A story this week on WRAL announced that Gov. Pat McCrory will seek federal funds to help the state "partner" in constructing "offshore energy" -- that's liberalspeak for "windfarms".  Our liberal Republican Governor has, for many, many years, been involved up to his neck in progressive radical environmentalist and U.N. causes, organizations and projects.  Even though he ran as a pretend conservative, it's really hard for an old zebra to change his stripes....

Windmill technology is finally becoming recognized for the wildly wasteful and impractical boondoggle that it really is.  In the past, wind farms have tied up enormous amounts of otherwise productive farmland or worse, denuded timberland.  Even genuine environmentalists who are actually concerned about the environment and not massive control agendas, are opposed to wind farms because they kill so many birds, they introduce noise that disrupts the wildlife and natural environment, they destroy habitat and natural beauty, and so on.  More energy is expended in the production of equipment, construction of the wind farm, and recurring maintenance than will ever be produced.  More toxic waste is produced and released during the production of these windmills and the massive battery installations which must accompany them than will be saved through the operational life cycle.

Drive up the Appalachian chain and you will find example after example of abandoned or mothballed windfarms dotted along the ridges.  Why?  Because each wind mill generator must be given a massive overhaul every five years.  There are huge stresses on the bearings and arms of these monsters.  The batteries will begin to weaken and fail after ten years or so of operation, and must thereafter soon be replaced.  This is why you will typically see a wind farm operate for roughly five or six years and then go mothballed.  The "green energy" firm has taken taxpayer subsidy to build the pink elephant, and then that firm milks the profits until the massive maintenance bills start pouring in.  Once the cream has been skimmed at taxpayer expense, the firm abandons the now worthless "investment" and applies for a new grant on a new project.  It's all a scam where some get rich or richer off our "collective" tax contributions.

It also happened extensively in the ethanol boondoggle.

These are simply the whimsical fantasies of naive minds -- or the corrupt connivance of nefarious men.

Well, if you think recurring maintenance costs are severe and impractical for a wind farm in the mountains, desert, or plains -- just wait until you see the wear and tear on wind mills constructed over salt water and subject to severe oceanic storms.  This harebrained scheme won't last half as long.  Just ask any homeowner on the coast how rough the sea environment is on his house, auto, and exposed equipment.

But common sense means nothing to liberal pseudo-environmentalists.  Gov. Pat loves big projects like "rapid rail" and "green energy" boondoggles.  Gov. Pat is just slightly less progressive than was his Democrat opponent.  He is Democrat-lite.  He was "the lesser of two evils" all over again.

And this mess demonstrates how much we need to reform the Republican Party.  It has become nearly identical so often to the Democrat-Socialist "New" Party.  I wish Gov. Pat would wise up, but he probably won't.

Scores of boondoggle green energy failures.  Abandoned windmill farms and solar farms scarring the landscape.  Yet Barry in his SOTU speech proposes even more wasteful throwaway spending on his crony supporters in the "green" "renewable" energy industry.

The latest scandall is a British-owned scam -- LG was supposed to produce batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles.  These are the toys of the leftists who imagine that they will prove economical, attractive, and somehow practical for consumers in the real world.

Surprise!  Another boondoggle!  Another gross waste of your and my tax dollars -- and, since >40₵ of every dollar is borrowed or printed by the Federal Reserve out of "thin air", this is another gross generational theft from your grandchildren!  Shame on this out-of-control, insane government.  And shame on us in the electorate for enabling this insanity.


Bill Cochrane

Based on the lies of Global Warming/Climate Change, the Obama Administration has handed out huge sums of money during the so-called "Stimulus" programs and other grants to all kinds of "green" "renewable" energy companies.  The favorite boondoggles were in solar and wind power pipe dreams.  But the government largesse with taxpayers' money extended to poorly conceived electric cars and the batteries for them.

Obama and his fellow cronies liked to call these throwaways "investments".  He liked to portray these sham ventures as "research and development" into "tomorrow's technologies".  Truth is, for anyone who takes the time to research it, electric cars are older technology than gasoline powered vehicles.  They came first.  And in spite of all the improvements in motor, battery, and materials technology, the range, speed, reliability, and durability has not increased at all since the early 1900's.

And the overall efficiency when you consider the multiple power conversions (first at the power plant, then to battery storage, then to battery drain, then to mechanical power, then to kinetic motion) is far, far worse than using gasoline or natural gas.  Thus, the pollution is greater.  And the toxic wastes produced in the battery production and vehicle manufacture are greater than those for more familiar vehicles.  It's a boondoggle.

Same with solar.  No matter how much the solar cell technology improves, solar will never be viable for more than small portable power needs.  There is simply not enough energy in sunlight falling on a given area to ever be economically viable for power production.  And then, to be useful, once again you have to store the energy in banks of batteries -- and you're back to the efficiency problems and technology limitations of batteries.  Not to mention again that to manufacture solar cells generates far more pollution and toxic waste than batteries.

But the worst part of all this foolishness was that Obama's green energy program was really much more about rewarding crony supporters than anything else.  All of the companies upon which he has squandered our money were headed by friends, campaign bundlers, major contributors or political allies.  This was another redistributionist scheme, but this one benefitted his friends.

The following list is of the 34 "green energy" companies that were subsidized with Federal money and have either gone out of business, or are in bankruptcy and likely to go out of business.  Together, they represent a cool $80B of our money -- all for NOTHING!  No new techology.  No new jobs.  No progress toward energy independence.  No new products.  Only more national debt.  Only more deficit spending.  Only more squandered money.  Only more enriched crooks.

Over 1900 investigations have been launched, but nothing will come from them.  The political subterfuge is too deep.  The only thing we can do now is get more people to awaken and demand a stop to the lies and deceptions.  Demand a stop to the wasteful schemes.  Demand real and substantial cuts in real spending.  Demand government policies which encourage all forms of inexpensive energy without government interventions.  We can do it!

Source:  Heritage


Bill Cochrane

The Triangle J Council of Governments hosted a workshop for local elected officials, managers, and local commission members entitled:   Hydraulic Fracturing:   Practical Considerations and First-Hand Experience.  The workshop was held at the Lee County Farm Bureau Auditorium in Sanford, NC, at 1:30 PM on March 29, 2012.

This video covers the 2h:52m workshop, including the Q&A session.

Speakers include: Kirby Bowers, Executive Director, Triangle J Council of Governments; Ryke Longest, Duke University School of Law; Jim Hassinger, Executive Director, Southwest Pennsylvania Regional Commission; Rod Ruddock, Chairman, Indiana County Board of Commissioners, Byron Stauffer, Economic Development Director, Indiana County; and Richard Whisnant, UNC School of Government

The workshop gave an excellent overview of the fracking process, the issues and concerns related to the industy, the status of NC laws and regulations related to fracking, and the truth behind many of the myths, rumors, and misinformation that abound.

Those of us serving on the Moore County Land Use Steering Committee were asked to attend this workshop.  I am very glad that I did!  I highly recommend it to everyone.

This industry stands to bring more prosperity and good fortune to many of the residents of Moore County.  Are there problems?  Yes!  Are there concerns?  Yes!  Can it be done both economically and safely for our people, our environment and our common benefit?  Yes!  It will require REASONABLE balanced regulations - yes!  It will require that we work with those who have a single-minded fear of change, of possible accidents, of harm to the environment.  It will require that we listen to those who resist change and wish to preserve the county in some kind of imagined "pristine" state.  We must listen to these and we must respect and heed their fears and their ideals as long as they are also reasonable.  But we must stand against obstructionists and take advantage ot this wonderful opportunity that Creation has given us.

You are going to read a great deal about this issue in the media.  You're going to hear a great deal about it in local politics.  You need to be informed and not simply accept hype and sound-bytes.  Please, when you have the time, sit down and listen.  You will be glad that you did.


Bill Cochrane

Update - 4/11/12:

You can view the slideshow presentations used in this workshop, or save them to your hard drive using the links below:

1.  Local Issues - Rkye Longest
2.  PA Shale - James Hassinger
3.  Differences Between Marcellus & Sanford - Ryke Longest
4.  Regulatory Issues - Richard Whisnant