Detroit Auto Workers to Make Windmills
This is my crackpot scheme, hear me out. I was against the bank bailout and I'm against the automotive bailout. I live in a capitalist country and I side with most libertarian ideals. However, I would hate to see the entire state of Michigan look like Flint did when I drove through there in 1995 -- desolate, broke, and empty. After all, auto manufacturers pay taxes too and they might need a hand if Chrysler and GM were to go under. My proposal? Government subsidized windmills.Why not take the manufacturing work force already in place and build a couple of windmill plants? The workers would have their jobs and they'd be creating renewable energy at a price that families around the country could afford. They might even expand into solar panels after a couple of years. After all, Obama has already expressed an interest in creating green jobs.
The market created by this proposal would ween us off fossil fuels, promote more research into renewable energy and would certainly reduce the number of private jets in the sky.
Where would you put the auto bailout money? What stipulations would you demand?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-19-2008 @ 12:14PM
Carney said...
Windmills are an asinine idea.
They are expensive, unreliable, and do nothing to wean us off oil, since only 3% of our electricity comes from oil.
You want to do something about oil, then target transportation fuel - well over 90% of our cars are locked in to oil only, including the way over hyped hybrids, which just squeeze a few extra miles out of their oil, and at best only slow down the growth of oil demand.
Ironically, that takes us back to autoworkers. If there were a mandate that all new cars sold (NOT just made) in America be flex fuel vehicles, able to run not just gasoline but also alcohol fuel whenever they can find it, that changes the game completely.
Alcohol fuel runs clean, without particulate matter (smog) or CO2 (global warming) emmisions. It breaks down readily into safe components if spilled or leaked, and is not a carcinogen or mutagen. And of course it doesn't fund the Saudis, Iranians, Venezuelans, Russians, etc.
Most importantly of all to Average Joe, alcohol fuels are CHEAP. Drop the tarrifs on Brazilian ethanol and watch the price plummet far below gasoline. Methanol is already far cheaper than gasoline as well. And unlike oil, these commodities can't be "cornered" by a handful of players who then choke production to jack up the price. Ethanol crops can be grown all over the world and methanol can be made from ANY bio mass, including coal, sewage, trash, crop residues, weeds, etc. Too much diversity of sources.
Knowing that their big brawny SUV can burn fuel that is not only cheap during an economic downturn but will be cheap PERMANENTLY regardless of what the economy and OPEC do, people will flock to buy them again.
And greenies can rest happy knowing that those fuel guzzlers are burning a fuel that is FAR FAR better for the environment.
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