Renewable Energy – Attack and Counterattack

I take great delight in the fact that every day, more Americans are becoming mindful of the issues surrounding fossil fuels and the migration to renewable energy.  Americans “overwhelmingly” prefer solar and wind energy to coal, oil, and nuclear energy, according to a Harvard political scientist who has conducted a comprehensive survey of attitudes toward energy and climate for the last 12 years.

Of course, the impact of this concept is not lost on the ultra-powerful oil companies, who are working hard to defeat the will of the people and force our great nation to stick with its dirty, 20th Century energy solution, i.e., burning hydrocarbons and living with the terrible consequences in terms of environmental degradation and damage to human health.  Thus, we have fights at every turn, for example, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC — the conservative group backed by the Koch brothers whose billion-dollar enterprise is built largely on fossil fuels) works nonstop to pass legislation that would invalidate our states’ renewable energy portfolio standards.

But if you think this is wicked in the U.S., check out Spain, where renewable energy is starting to make a significant comeback after the last few years; there, the people are experiencing a level of radical attack that makes our garbage in the U.S. appear tame by comparison.  Apparently, the Spanish government:

Has introduced a range of punititive retroactive policies targeting solar installations receiving the country’s feed-in tariff and other forms of support. The most recent, in June, was a proposed “sun tax” on the use of batteries for residential self-consumption of solar energy in Spain which would be punishable by a fined double that for leaking radioactive waste.

The good news: in less than a week, more than 180,000 Spanish citizens signed a petition against the plans.

It’s all-out warfare.  What a shame.  We have so many problems and true enemies; it sure is a disappointment that we have to fight for healthy lungs and a life-supporting environment.