Breakthrough: What About Solar & Wind?

The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed today by Pete du Pont on our "abysmal national energy policy" - past administrations have done a poor job of preparing the our energy system to meet the demands of a growing population and expanding economy. Judging by his recommendations for improvement, Du Pont seems not to have heard of climate change. His major recommendation is to boost domestic oil and coal production by building more coal plants and lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling in Alaska.

With voices from across the political spectrum calling for increased renewable energy production, it was surprising to hear one so utterly unconcerned with investment in solar and wind power - all they got was a rote, distracted nod in the final paragraph. Du Pont's arguments would make more sense if he were a global warming skeptic, but his stance on climate is muddled and confusing. He praises nuclear power because it is "clean and efficient," - as if he believed "cleanliness" were a laudable goal for an energy technology - but then he turns around and ridicules policies that prohibit the construction of new coal plants on the basis of their carbon emissions.

But there's one thing du Pont got right - we desperately need a president who can steer the country in a new energy direction.

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