The Time For Leadership

Again, Obama and McCain have this strange belief that we can invest in offshore drilling, nuclear power, clean coal, and as an afterthought, some renewables.

Obama thinks that $15 billion a year will do the trick for the green economy. McCain doesn't know what a green economy is, unless it glows green in the dark.

The energy payback time; i.e., the time it takes to return the energy required to build and operate an energy system, is over ten years for nuclear power. There would be no net contribution to our energy needs by a massive expansion of nukes, but a new giant deficit. There is no such thing as clean coal, as we know to be true. Global warming is not some parlor game, it's a matter of survival. If we don't kick Big Carbon out of the game, we all die. It's that simple. Drilling our way to "Independence" is an absurd and dangerously suicidal notion.

Energy payback for solar thermal and wind technology is about 6 to 9 months. Ocean power systems are around one year. Other solar technologies, like photovoltaics and biofuels, are somewhat longer and more resource intensive. The capital intensity, and by definition the labor intensity of renewable solutions, is nearly 100%. We are talking about 30 million new jobs as the potential!

So, if the only answer is renewable energy, then why not focus all of our resources to get it done?

It will take over ten trillion dollars to do the job in the U.S. alone. The global solution is nearer to 30!

$15 billion a year is factor of 20 too low. Obama has his heart spread too thin. McCain's is in the wrong, dark place.

How can we achieve the desired result?
We need real commitment.
We need new alliances.

We need new leadership.