Investing in alternative energy will help Great Lakes
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Whenever we turn on the TV, surf the Internet or open a newspaper, we are bombarded with stories about something negative happening because of oil. For months we sat and watched as BP tried to cap its mess, cursing the people who were to blame and hoping nothing like it would happen again.
This week, here in Michigan — in Calhoun County to be exact — a pipeline malfunctioned and poured almost 900,000 gallons of oil into a creek that feeds into the Kalamazoo River. The results were disastrous. Forget fishing or swimming, the Kalamazoo River looks more like a slick mess of tar than a body of water millions of creatures rely on to survive.
If we don’t end our dependency on dirty fuels, the Great Lakes will be at risk for even more damage like this — possibly even from drilling. But we can protect our lakes and rivers by establishing a constitutional ban on drilling in the Great Lakes. It will be one less catastrophe waiting to happen.
We should utilize our miles of beautiful coastlines and invest in alternative energy sources such as wind power. As is true with all technology, they are bound to malfunction time and again, but I can tell you a broken wind turbine won’t cause a hazardous oil slick.
Alexandra Henderson, journalism senior
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LH
(07/29/10 9:11am)Report
Wow…what a simplistic view of the world. My initial reaction to this was “no shit, Sherlock.” Of course we want to save the Great Lakes and the ocean. But this is a typical article that highlights a problem without even attempting a good faith suggestion to solve that problem. When you find a way to power your car on wind, let me know. Till then, don’t bother pointing out what we all already know.
KJ Green
(07/29/10 11:07am)Report
I think striving for global peace will help the world. Saying it, however, doesn’t reflect the realities of making it happen.
And so goes the clean energy argument. Of course, reducing our dependence on oil will mitigate against future drilling accidents. However, there are a few pesky facts that get in the way of this. One, as LH pointed out above, is the fact that some items can’t be powered by wind or solar — you can’t put a fan or solar panel on top of your car and get very far. Another is that the output of alternative sources of energy pales in comparison to overall demand. Third, utilizing the miles of beautiful coastline for alternative energy, as the writer suggests, is a paradoxical comment. You only need to go as far as the Kennedys to find someone in the “do as I say, not as I do” crowd — supporting alternative energy, but not in my back yard (i.e., Cape Cod). How many people will think this coastline is so beautiful when lined with turbines?
We need to have a diversified portfolio of energy. And yes, we need to make oil drilling safer and less susceptible to spills. (And punish the heck out of companies who are negligent in their operations.) However, to knee-jerk our way to a ban on drilling (oh sorry, that’s already been done) would be a mistake parallel to the effective shut-down of new nuclear technology in this country beginning in the 1980s. Are we saying that France has been able to figure out something that the US hasn’t?
Let’s dispense with all the patty-cake talk and get to a real energy policy in this country.
mvt
(08/02/10 9:13pm)Report
Spain launched a huge alternative energy initiative several years ago, including wind. Recent estimates are that 2 jobs in Spain were lost for every ‘green’ job created. Is that what Michigan needs, more jobs lost ?