Posted by
John R. LaPlante on Monday, October 02, 2006 4:58:01 PM
Unsound public policies are developed when politicians, looking at human wants and needs, choose good intentions over reality. This is certainly true of energy policy. The need for energy of all kinds (electric, fuel, etc.) has only grown throughout human history.
It’s no surprise what would be ideal for meeting our energy needs: something that is plentiful, cheap, clean, and free of unpleasant political connotations. One candidate, throughout the years, has been wind power. Winds are a natural part of atmosphere, they’re not owned by foreign despots, and since no fossil fuels are burned, they create no emissions.
Yet for economic for technological, reasons, wind power is unlikely to be more than a marginal supplier of energy. Michael R. Fox of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii (note, no final “s”) says that Hawaiians are being taxed to shift money to a few windmill owners in Maui. “The revenues from the sale of [kilowatt hours] is less than the sum of the other tax subsidies, the number of kilowatt hrs of energy production is essentially unimportant financially,” he writes.
What should state leaders do? Stop doing harm through tax policies, for one thing. The nation is filled with scientists and entrepreneurs who, when the right combination of factors converge, will find new ways of meeting our energy needs—without using government to line a few individuals at public expense.