While the United States continues to spend billions on foreign wars above the $4 trillion spent on Iraq and Afghanistan, we continue to receive new studies showing how the country is failing behind in education, science, and other programs needed for future growth. The latest is the study of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, which found that we have now dropped to 13th out of 16 major nations in energy efficiency — a key economic factor for future growth.
We are now ten spots behind the European Union. I recently spoke with an American businessman and got an insight into the impact of our worsening position. He and his partner created a major company in Iceland because energy costs were so low due to the use of volcanic and other alternative energy. He said that it was just too good to pass up. Of course, these countries also have cleaner air and better health of its citizens. While these studies often look at energy costs, they do not factor in the deaths associated with air pollution. Indeed, most citizens have no idea of the high levels of a death associated with many pollutants.
The energy lobby in the United States continues to resist efforts to mandate alternative energy sources unless it is questionable sources like ethanol. Lobbyists insist that such sources are too expensive and unreliable despite the fact that Germany is number one in the world in the use of such sources and continues to outstrip the world in the strength of its economy. We continue like a ship of fools, spending wildly on wars while refusing to create infrastructure and resources for alternative fuels. We are watching as our educational scores drop with key industrial factors like energy efficiency. What do we think is going to happen for the next generation?
Paul C. Schulte
YOU: “Studies seem to be showing that clean energy is not cost effective.”
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ME: “Tell that to Germany, a nation that was the number one exporter for years, after it took first place from the U.S.
Now China has taken first place, and the U.S. is third.
Germany is way big on renewable resources, rejecting the war inducing drug and nuclear.
Other nations of Europe and the middle east are doing the same.
Stop listening to Oil-Qaeda propaganda please.”
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Paul C. Schulte
YOU: “Dredd – the main source of energy [actually electricity, not energy] in Germany is coal.”
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Like I said, stop shilling for Oil-Qaeda.
Germany is a successful economy that is moving away from coal and other pollution.
Today is not tomorrow.
German laws have been changed: “The Renewable Energy Act has been the central political element of one of the greatest paradigm shifts since the start of the industrial revolution: the shift from fossil and atomic energy supplies to renewable energy sources (Green Energy Act Alliance, 2011). The German energy market has started to turn away from fossil fuels and centralized electricity structures towards a decentralized approach of energy production. With investor friendly remuneration rates, electricity production is no longer in the hands of a few big energy companies. The Renewables 2013 – Global status report by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st century (REN21) shows Germany’s favorable position in the global Renewable Energy markets.”
Now go read Mark 17 because the sermon next week is about lying, which is a form of misrepresenting things.
You can’t see the future by continuing to drive looking only in the rear view mirror (Germany Sets New Record, Generating 74 Percent Of Power Needs From Renewable Energy): “On Sunday, Germany’s impressive streak of renewable energy milestones continued, with renewable energy generation surging to a record portion — nearly 75 percent — of the country’s overall electricity demand by midday. With wind and solar in particular filling such a huge portion of the country’s power demand, electricity prices actually dipped into the negative for much of the afternoon, according to Renewables International.”
You are either for omnicide or against it.
Dredd – no manufacturing without electricity. Personally, I am for omnicide.
I feel a great sadness about the US. We are fortunate to have amazing resources in our people and environment. Yet, so much of what we have is squandered. People are thrown away like garbage. Their crime? Being poor, working and middle class. There is so much talent in so many people. Why not make a place for it?
We have excellent natural resources, which again, are simply trashed.
We have every good thing to make a good society. I so want a flourishing world. I don’t understand “leaders” who want to be queens and kings of a sh*t pile. This is not an accomplishment, It is being a complete and utter failure as both a leader and a human being. We can do so much better.
Nick Spinelli
When you speak of European counties and try and compare their healthcare, economy, transportation, government, etc. there is are major differences few acknowledge. The US is exponentially larger in land mass, population, heritage and diversity. So, there’s that.
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Is that history?
“The population within the standard physical geographical boundaries was 731 million in 2005 according to the United Nations.”
“As of July 18, 2014, the United States has a total resident population of 318,406,000.”
(both from Wikipedia, Demographics).
You are saying that 318.4 > 718 (yeah & Mars and the Earth are both heating up?).
So, there’s that.
Paul C. Schulte
Studies seem to be showing that clean energy is not cost effective.
…
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Tell that to Germany, a nation that was the number one exporter for years, after it took first place from the U.S.
Now China has taken first place, and the U.S. is third.
Germany is way big on renewable resources, rejecting the war inducing drug and nuclear.
Other nations of Europe and the middle east are doing the same.
Stop listening to Oil-Qaeda propaganda please.
Dredd – the main source of energy in Germany is coal.
Annie, Our system is more accurately called a health insurance corporation industry having little to do with health care. This is a real shame on our nation as is the fact that we refuse to invest in clean energy.
In fact, we do readily spend money on war. We are likely to try war in the Ukraine and we are the world’s largest arms dealer by several orders of magnitude. We have money to spy on the world’s population. We have money to bolster the financial industry, shielding it from all risk. In other words, we have the money but we continue to use it for the most appalling things!
As citizens, we need to stop shielding politicians by justifying their bad choices. We need to demand full stop on these destructive ways. It will not be easy, success is far from guaranteed, but we must try.
Annie wrote “As long as no children are being married off or abused”
But they are. Read the posts in The Polygamy Blog from the Salt Lake Tribune:
http://www.sltrib.com/Blogs/polygblog
Saucy, if multiple people want to marry each other, it’s not my business. As long as no children are being married off or abused. My relatives in Germany went there as refugees from eastern Europe after WW2. Some of my family came here to the states and some went to Canada. Both my Canadian and German relatives think our healthcare system sucks.
The actual cost of German reunification was 1.5-2 trillion euros. The migration to western Germany has slowed and many people are now moving back to the east. As slohrss29 correctly noted, we have spent obscene amounts on war, but also on Wall Street bailouts. Germany made the better investment, by far.
“While these studies often look at energy costs, they do not factor in the deaths associated with air pollution. Indeed, most citizens have no idea of the high levels of a death associated with many pollutants.” – JT
Excellent point.
Millions of deaths and diseases are the result, right now, around the world due to pollution.
Another cost associated is the cost of war and other military spending to secure (steal) oil resources over the past century.
Americans are utterly unaware, in general, that even the Ukraine thingy is associated with the century long oil wars (The Peak Of The Oil Wars – 10).
That is because “history teachers” don’t, and the public is not curious.
Paul wrote “we are moving rapidly into a service industry model rather than manufacturing”
Service jobs generally pay minimum wage, while manufacturing jobs pay enough to enter the middle class. The majority of jobs created recently were service jobs.
“so I am not really worried”
Only because you are not the one forced to work two or three part-time, low-wage jobs to survive.
Paul, Dirty energy is not cost effective, it is cost subsidized by the govt.. Further, costs have to include all costs-like the ones JT pointed out, deaths, illness for two, and then there’s that whole global warming set of costs.
We are all paying for that in weather extremes. If you don’t add in the real costs in destruction of the planet’s ecosystem, massive govt. subsidies, illness and death, high insurance rates, etc.– sure, dirty energy pays!
When you speak of European counties and try and compare their healthcare, economy, transportation, government, etc. there is are major differences few acknowledge. The US is exponentially larger in land mass, population, heritage and diversity. So, there’s that.
The Marshall Plan was very important to Germany, but we also forget the monumental task they took on when they absorbed East Germany. Some pundits thought it would drag both to third world status. While we have engaged in non-stop war and sending money abroad, they have survived and thrived by concentrating on getting the country unified, infrastructure up to date, and re-instilling the German industrial culture we have discussed. I realize it hasn’t been perfect, but it still appears to be working.
Annie, I could talk your ear off regarding Germany. I believe they have the best mix of government, unions, capitalism, and lifestyle. I have spent many weeks there on vacation and love it. I always point to Germany when hillbillies claim that unions caused the U.S. to slip into decline. Speaking of healthcare, Germany has a top-notch system, but Switzerland probably has the best system in the world
P.S. How come you did not join into the discussion on polygamy a few days back? I would have thought you would rip into polygamists.
I did point out in my earlier post that guildsman do have more support from government and industry to get to where they need to be. It’s not just altruism, but it is a plan that works for everyone. Point being that it is very important that people are not taken care of like sheep, but assisted to become proactive as a part of the country, not as a ward of the country. Germany has chosen to push away nuclear power, but is moving quickly to more coal. I was expecting to see them embrace cutting edge technologies such as energy from thorium; however, I would think they see coal as a short term energy solution. They are a small country by comparison to the US, and realize the expense, damage, and hardship that comes from the dirty energy from a mineral slime.
It is a shame–everyone should be celebrated for the skills they provide a society and how it makes the country stronger. Craftsman built the world. Today in the US, if you profess a skill, it’s almost an immediate move to see if you can replicate that skill at a lower cost in a cheaper part of the world. They have a system in Germany that works, but it only works because everyone has bought into it. Seems as though everything here is lip service.
Studies seem to be showing that clean energy is not cost effective. However, we could tap the power of the super volcano that is under Yellowstone Park to supply energy for lots of manufacturing jobs. Anyone up for it?
German industry was basically destroyed during WWII. What was left was taken into the Soviet Union. The United States, under the Marshall Plan help put West Germany back on its feet. They got to start with brand-new equipment. The US, in the meantime, was competing with equipment that had been made in the 1910s. We had the same problem with Japan.
Our business models are far different than either of those countries and we are moving rapidly into a service industry model rather than manufacturing, so I am not really worried. I am worried about the pollution from China coming to the United States though.
Jill wrote “Do you truly believe that this is a strictly partisan issue?
It was a joke, nothing more. The reason I used the word “saucy” in my nom de guerre is that I often see the humor in a subject.
I actually agree with you. One of the many reasons our country is doomed is that both parties have become capitalist. Just one proof is how Democrats no longer consider unions to be important.
I believe we should consider all forms of energy. Nuclear makes sense only in non-earthquake zones and only when we engineer it within an inch of its life. Wind turbines could be built in many areas of the country. Solar makes sense in the Southwest, but allowing Chinese companies to supply our panels defeats the purpose. Fracking may cause our country to collapse after it contaminates the aquifers.
P.S. I am disliked by many people here because I refuse to fit in a mainstream box.
Saucy, Germans are far more politically and philosophically liberal than we are in this country. Their social safety nets are stronger and more encompassing than ours. My relatives in Germany think our form of healthcare is ridiculous, especially before Obamacare.
Jill, I want to thank you for your comment to James. There are too many people on this blog who don’t really want to contribute ideas or to engage in dialogue; they just want to blame Romney, the Koch brothers, big oil, Bush, conservatives and Republicans. You know, people like James. And you (see your 11:00 comment, paragraph 3). Seems a bit hypocritical to scold James ….
slohrss, I never gave it much thought but it was mostly Eastern European and Italian first and second generation males in Ct. that became tool and die makers. I can think of no Irish, Puerto Rican, or black kids who took up the profession. I know many females who worked in factories, my mom, aunts, cousins and friends. But, they worked the unskilled jobs. Hopefully that has changed in this era. My old man had me work one summer @ his employer, Pratt & Whitney aircraft. He didn’t want me to quit college and gave me a taste of factory work. He was wide. I worked a turret lathe machining parts for overhauling jet engines. I did the rough cuts, I am not very precise! The pay was good but it’s hot, loud, dirty work. I worked even tougher outside construction jobs. But, for me anyway, being outside makes it less oppressive. I have family and friends who made a great living as tool and die makers and are now retired. They loved their work and took great pride in their craftsmanship. I has an uncle who was a tool and die maker for Colt firearms. They only hired the best of the best. They were the NY Yankees of tool and die makers.