Yes solar (PV) is expensive it would cost something like 10 trillion dollars to install a 200 mile by 200 mile farm in the southwest to meet 100% of U.S. energy needs. But hey we just committed to three trillion for a war that gets us only about two years worth of oil.

Mr. Wilkinson said

“Just for starters, hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into solar research every year for the past few decades. For the past few centuries, even in the ancient Greek times, people have been working on making solar energy useful for us — always promising the solution is right around the corner.”

Actually, the Romans constructed very effective passive solar homes. As far as the extravagant claims you say the left makes regarding solar, I have made no such claims, so I’m not sure whom you address here. But I do appreciate the solar cells on my home that generate 100% of my electricity. I appreciate the passive and active solar home that my mother has that costs btw. $10 and $50 (the higher figure in the dead of winter) per month for all energy used, where her neighbors are paying literally hundreds of dollars per month for heating, cooling, lighting, etc.

If you wanted extravagant claims, not from the left, but from inside the industry, recall the nuclear industry’s claims of energy that would be “too cheap to meter.” If you are afraid of a socialist conspiracy, you might want to do something about the fact that the nuclear industry could not exist without massive public subsidies. No private insurers will cover them.

In keeping with your assertion that we should all get our facts straight, I invite you to actually research the history of federal funding for solar energy. You will discover that the Carter Administration was the last one to have anything that could even be described as a serious program. Reagan cut funding to a pittance, and it has never recovered. If you want to talk about money squandered, subsidies, etc. you should compare the solar research figure with subsidies for nuclear, oil and gas, and highways (which are petroleum and auto manufacturing subsidies).

Solar will not solve all of our problems. Continuing to be “addicted” to oil will not solve any of them, and may instead lead to our annihilation.

This is like the pot calling the kettle black. As a matter of fact, this “repetitive sloganeering, gross reductionism of complex ideas into simplistic concepts, and appeals to instinct over intellect”, not to mention tarring and feathering and name-calling anyone who would dare challenge such beliefs and such a state of affairs, that has been the staple diet of the dealings with the left for as long as I can remember. You know, calling people names, just because they disagree with you (especially if they have facts on their side — facts are ridiculed, emotions substitute reason) or even for having certain occupations. And, I believe, this has directly caused the American people, sick and tired of this – recoiling from constantly being told the politically correct ways to think, speak and act, to put in power the current murderous and crazed clique (who are no worse than you are in reason assassination), as an antidote, as a revolt.

But, back to the article and sloganeering, simplification, emotion over intellect discussions wrt solar power in the left circles. Constantly we are being told there is this magic wand of solar power that we only have to waive and all our energy problems would be solved instantaneously, effortlessly and without ill effects with “clean”, “free” solar power. Typical American “pill for every problem” mentality. Then, there are assertions that the powers that be are somehow preventing a serious effort of solar energy exploration and solutions implementation, that there’s a vast conspiracy to deny us this “free lunch” source of energy, which is so beneficent, so cheap (it’s free, we are told) and so easy to use, has no negative side effects, etc.

Just for starters, hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into solar research every year for the past few decades. For the past few centuries, even in the ancient Greek times, people have been working on making solar energy useful for us — always promising the solution is right around the corner. As for the vast conspiracy against solar, did you know that hydro power is a kind of solar power? How much hesitation has there been in using hydro — which concentrates solar power so it can be used practically, how much conspiracy against it? There are dams all over the place. And there are ill effects from those dams (as there are from all energy usage, solar and otherwise), so much for solar not having deleterious side effects, so much for the “free lunch” assertions. The current ethanol craze is also a form of solar energy. The other forms of solar now considered all have environmental as well as health problems associated with them, as well — they are no different from any other large scale energy source, one has only to look beneath the surface. (Anyone who has been on this earth for more than 5 seconds should know that there is no free lunch, but demagogues on the left persist on claiming the opposite. Yes, look at solar — comes from sunshine which is free, quiet and clean, thus solar must be the same — this is the type of reasoning and emotional thinking used by 5 year-olds).

As for the cost, the direct solar conversion systems now considered are hugely expensive, like 10 times and more of any other large scale energy source. The wind power is hugely unreliable and intermittent, disruptive of electrical grids and contributes a small fraction of energy relative to its installed capacity. I discuss some of the myths of solar, put forth by the left, and why it’s not so easy, in my response to the May 10 article on DV, titled “ethanol vs. solar energy”.

Unfortunately you’re way off base. Here’s the way this will likely play out:

The right will deny global warming or downplay it’s effect until such time as it ensures it’s profitability. The point is not to “go out in style” but, as always, to exploit. The problem for the right is that it currently doesn’t understand how to exploit global warming. It’s vision for how to profit from it is too weak, the risk too high. So it’s best political move is to deny and downplay.

Beware the day the right accepts global warming, for their acceptance ensures the world’s catastrophe. Assuming the right remains in power, once global warming can be profited from it’s fulfillment becomes inevitable.

The right doesn’t see itself going out at all. It will live an isolated, amoral, insular lifestyle within it’s gated communities while the world perishes. Millions will die, maybe billions, it doesn’t matter (to them), as long as enough remain alive so that profits and their continuation as the ruling class continues.

Global warming may be a very good thing indeed for the right. A devastated population is a malleable, controllable, slavish one. Who can fight for higher wages when daily survival is a struggle?

Global warming is the 3rd in the grand terror events constructed by the right. The second was nuclear holocaust. The first was genocide. The threat of nuclear annihilation terrorized the world’s population. Hence the world became easy to control, hence the world descended into fascism, which the United States is now experiencing overtly. That’s the most important reason the right will never dismantle nuclear weapons. And that’s the most important reason the right will never solve global warming, or stop committing genocides. Capitalism is a terrorist ideology, and it’s found some very useful methods. Meanwhile, the left, telling itself how global warming will finally bring down capitalism, will itself encourage global warming (by “fighting” ineffectively against it) as a means of capitalism’s destruction, underestimating capitalism’s resiliency.

It is only those people outside this framework who can save the world. Only by directly destroying capitalism (in a hands-on, creative endeavor rather than “protesting” against it) will all terrorist ideologies end and humanity be strengthened and perpetuated.

In the meantime, back on the ranch, the most useful thing that most of the public can do to
save the planet is to take actions to block construction of new coal-fired power plants. It is also
important to be sure that fossil fuel mining is prevented in national parks, off-shore regions under
state influence, any place where the public has influence and can help assure that fossil fuels are
left in the ground.
You also might buy a single share of stock in the evil empire and make some noise at a
stockholders meeting. Who knows, if Darth Vader is continually whacked on the side of his
helmet with a two-by-four, hard enough, he may eventually realize that there are other forms of
energy besides fossil fuels. James Hansen

Now was I to hard in my witting here hell no I was being nice. For these bullshit artists out there quit telling people that we can’t go to electric cars or to build solar thermal to produce that electricity. Because I am going to keep telling people that the reason is you the bullshit artists are doing whatever you can to stop that and why because your nuts and we all know it. There I feel better how about you?