Rescuing
Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected
Dictatorship
|
Spin, not
face-to-face confrontations with the voters, is the Government's
chosen method of communication. Ordinary
people are dangerous. Ordinary people might ask a question
which throws a politician 'off message'; the Cabinet member
might reveal himself or herself to be a human being like
us, and not a programmed android. Worse still, he or she
might tell the truth.
Ann Leslie - Daily Mail, September
16, 2004
|
Wind
Power: Bad Economics, Bad for Environment;
Declines in Population Growth Give Europe a Leg Up on Kyoto
Cooler
Heads Coalition - April 02, 2003
Wind
Power: Bad Economics, Bad for Environment
Radnor
Township in Pennsylvania has announced with great fanfare "that
it will purchase 62 percent of its electricity from pollution-free,
wind-generated electricity, making it the nation’s leading
wind energy purchaser among municipalities" (PRNewswire,
February 26, 2003). The Township will purchase 1,400,000 kilowatt
hours per year over three years from a wind farm near Mt. Storm,
West Virginia.
But
according to renewable energy expert Glenn Schleede, the officials
of Radnor Township have been hoodwinked. Wind energy entails significant
environmental costs, with little environmental gain, and significant
economic costs that hurt customers, but serve to line the pockets
of wind farm owners.
The amount of electricity that will be purchased by Radnor Township
is insignificant. It will represent 1/1000 of 1 percent of the
total electricity sold by electric utilities in Pennsylvania in
2001. "Any claim of favorable air quality impact is specious
at best," says Schleede. "Wind farms adversely affect
a wide variety of environmental, ecological, scenic and property
values."
The electricity would come from FPL Energy-owned wind farms that
are planned for scenic West Virginia. One proposed wind farm would
be located "along 14 miles of the picturesque high mountains
near Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Canaan Valley State
Park, Blackwater Falls State Park, the Monongahela National Forest
which includes Dolly Sods and Dolly Sods Wilderness Area."
The wind farm would consist of 200 very tall (300 to 400 ft.)
wind mills spread over thousands of acres.
The real impetus behind the construction of wind farms is not
the environmental or economic benefits to customers, but massive
government subsidies. One proposed wind farm in West Virginia,
would cost $300,000,000 to build, but would recover those costs
and then some through various tax shelters and subsidies equaling
$325,434,600. In many cases, the profit from this government largesse
exceeds the income generated from electricity sales. Wind farm
owners enjoy windfall profits at taxpayer expense.
Schleede makes an interesting comparison and offers some advice
to the citizens of Radnor Township. "If each household substituted
two 27-watt energy efficient light bulbs for two 100-watt incandescent
bulbs that are used an average of 4 hours per day, the people
of Radnor Township would avoid the use of 2,131,600 kWh of electricity
each year, or about 50 percent more than the 1,400,000 kWh that
is substituted in the electricity-from-wind purchase scheme."
The cost? $100,000!
Declines in Population
Growth Give Europe a Leg Up on Kyoto
Europe
is on an irreversible trajectory of falling population rates,
according to a study by Wolfgang Lutz and Sergei Scherbov, with
the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, and Brian O’Neill,
with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
in Laxenburg, Austria.
In
a report published in Science (March 28, 2003), the authors note
that at present only 1.5 babies are borne per woman in the European
Union, well below the "replacement rate" of 2.1 births
per woman. Even if European women began having more children at
younger ages, the population decline would continue for decades
because there are too few childbearing-aged women to make a difference.
The study does not take into account immigration, but even that
may not be large enough to offset population declines.
While
the study does not address climate change, this may well explain
part of the reason the European Union has readily accepted the
Kyoto Protocol and why they are so eager to have the U.S. sign
up to similar restrictions. Given their declining population,
it will be much easier for European Union countries to reduce
emissions to pre-1990 levels than the U.S., which continues to
experience robust population growth.
The
targets for emissions reductions for the EU and the U.S. are very
similar. The EU would have to reduce their emissions to an average
of 8 percent below 1990 levels by the 2008-2012 compliance period,
the U.S. by 7 percent. But since 1990, the EU economies have grown
relatively slowly, meaning that CO2 emissions increased little.
The U.S. on the other hand, has experienced tremendous economic
growth since 1990, so its Kyoto target is actually more difficult
than the EU’s.
Europe’s
economic troubles are largely due to heavy economic regulation
and taxes, including high energy taxes. As a result, U.S. companies
are out-competing EU companies. Rather than deregulate, the EU
has sought to level the playing field by saddling U.S. companies
with similar restrictions through the Kyoto Protocol.
This
became quite clear in March 2001 soon after President Bush announced
that his administration would not seek to impose carbon dioxide
regulations on utilities. Margot Wallstrom, the European Union’s
commissioner for the environment, complained that, "This
is not a simple environmental issue where you can say it is an
issue where the scientists are not unanimous. This is about international
relations, this is about economy, about trying to create a level
playing field for big businesses throughout the world. You have
to understand what is at stake and that is why it is serious."
Clearly Europe sees the energy rationing required by the Kyoto
Protocol as the means by which it can regain some of its lost
competitiveness relative to the U.S.
If
you have suggestions for additional subjects, or material to include
in the pages linked to the subjects listed, please contact
the webmaster.
