renewable energy

In parts 1-3 of this 'blogumentary' we covered the amount of renewable energy just waiting for us to tap, how local governments and people are getting involved, and how we need the federal government to change the laws to support renewable energy. (and a good bit of information from Dcoronata on Geothermal energy.
Now for the bread and butter issue: jobs. With the economic forecast showing a continued housing slump and general signs of a recession, a decade long approach of offshoring jobs, bad unemployment numbers, and no real growth in any job sector except service jobs, there seems to be a lot wrong with our country's economic health. Fortunately, there is a solution for these problems, the emergence of green collar jobs.

Welcome to Part 2: Local Energy Initiatives: This will cover some of the ways citizens have gotten involved in passing laws to change their options for energy use, effectively giving a level playing field fo renewable energy. Now, although this post seems to be Colorado focused, the fact is, in part due to the location of the National Renewable Energy lab in Golden,Colorado combined with an active progressive community, Colorado has been leading the nation in embracing renewable energy. Here to tell us more about this and the Clean Energy Progress Fund - an initiative to be voted on this fall in Colorado, is Professor Thomas McKinnon, a Chemical Engineer,who has worked both with the NREL and with the School of Mines and now heads up the drive to support the Clean Energy Progress Fund.

The recently published report ("primer") by the John Locke Foundation on wind energy, among other criticisms, posits that wind turbines are "exceedingly deadly" to bird (and bat) wildlife. This puts them, perhaps surprisingly, in opposition to the National Audubon Society, which supports further development of wind energy as an alternative to fossil fuel-based energy sources.

Can this be right? Can a organization that claims to be committed to "individual rights, free enterprise, property ownership, [and] limited government" really be calling for a "'Coast Law' to prohibit construction of industrial wind turbines on the [North Carolina] coast" (emphasis added)?

And what of the Audubon Society? Has an organization dedicated to bird habitat and welfare suddenly elected to neglect its core mission, or worse yet, does it welcome the deployment of "exceedingly deadly" bird-killing machines?

Prompted by recent coverage (1, 2) and criticisms of the JLF's report here on BlueNC, I—not even yet a resident of the state, and ignorant of the existence of the JLF until I joined this community— elected to look into the matter for myself.

I just wanted to make a quick response to the JLF’s recent “report” on the danger of offshore wind energy in North Carolina. As I said in my initial response, this dishonesty and misinformation contained in their piece is enough to leave anyone speechless. While wind energy is the fastest growing form of renewable energy, this exact type of misinformation has prevented the type of growth that this industry has the potential for (and deserves).

More after the fold.....

Or it should be. I honestly think it will be, very soon.