How Green Was His Valley

Right before our eyes, Obama's green jobs initiative has all but withered away, dried up in the harsh light of reality.  Candidate Barack Hussein Obama promised he would invest $150 billion in solar, wind, geothermal, and other green technologies, that would create 5 million new jobs by the end of the decade.  To date, about $90 billion has been frittered away to the likes of Solyndra, Evergreen Solar, and SpectraWatt, with little but red faces to show for it.  Why? Economics.

According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, the Energy Information Administration estimates that the cost of electricity generated by natural gas is $63.10 per megawatt hour.  Conversely, electricity generated by wind costs $243.20 per megawatt hour.  A whopping $311.80 for solar generated power.  Get the picture?  But Obama and his bureaucrats know better.  They just dumped another $1.1 billion in new loan guarantees to green firms in Nevada and Arizona two weeks ago.  What's more unbelievable is that between them, Tonopah Solar and Sempra Energy, the two companies that will share those loan guarantees, promise only 45 permanent jobs!  Meanwhile, the Obama administration and leftist environmentalists continue to fight the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast.  This project promises 13,000 union jobs and 118,000 "spin-off" jobs at no cost to taxpayers.

Speaking of misguided policies and priorities, the U. S. Attorney for North Dakota has charged seven oil and gas companies in federal court for killing a combined 28 birds.  28 birds.  According to the American Bird Conservancy, from data derived from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 440,00 birds are killed annually by wind turbine operations.