Yes, accidents do happen due to catastrophic events such as the BP blowout in the Gulf and the earthquake in Japan. Whereas human error and a lapse in judgment caused one event, and lack of proper design and planning the other, Mother Nature will heal herself over time.
The oil sands in Canada and oil shale deposits in the Rockies are examples of major oil spills that have been resolved by nature. Japan has built modern cities populated by numerous citizens over the sites of the two atomic bomb blasts that ended World War II.
Total reliance on wind and solar power would be nice in a utopian world. However, reality needs to set in at some point. Both forms of electrical generation are not economically competitive with other electricity-generating processes.
If the wind doesn’t blow, or the sun doesn’t shine, no electricity is generated. Building enough windmills and/or solar panels to supply the U.S. with its electricity needs would be cost-prohibitive, not to mention the ecological damage they would cause. How many expensive windmills and how many square miles of solar panels would be required to be built in eco-sensitive areas?
Both forms of electricity generation are more expensive to maintain as compared to a larger, more efficient, fossil fuel or nuclear plants, and the kilowatts generated are much more expensive to produce.
One writer worries about the fate of his children due to the increasing pollution in our air and water. I submit that our air and water are cleaner now than they were several decades ago. Also, if our environment is so bad, how come our life expectancies are dramatically increasing year by year?
With regard to my children’s and grandchildren’s futures, I am much more concerned about the massive, and ever-increasing debt they will be faced with paying that our government is incurring due to environmental and “feel good” entitlement programs.
I am also extremely concerned about the loss of personal freedom we, and future generations, are experiencing due to the current liberal mind-set.
We need to get out of “la la” land and be pragmatic for a much-needed change!
—Mickey McVay
Edmond
