Investing in alternative energy will help Great Lakes
(Last updated: 07/28/10 7:54pm)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
Originally Published: 07/28/10 7:54pm
LH
07/29/10 9:11amWow…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 11:07amI 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.
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mvt
08/02/10 9:13pmSpain 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 ?