Great. Now we see that a nuclear power renaissance is unlikely, due to the economic downturn and concommitant credit difficulties.
Coal, of course, is on track to be “bankrupt[ed]” by our president-elect, and EPA is leading the way. [You see, Congress has heretofore been responsible enough to serially reject greenhouse-gas rationing. (Though it remains derelict for not passing this common-sense injunction against EPA’s false urgency when it should be proceeding deliberately. And you can do your part, here). Of course, with Beverly Hills’ own Henry Waxman now chairing Energy & Commerce, there’s renewed “hope” for congressional climate-change irresponsibility.]
The supply of natural gas, as Alan Greenspan among others have long warned, is also being strangled.
Out West we are breaking dams, and can no longer build them.
So it appears that we will just have to rely on electricity, instead – electricity, that is, that we won’t be getting from coal, hydro, natural gas, and nuclear (which together provide 95.4 percent of our electricity currently).
Oddly, uneconomical wind, solar, and pixie dust are on tap for massive subsidies under the cover of “green jobs” — and, as you can also see in the graph above, these have never proven to supply anything near the power that a modern society requires.While a president or congress can choose to subsidize these extravagances — which is merely an inefficient reallocation of resources from productive uses, and therefore slightly harmful — mandating their use is highly destructive.
The stock market continues to offer a snapshot of investor expectations of future economic performance. And while I hate to say it, given the way that the near- and mid- terms are shaping up, I trust that the Dow seems to have things about right, at present. Henry Waxman’s ascension will do little to rouse the bulls on Wall Street.