The election on Tuesday could shape the deployment of renewable
energy in the US for the next several years. It’s peculiar that
renewable energy has become a sharp point of debate, because the stance
of the two political parties is the opposite of what you might expect.
Renewable energy is a tool of pioneers. Wind energy powered the ships that discovered new continents and then powered intercontinental trade. Wind and water powered early entrepreneurs’ mills. Solar panels were developed for powering spaceships.
Pioneers with self-reliance, independence, and ingenuity harnessed the power of their environment to make their lives better. That pioneering entrepreneurial spirit is the inspiration of the Republican Party.
And you’d think, in that spirit, that Republicans would embrace renewable energy as a means whereby the US can become energy independent - not just for a decade or two, but for centuries to come.
Republicans tend to be in favour of a strong military. It’s easy to make a case to support widespread deployment of renewable energy as a strategy for defence of the homeland. Buy an electric car and you will never send another dime to regimes in the Middle East that hate the US.
But it’s the Democrats, not the Republicans, who are somewhat sheepishly defending renewable energy. Democrats support government subsidies, tax credits, feed-in tariffs and government backed loans for renewable energy companies. They are hoping that the payoff for spending all this taxpayer money will be the creation of high-tech jobs.
Democrats view government as nurturing and protecting – a buffer to some of the harsh realities of life. They would tend to distrust and resent some of the libertarian off-the-grid pioneering possibilities of renewable energy technology. Democrats prefer to see renewable energy serving the greater good in a bureaucratic, top-down, rather than bottom-up, entrepreneurial fashion.
Read more: http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Elections-and-Electrons.html
Renewable energy is a tool of pioneers. Wind energy powered the ships that discovered new continents and then powered intercontinental trade. Wind and water powered early entrepreneurs’ mills. Solar panels were developed for powering spaceships.
Pioneers with self-reliance, independence, and ingenuity harnessed the power of their environment to make their lives better. That pioneering entrepreneurial spirit is the inspiration of the Republican Party.
And you’d think, in that spirit, that Republicans would embrace renewable energy as a means whereby the US can become energy independent - not just for a decade or two, but for centuries to come.
Republicans tend to be in favour of a strong military. It’s easy to make a case to support widespread deployment of renewable energy as a strategy for defence of the homeland. Buy an electric car and you will never send another dime to regimes in the Middle East that hate the US.
But it’s the Democrats, not the Republicans, who are somewhat sheepishly defending renewable energy. Democrats support government subsidies, tax credits, feed-in tariffs and government backed loans for renewable energy companies. They are hoping that the payoff for spending all this taxpayer money will be the creation of high-tech jobs.
Democrats view government as nurturing and protecting – a buffer to some of the harsh realities of life. They would tend to distrust and resent some of the libertarian off-the-grid pioneering possibilities of renewable energy technology. Democrats prefer to see renewable energy serving the greater good in a bureaucratic, top-down, rather than bottom-up, entrepreneurial fashion.
Read more: http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Elections-and-Electrons.html
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