People who know me and read the blog know that I am partial to individual freedom and not so much toward government intervention. This is a lonely position to take in today’s world, and it seems more lonely every day as I follow the anthropogenic global warming (AGW) and alternative energy themes out there in the wilds of the internet. Big government solutions to all our problems are certainly on the table. It is not that such programs cannot help solve some problems, just that the track record is fairly poor IMO.
I have blogged about the grain ethanol story a couple of times. It is not that it was not worth a try – making ethanol out of food crops – just that it did not need to become a big government behemoth program that is still draining billions from the federal budget despite being roundly criticized from many corners. I have nothing against the grain ethanol producers. I am personally acquainted with many people in the industry. They are fine people, have good intentions, and work hard, but the numbers do not add up for grain ethanol as an alternative to oil. Even under the best conditions the EROI is not much over 1. You would think we could do better (maybe by using waste products for bio-fuel production). Here is another article describing some of the drawbacks to grain ethanol. Don’t mention this to politicians who are handing out the billions of dollars, they aren’t listening too well.
Another big government project under consideration is solar in the Sahara. Here is an article about Desertec, a European effort to build large solar power plantsin northern Africa and then ship the electricity to Europe. The goal – clean energy – is laudable, but the drawbacks are numerous. Solar power plants need a lot of water to operate and this is a no-brainer: THERE ISN”T MUCH WATER IN THE SAHARA DESERT. Also, the goal of reducing the dependence on “foreign oil” produced by unstable or unfriendly countries by replacing it with solar energy produced in unstable or unfriendly countries doesn’t seem to get us (or Europe in this case) too far ahead. Large solar power plants might be more juicy targets for terrorists or rogue government take-overs. Alternatively, Europeans could continue installing roof-top solar panels as is already occurring and cut out most of the future worries. The only problem from a big government perspective is that Individuals freely installing alternative energy solutions on their property requires fewer bureaucrats and regulation (pardon me while I don’t shed a tear). Although government subsidies are certainly a part of small scale installation of alternative energy, there are many instances of companies rolling out their own strategies and solutions, like the Sunpods that are being deployed at select locations in the U.S. Perhaps smaller grants from governments with less restriction would work better to seed new energy technologies and this is being tried through ARPA-e in the U.S.
Even normally staunch supporters of big government solutions and regulations are coming to the conclusion that some things are best left in the hands of local people. It is no mystery why private property protections/laws produce and preserve wealth even when it comes to forest management. People take care of things they own, while they tend to exploit things that they do not. The tragedy of the commons is still alive and well in 2009. Here is an article promoting local (somewhat more privatized) control over sections of the Amazon rain forest in order to protect it.
Have a fine Monday! Meteorologist Justin Loew
Posted under AGW, Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Environment
This post was written by jloew on October 26, 2009
