A Green Energy Activist Wakes Up

No matter how good the Dream is, you always have to wake up to Reality.

Hey folks,

Happy Tuesday morning to ya. Here is a classic example of someone who was in the middle of a GREAT Dream. Have you ever been there? You tuck yourself in and slip off to Dreamland, finding yourself somewhere in the Past, or with someone you love, in some exotic location? It is one of those Dream that seem so real. You are having the time of your life. However? No matter how good the Dream is, you always have to wake up to Reality.

Well this is what is happening today. Someone who use to be Dreaming Green, and looking to tap into some of all that Money to help HIS State, "Go Green," has woken up. According to The USA Today - Critic of Obama clean-energy loans lobbied Energy Department By Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – The Republican lawmaker leading the charge against an Obama administration loan guarantee program for clean-energy companies wasn't always so skeptical of government attempts to boost the green economy.

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., the chairman of House Energy and Commerce Committee, previously lobbied the Department of Energy to lend money for at least four energy projects in his home state through the same loan program. But after last month's bankruptcy of the solar panel manufacturer Solyndra — the first company to win a DOE clean-energy loan funded through Obama's $825 billion stimulus plan — Upton was among the Republican lawmakers who decried the Department of Energy loan guarantee program for "picking winners and losers."

Now, Upton is suggesting that the DOE program — which has about $7 billion in conditional loan commitments to green firms that are due to be finalized by the end of this week — may amount to "risky investments for American taxpayers." Upton and Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., wrote to Energy Secretary Steven Chu last week and urged him not to rush to finalize several loans that are required by statute to be closed by Friday.

House Energy subcommittee staff are scheduled to meet today with Energy Department officials to discuss the outstanding loans.

"In this time of record debt, I question whether the government is qualified to act as a venture capitalist, picking winners and losers in speculative ventures and shelling out billions of taxpayer dollars to keep them afloat," Upton said at a hearing earlier this month

.Amen! but that is EXACTLY what the Government is doing. The ONLY reason MOST of these "Green Energy" Companies exist is BECAUSE the Government is funding them. THERE IS NO MARKET out there, not yet anyway, to support this entire Industry.

Look, we have not perfected a Viable Alternative. We have not made it affordable for all. We have not figured out a Mass Distribution and Support for it. We have NOTING to Switch to. There is NOTHING there BUT Dreams. Yet, those wanting to further the Green Dream, want to do so at the Cost of what we DO have, and what WORKS. They do not care that your Energy Cost Skyrocket. They do not care that they are using YOUR money to fund LOSING Propositions. They have Agendas and they are sticking to them.

The more and more information that is coming out about Solyndra, the more and more it appears to be nothing more than a Money Laundering Scheme. YOUR Tax money. A HALF a BILLION dollars of your Tax Money. Now we have learned that one of the Biggest Creditors of Solyndra, WAS the Democrat Party.

In the aftermath of Solyndra's collapse, Upton and other Republicans have noted that a foundation tied to an Obama fundraiser was a major investor in the Fremont, Calif.-based company and questioned whether politics played a role in Solyndra winning the loan guarantee. As the result of an ongoing Energy subcommittee investigation, the White House was forced to release a series of e-mails that suggested administration officials were eager to see the deal finalized, so Vice President Biden could attend a 2009 groundbreaking ceremony for Solyndra.

But in the past, Upton, like many of his Republican colleagues, voted in favor of energy policy laws that created the loan guarantee program and lobbied the Energy Department to back loans for firms in their state.

Backed loan guarantees

In 2005, when Republicans controlled Congress and the White House, Upton voted for an energy law that included a loan guarantee program to help support companies looking to develop renewable energy projects as well as nuclear and coal. And in 2007, Upton backed legislation that created the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program, targeting manufacturers and suppliers looking to retool U.S. factories to build high-fuel economy vehicles.

Yeah, it was a Good Dream. Some good has come from it. However, we are talking 2005. Billions upon Billions of Dollars. 6 Years later? We have more efficient Vehicles. They can go farther on a Gallon of gas. Your home, if a Newer one, is more Efficient. But in Reality, not much has changed. So why are we throwing more and more money down the drain? Money we do not have. Did you know this? According to this piece in the USA Today...

Damien LaVera, an Energy Department spokesman, noted that only about 40 applicants out of hundreds were granted conditional loan guarantees and that all applicants are rigorously vetted by internal analysts and outside experts.

"We evaluate the technical aspects of an application to make sure the technology is feasible, work to ensure that projects can be built to scale, do extensive market analysis to ensure there is a place in the market for the product, and evaluate the finances of the project to ensure it is commercially viable," LaVera said.

Only 40 out of Hundreds have been Vetted? 40? Meanwhile we have an Administration that wants to continue to shell out Billions to support these Companies. How many are just like Solyndra? Shell Companies that have alternative plans to do with all that money. We already know that there is NO Market for this. So where is all that Money going to end up?

It's OK a Dream. It really is. I Dream of a greener world. I want to leave this World cleaner and more efficient that it is now, for MY Sons, and their Children for generations to come. Those of you who know me, KNOW that I am big on Recycling. For the sole reason that we only have so much land to fill with all the Garbage we dispose of daily. There are some working hard on trying to figure out how to turn some of that into Energy. I say GREAT! But the Technology is not there yet. The Technology is not there for Mass Solar and or Wind. I would LOVE to drive around in a Vehicle that is powered by, say, Water. Live in a home where the Sun runs everything I need. Where the Rain becomes a source of consumption and even perhaps Power. Where I need not worry about Blackouts. Or Skyrocketing Electric Bills. It's OK to Dream. I share your Dream. But to have this, or ANY Dream become a REALITY, one must never lose track of Reality. No. We MUST find a way to convert the DREAM into something that is VIABLE and Compatible WITH Reality.

Right now in this Country, our Economy is hurting. People are hurting. Our Wealth is SHRINKING. Money is tight and getting more difficult for many to come by. To MANDATE that people spend BILLIONS on this unrealized Dream is just INSANE. First, lets Explore and Drill MORE of what we KNOW we have, and what we know WORKS. Lets put Hundreds of Thousands of people to work. Lets INCREASE our National Security. Let's INCREASE our Revenue to the Government the RIGHT way. And we are talking Hundreds of Billions. Lets make Energy AFFORDABLE for ALL. THEN, and in the MEANTIME, lets continue to look for Viable Alternatives and let the Free Market decide the Winners and the Losers. Trust me folks, when someone DOES finally figure out a Viable Alternative, NOTHING will stop it from coming about. NOTHING. It will happen, and we will all be better off in the long run for it.

The problem is, we are FAR from that today. If the Government would just get out of the way, we will get there. There is no doubt in my mind. Perhaps in MY lifetime, I may be living the "Green Life." But as long as the Government is involved, propping up Companies that are doomed to fail, the process will take a lot longer. If we continue to simply further agendas instead of simply getting out of the way, we may NEVER get there. It's time to wake up and look at Reality. People need Jobs, Affordable Energy, Security, and we need the Economy to improve TODAY, far more than we need to Dream about a POSSIBLE tomorrow.
Peter

Sources:
The USA Today - Critic of Obama clean-energy loans lobbied Energy Department