Obama and Chu Speak About Clean Energy

First up - President-Elect Obama spoke today at an Ohio company that produces parts for wind turbines. It was a good speech, touting his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plant - and here are some highlights (click here to read the entire speech):

It’s a plan that will save or create three to four million jobs in businesses large and small across a wide range of industries – and 90 percent of these jobs will be in the private sector.  And I want to be clear – we’re not looking to create just any kind of jobs here.  We’re looking to create good jobs that pay well and won’t be shipped overseas.  Jobs that don’t just put people to work in the short-term, but position our economy to be on the cutting edge in the long-term.

That starts with new, clean sources of energy.  We know that the possibilities here are limitless.  Here in Ohio and across America, we’ve seen old factories become new clean energy producers....

...Take the example of wind power alone: I’m told that if we don’t act now, because of the economic downturn, half of the wind projects planned for 2009 could wind up being abandoned.  Think about that.  Think about all the businesses that wouldn’t come to be, all the jobs that wouldn’t be created, all the clean energy we wouldn’t produce. 

And think of what’s happening in countries like Spain, Germany and Japan, where they’re making real investments in renewable energy.  They’re surging ahead of us, poised to take the lead in these new industries.  

This isn’t because they’re smarter than us, or work harder than us, or are more innovative than we are.  It’s because their governments have harnessed their people’s hard work and ingenuity with bold investments – investments that are paying off in good, high-wage jobs – jobs they won’t lose to other countries. 

There is no reason we can’t do the same thing right here in America.  That’s why, as part of our Recovery and Reinvestment plan, we’re committing to double the production of renewable energy in the next three years, and to modernize more than 75% of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes...

What are your thoughts on and reactions to the speech and his plan? Tell us in the comments.

Secondly - Obama's nominee to head up the Department of Enegy, Dr. Steven Chu, has been checking the Change.gov website comments on clean energy and global warming, and recently gave a YouTube response covering temperature increases, a smart national energy grid, and more. It's really interesting, you can tell he's got quite a background in the field - so go check it out.

Comments

[Dahun]

Wind, since it produces power 25% of the time requires fossil fuel back-up 75% of the time. When the carbon taxes are imposed this will mean that 75% of the time we will have carbon taxes imposed on the 75% of the power required because of winds fluctuation. This tax money will be spent to build more wind which will require fossil fuel 75% of the time.

Wind adds no capacity. Shuts down no coal or other fossil fuel. Cleans no air.

It adds huge costs and solves no problem. It guarantees our reliance on fossil fuel. It guarantees 100% of our power has to be fossil fuel backed with wind only able to allow fossil fuel plants to throttle back when they are producing highly priced power. They shut down no fossil fuel plants. They are useless from the standpoint of power production and for cleaning the air. No fossil fuel plants can be shut down.

They are pork projects with no value except to gain support from the gullible.