Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Electricity Is Good

We all have to agree that electricity is definitely a good thing, but how exactly do we get it? Well to break it down by the percentages we get electricity from:
48.9% -- Coal
20% -- Natural Gas
19.3% -- Nuclear
1.6% -- Petroleum
This comes out to just a little under 90%. The remaining 10% of energy usage comes from:
7.1% -- Hydroelectric
2.4% -- Other Renewables
0.7% -- Other [source]

Interestingly the Waxman-Markey (Cap-and-Trade) will tax coal, natural gas, and petroleum based electricity generating plants. Which theoretically works out to taxing roughly 70% percent of all Americans to help subsidize the 10% of "clean" renewable energy sources.

However the same people that howl for clean energy also howl in disgust when a dam is built because it damages wildlife and the ecology, furthermore there are probably very few remaining places in the United States where a new dam could be built that would provide a sustainable amount of electrical output. So what we really get is a tax that will subsidize 3.1% of energy production.

Now assuming a nice round number of 300 million Americans 3.1% of those would be 9,300,000. So in reality the remaining 290+ million will be taxed to make those 9.3 million sleep better at night. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and cozy deep down inside.

On a side note here in Kentucky small co-ops provide services for a large portion of the Commonwealths population. Most of these co-ops allow for each household to even sign up for "clean" energy only. Needless to say a line has yet to form.

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