Let's learn a lesson from history. Go
back to the first of the 20th century and you would find the leaders
of the horse and buggy industry telling American workers that they
were going to be out of jobs and totally destroyed by the automobile.
They were telling the public that it was in insidious invention that
would destroy the economy and bring great harm to everyone. Those
related to the horse and buggy industry got legislation passed that
was designed specifically to undermine and stop the automobile. The
automobile did seem to be a rich person's toy. They cost a lot of
money until Henry Ford. And yes, they did causes the demise of the
horse and buggy as the chief mode of American everyday
transportation. Gone were the livery stables. Gone were the smithies.
Gone were the buggy shops. Horse ranches are still around but a good
farrier is hard to find. In the place of the livery stable, smithie
and buggy shop there was an explosion of manufacturing jobs. Entire
new industries grew up around the automobile - it needed metal ... it
needed fuel ... it needed rubber for tires ... it needed engineers,
mechanics, technicians ... it needed places to fix them when they
broke and places where one could buy the fuel. The automobile did a
lot more than just replace the horse and buggy and provide a plethora
of new job fields, it also brought down the cost of the new
contraption and enabled other industries to grow and prosper - farming
and transportation for example. The automobile didn't hurt the
common person. It benefited them. The only people who faced ruin
because of the automobile were the very few extremely rich people who
controlled and amassed their fortunes from the horse and buggy, and
all they had to do was make the switch and they were back in
business.
Sadly I don't think the American people
have ever understood the lesson that the automobile should have
taught us. Now we again hear the cry for coal and oil. Yes, it is
the common person who has the "coal turns on the lights"
bumper stickers. But what ever gave them the idea that only coal and
oil can serve the best needs of the people? Guess! The extremely
wealthy who have amassed great fortunes on the backs of the people
who labored in the mines and oil fields. Who is it that says that
solar and wind energy won't work? ... again, those who have amassed
great wealth from coal and oil.
All forms of renewable energy methods
have proven their worth. Why are they so expensive? Because those who
control legislation are those who are owned by coal and oil and they
make laws trying to keep solar and other renewable energy sources at
bay. Yes, they will lose money if these so-called alternative energy
sources prevail. BUT the common person, like they did a century
ago, will benefit. Today coal, including transportation and power
generation, only provides 174,000 jobs. Two years ago solar energy
provided 209,000 full-time jobs and is growing. That does not
include the manufacture of solar panels, installation,
maintenance, technicians, and a host of other new and exciting
possibilities.
Yes, that poor man in Kentucky might
not be able to crawl into a dangerous hole each day and end up with
black lung so that he can make his personal fortune. He might be
forced to work in the sunlight and live a long and healthy life. Also,
the product that he extracts from the earth would no longer be able
to be burned and cause acid rain polluting the air and water in
neighboring states. Could we possibly give up these scenario just to
have better lives and a cleaner environment? YES! Definitely!! And
if you're worried about the poor robber baron not keeping his
uncountable fortune, I can guarantee that within a few years he'll
own more than his fair share of the solar industry just like those
who owned the buggy factories and switched to making cars or car
parts. History has shown us that, like the poor, the mega-rich who
believe that you and I exist to serve him will always be with us.
One of the big reasons that the
mega-rich will do everything in their power to keep the common person
ignorant of the benefits of renewable energy resources is control.
The last thing in the world they want to happen is for you to realize
that for an amazingly affordable price and a little education you can
be almost totally independent. Their uncountable fortunes depend upon
keeping control of people and making them dependent. Those of us who
live off the grid make them very unhappy. They have lost control of
us. You would be amaze at the many thousands of people who have
learned the truth and have broken free. (I wish I had a better
count, but I can tell you that there are probably 2-3,000 within a
mile of us as I write.)
Pamela and I are now living 100%
self-produced solar energy. We do still cook with propane but I'll
admit that is preference. We currently have two solar panels that
provide all the power we need. We run everything except a microwave
and air conditioner. (We don't desire to use those so they're
superfluous for us.) Tomorrow we're going to have two more stationary
panels put on Sinni. We will have the ability to generate enough
power to run almost anything we want. We have also seen those around
us using small personal wind generators. I'm looking at that for
times we're under heavy forest canopy. The thing is that renewable energy sources are
easy, clean, and less expensive to use and maintain. Like so many
others, we are free.
Now I do realize that if you live in a
city you do not have as many options as we have. If you live in a
free-standing house you can go solar for $10,000 or less. There is a
tiny town in northwestern Montana that is 100% solar and most of the
farms around the town are either solar or hydro-electric. If you can
do solar in northwestern Montana, you can do it anywhere. If you
live in an apartment or other situation where you can't have your own
source of energy, you can help pressure government to move toward
solar energy for your town.
Let's learn from history and rejoice at
the success of the renewable energy industries. Tell your Senator and
Representative to quit wasting your time and money on trying to save
coal and oil for the mega-rich who want it, and start helping us all
get clean, safe and affordable renewable energy.
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