Industry should decide where to invest in energy, not Government

[armyda]

We've heard time and time again that Government investment in clean energy is a waste of tax dollars. That industry knows best how to invest in future energy development. That the Government should stay out of the picture.

One example of this is the Natural Gas boom from fracking. This demonstrates the superiority of the Free Market over government subsidies.

Now, stealing from Paul Harvey. "The rest of the story"

Decades of federal dollars helped fuel gas boom


Now how long have we been investing in Clean alternative energy and who wants to eliminate all government support for that?

[Mr Douglas]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Tucker_Sedan

(In a related story)I can't help but laugh at the DUPES railing against wind energy....They'd be falling all over themselves to get in on the gravy if PPG or whomever found oil deposits on their land. As a former resident of the Hanover/Mosherville Michigan area, I had quite a few friends who made money off their mineral rights from oil deposits... Having apparently always been "Steampunks" at heart, they had NO problem with the wreaking monstrosities on their properties that are oil wells, nor any problem with the construction of roads (trails on their property) that would support 10,000+ gallon (about twice the size of a standard septic/poopie truck) water trucks to draw off the stinking putrid water from the wells, which fouled the air to the extent, that on a 'nice' day, the air smelled like you'd just packed axle grease and sewage up your nose. An unmitigated STENCH everywhere you went including inside one's own home. The water trucks, running huge pumps, were audible 5 or 6 times a day (at all hours) at each well....Then of course was the lovely natural gas/butane burn off station that lit the evening sky, obscuring the stars, for MILES around.....Yeah, windmills must really be 'awful'.

[edeevee]

Interesting article, Army. I've seen a couple of pretty scary things about fracking so I'm not quite ready to be a cheerleader for it. I'm sure others will feel just the opposite but, for me, I feel a little better about the technology knowing the government had a hand in developing it.

And Mr. D, I have no idea why people are so against wind energy. I've read a lot and watched a ton of videos both for and against. I've gone out and stood as close as I could get to a windmill just to try to judge for myself and I still don't get it. From what I understand the complaints are mostly for the flicker effect and noise. The flicker effect can usually be avoided by careful sighting and, I swear, I can't hear the noise. I've stopped at the sides of roads near wind fields in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Texas. In Iowa I got within ten yards of a windmill and ... nothing. Nothing that could compete with two lanes of traffic anyway.

I'd really love it if someone from DeKalb County who is involved with this campaign against the windmills would come on here and explain themselves, cuz I reallly just don't get what the problem is.

[blue adept]

The part of being a history buff that really scares me is the way I have seen what energy tech really accomplishes. None of these people have any idea of what fracking is doing to the Earth. At one time Hydraulic mining was all the rage, cost efficient too, then came strip mining, and now fracking. The first two have been shown to destroy water tables and pollute the earth to such an extent that they have had to come up with ways to circumnavigate the EPA to keep going. While surface mining is still being done, the effects last long after they go, PH levels are never the same, pollutants find their way into ground water, and Humans drink said ground water. Are we that stupid? or are we just that greedy for money?I remember when they said that offshore drilling was safe, yet when I go to the ocean now, all I have to do is dig down a few inches to find oil, guess they were wrong. When I was a kid Bixler lake had clams, then they put in Walmart's parking lot and it drained into the lake, haven't seen one since. The people that came up with fracking have no idea whatsoever what it will do in the long run, but because it works, and is cost effective, they continue even at the risk that this type of mining will help to rid the world of the plague that has become mankind. I am sure that some of you think that some sky pilot will come down to save you, I truly hope you are correct, but i believe it is more likely that your children, [and mine] and your grandchildren will pay the price of our greed.

[evilkumquat]

The part of being a history buff that really scares me is the way I have seen what energy tech really accomplishes. None of these people have any idea of what fracking is doing to the Earth. At one time Hydraulic mining was all the rage, cost efficient too, then came strip mining, and now fracking. The first two have been shown to destroy water tables and pollute the earth to such an extent that they have had to come up with ways to circumnavigate the EPA to keep going. While surface mining is still being done, the effects last long after they go, PH levels are never the same, pollutants find their way into ground water, and Humans drink said ground water. Are we that stupid? or are we just that greedy for money?I remember when they said that offshore drilling was safe, yet when I go to the ocean now, all I have to do is dig down a few inches to find oil, guess they were wrong. When I was a kid Bixler lake had clams, then they put in Walmart's parking lot and it drained into the lake, haven't seen one since. The people that came up with fracking have no idea whatsoever what it will do in the long run, but because it works, and is cost effective, they continue even at the risk that this type of mining will help to rid the world of the plague that has become mankind. I am sure that some of you think that some sky pilot will come down to save you, I truly hope you are correct, but i believe it is more likely that your children, [and mine] and your grandchildren will pay the price of our greed.

I keep it simple in my mind.

Anything to do with fossil fuels is ultimately a very bad idea.

[Copycatted]

Besides they don't even follow the good money that they should be following on these new energy innovations how quickly they have soon forgotten by denying it all of what else their money spent on education bought them in a few election cycles prior to this 2012 one,take away the natural lube whenever matters shift below us and welcome do the defining of earthquakes unlimited topside...pumping water back down there to do in exchange for what crude does doesn't even take an higher education let alone an G.E.D. to figure that misguided engineering...and while it's yet Preparedness Month 2012 for those of us looking for Recruits for such disasters in the same of CERT/FEMA/DHS volunteer work-contact your local County Emergency Management Director about that.