"Clean Energy" Is Cooling the Economy and Damaging the Environment-Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/09/13/clean-energy-is-cooling-the-economy-and-damaging-the-environment/


This article was eye opening but I am also a bit critical. I think that the writer has a valid point about the amount of energy regulations but his view is very one sided. I think that clean energy can benefit communities and can eventually replace oil and natural gas. The author's opinion is that drilling and exporting oil and natural gas is the only way to increase GDP. This seems skewed because the article is supposed to talk about how clean energy damages the environment and there is nothing about that or how drilling affects the environment. I do agree that places where drilling is available do benefit from the increased income but the question is; how long can the areas support a practice that negatively affects the environment around them? I also agree that natural gas doesn't contribute to carbon emissions as much as oil and is a better fuel. I don't understand why the author critiqued the Climate Action Plan because it simply states that money from taxes will help fund clean energy projects. The article states that putting so many regulations on a struggling economy can only have negative impacts and I agree that that is true up to a certain point.

Germany's Expensive Gamble on Renewable Energy- The Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/articles/germanys-expensive-gamble-on-renewable-energy-1409106602




My reaction to the article was impressed but also concerned. I thought the ideas about having 80 turbines and being able to power a city the size of Munich were well thought out. The project will also protect the environment which is always a problem with energy. The article was concerning because of the impact on the economy. I thought of the problems that the US would face if Germany's economy started to decline. All of the countries in Europe would be affected because Germany has the largest economy. I disagreed that the project completely disrupt Germany's industrial base. I think it would affect it in the short term but if they keep using the resources and energy the way they are; the industrial base will collapse anyway.
However, I do agree that the logistics of the project could have been overlooked. It seems that way because there are cost overruns and regulation disputes that could disrupt the entire mission. It is a good sign that Angela Merkel is persisting that this project is extremely important because she has a ton of power in Germany.