By Senator Frank Lasee
Democrats in Wisconsin and the Obama administration are falling over themselves to encourage more renewable energy and green technology with billions in taxpayer and electric user subsidies. Here in the state, Democrats are ignoring the harm industrial wind turbines inflict on households within range of the turbine's low frequency vibrations. These vibrations, or “infrasound,” can cause a variety of debilitating symptoms including terrible headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, and insomnia. Nationally, President Obama's stimulus wasted billions of dollars in grants and loans to green companies that ended up going bankrupt such as Abound Solar, Beacon Power, Ener1, and, most notoriously, Solyndra. Some corporate fat cats (can you say 1%) made lots of money from these Democratic policies.
Just how safe and environmentally friendly are some of these purportedly green technologies that the government promotes with generous subsidies and tax credits? The answer, in many cases, is they're not green, clean or cost effective.
Take electric cars, for example. While Nissan, which manufacturers an electric car called the Leaf, advertises the vehicle as having "zero emissions," that sneaky statement doesn't take into account the emissions that go into making the car. Before even a single mile is driven in a Nissan Leaf, its production has already resulted in 30,000 pounds of carbon- dioxide emissions. This is because the mining of lithium, which is used to make the car's battery, is an extremely fossil fuel-intensive process. Manufacturing a conventional, gas powered car, on the other hand, only results in about 14,000 pounds of CO2 emissions.
Something else that must be answered before accurately understanding an electric car’s environmental impact is where the energy that recharges its battery comes from. In the United States, more electricity is generated by coal than by any other single source. Overall, almost 70% of electricity generated in the United States is generated by fossil fuels, mainly coal and natural gas. While owners of electric cars may feel good about not stopping at a gas station, the electric utility is just the fuel to power their car for them.
Worst of all, electric cars cause new kinds of safety concerns. When an electric car is involved in an accident, liquids and vapors that are released can be dangerous to the driver, passengers, and emergency responders. Emergency responders must be able to identify the type of alternative fuel involved--not always an easy process- -as well as the safety procedures for that specific fuel. Imagine being in an accident and told by the first officer at the scene, “I’m sorry, ma’am (or sir), I can’t help you until the hazmat team arrives to secure your vehicle.”
Liberals don’t want mining in Wisconsin, but they’re ok with supporting green vehicles and wind
towers. Lithium mining harms the environment and is driving native tribes out of their homes in
South America. Kind of like wind towers here in Wisconsin.
Toxic vapors aren’t good
– for people or the environment.
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The renewable energy mandate in Wisconsin is estimated to cost energy users an additional $788 million over the next three years. We should be working on real cost effective solutions. Natural gas burns extremely clean, and thanks to horizontal drilling and fracking, has become very abundant. Reliable estimates put the underground reserves of oil and natural gas in the US at present rates of consumption at more than 1000 years. That’s right, a thousand year supply of low cost clean fuel right under Americans feet.