts do not bear out Mr. Farnham’s global warming alarmist hyperbole. Climate swings have been happening since the beginning of time — long before man came on the scene and started thinking that he could somehow start controlling everything.  (Humans can’t even control themselves, let alone the weather!) Anyone who has done any research at all on the United Nations’, Obama’s, Cuomo’s and Bloomberg’s ‘green’ energy fantasies knows — power, control and money are the drivers behind today’s push for all things “green.”

Furthermore, it’s easy for an out-of-stater to push for something that he will not have to pay for.

Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $20 billion proposal — which Mr. Farnham’s letter was fawning over — will cost average New York City residents over $3,000 per household (http://bit.ly/134jGRa). People are already leaving New York because of excessive taxes and regulations here. We can not afford any more.

Neither do the facts bear out Mr. Farnham’s push for his favored “renewables.” Besides all the notable failures, like Solyndra, let’s consider the results to date of the billions of dollars that taxpayers and ratepayers have been forced to fork over to the green-enthusiasts’ favored (dare I say the black-listed word?) “wind power” sector. With approximately 200,000 industrial wind turbines installed world-wide today, CO2 emissions have not been significantly reduced, nor have any conventional power plants been shuttered thanks to industrial wind turbines — anywhere. To the nearest whole number, the percentage of the world’s electricity from wind power today is zero.  That’s right — zero.

Meanwhile, the coal Mr. Farnham does not want us to use is being shipped to China, where they are building another coal plant every week, unencumbered by the same environmental regulations we have here. In Europe, because of the same kind of pressure from “green” enthusiasts there, some of Europe’s coal-burning power plants are switching to wood. Since Europe doesn’t have enough forests to chop for fuel — and in those it does have, many restrictions apply — Europe’s power plants are devouring wood from Mr. Farnham’s state of North Carolina, where forests are bigger and restrictions fewer. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324082604578485491298208114.html)

Spending billions more on failed “green” technologies is not going to change a thing that Mr. Farnham is worrying about. However, it will most certainly drive more businesses and people out of New York, and put more New York state residents into energy poverty.

Our energy problems will never be solved by the perpetuation of fear-mongering and one-sided reporting. Instead, we need to stick to the facts, encourage rational discussions, and base our energy decisions on sound scientific, economic and environmental standards.

Should we be concerned and involved regarding our environment and energy matters today? You bet! If we wish to maintain reliable, affordable power for all Americans, an educated electorate is our only defense against cronyism and corporate hucksters in this “anything for a buck” world we live in today.  We do not need an “all of the above” energy policy — we need an “all of the sensible” energy policy.
Visit the Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions website at: http://wiseenergy.org. Other good,

 science-based sites include: The Science & Public Policy Institute at http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/; The Cornwall Alliance at www.cornwallalliance.org/?; The Climate Depot at http://www.cfact.org/tag/climate-depot/; and the free-market energy blog, MasterResource.org.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Mary Kay Barton
Silver Lake



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