Homestead mailing list

[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> >I believe that an Obama administration will push alternative energy  
> technologies.

One could say that Bush pushed alternative energy, more so than anyone before 
him.  Behold the entire ethanol debacle.  It was supposed to be a bigger 
Jesus on a Bicycle than Obama himself.

But pushing alternative energies, which no doubt Obama will do - even if only 
rhetorically, is a two edged sword.  Right now he has an uphill battle.  Oil 
is "cheap" (over three times what it was before the 2006 sharp rise, but 
people are wallowing in the "Hurray, I'm a llama again!") and so the hot 
motivation 
to come up with alternatives is suddenly missing.    Not only that, the more 
alternative energies you underwrite, the cheaper gas, oil, and coal become 
which takes away even more incentive to have the alternates.

We could get off of middle east oil by consuming half as much oil as we do.  
Having read a lot of Obama blather, he clearly understands this and there is 
even evidence that he advocates it.  But promoting alternate energy 
technology 
isn't going to hack it.

What we need to promote is living AS IF we were on total solar and wind right 
now.  That would mean no electric clothes dryers, heat pumps, water heaters, 
ranges, etc,  etc.  Then there would be no problem whether we had alternative 
engergy or not.