Energy

If you watch Meet The Press on Sunday morning, you've probably seen all the ads talking about a "new dawn in energy" and a lot of other propaganda spewed by energy companies about all the good they're doing for our country. They are even active on the local level - a new ad by Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future chimes in that we need to update our energy policy. It''s a slick commercial, aimed at progressives, couched in speech that makes it seem like they are for renewable energy. They aren't.
Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future takes money from Ameren to shill for Ameren. Specifically, the bill they are asking you to support is the one that allows big corporations like Ameren to pre-bill for large construction projects.
You see, there's a law in Missouri (CWIP) that makes it illegal to raise our rates before they build new infrastructure. Keep in mind that Ameren has gotten every rate increase they've asked for in the last five years and just turned in a 11 percent profit for last year. That's profit - after they siphoned off some money to MBEF to try and trick us into giving them even more. And Ameren is already a bad neighbor - the other goal this year is to try and get hydroelectric classified as renewable energy - which it is. But the reason they want it is they already operate a hydroelectric plant at Tom Sauk - the one that they had to rebuild recently - and hope to include it so they don't have to meet the standards Missourians asked for with Prop C.
I'd like to work with Ameren to put solar panels on my roof, but they don't have a program for that. Probably because it's not as profitable as their regular, polluting business.
Well, the big oil companies are just as mischievous. They claim we're on the dawn of a new age of energy, and that we could be energy independent in a just a few years. Great stuff - except it's not true.
The claims are based on a new the old, but recently revitalized practice of "fracking." That's where they inject heated water and chemicals into wells to dislodge natural gas. It's become a hot item because energy prices are high enough to make it profitable. Never mind that extremely damaging to the environment, and the gains are offset by very high depletion rates. Check out this account of how it's becoming a disaster for Colorado.
To become energy independent, what we need more of is oil. Global oil production has been stagnant since 2005, and recent declines in our country are being gobbled up by emerging economies in China and India. We've seen increased production in America since Obama's been president, but not anywhere close to the peak we saw in the 1970s. Check this story about how we'll see smaller "highs" as time goes on.
So, when you see an ad by an energy company encouraging us to continue to support their industry with tax breaks and less regulation, remember - money talks, and they're shoveling tons of it at is to keep us confused and docile while the planet burns.

solar energy

I'm a big believer in the power of the sun. In fact, one of the things I love most about my house is passive solar heating we receive in the winter. My heating unit rarely runs when the sun is shining.
Here's an interesting piece on a potential energy source in solar winds. I found it on www.spaceweather.com, a great source for tracking solar flares, sunspots and northern lights. They also have great images of auroras and the recent passing of Comet PAN-Starrs.