I’m pro Renewable Energy. I’m passionate about Solar Power, and I care tremendously about our environment. However, coal is what brought us into and allowed the Industrial Age to occur. Even today, coal produces half of the energy in the United States, and more in other countries. The industry also provides many jobs in a time where work is scarce. Yes, it causes a lot of damage to local environments. Coal also causes a substantial amount of health problems for people near mining operations. People close to the power plants suffer health effects as well. There’s also the argument of carbon emissions associated with coal power.

Now that I have both the Environmentalists and the Coal Workers upset… let us not leave out the Oil Industry. Bashing the oil companies will not put one more Solar Panel on a roof. Yes, the recent oil "spill" was a catastrophe! Yes, people have a right to be angry. However, we’re not a society that’s ready to give up on the use of oil. Now honestly, did you know that over half the barrel of crude oil is made into other products. We would find many, difficult to do without. Look around you and consider what is made from plastic. Then consider the asphalt on our roads, the rubber in our tires, and the tar on our roofs. Hundreds, actually thousands, of products you use everyday come from that barrel of crude oil. Over 53% of a barrel of crude oil is made into countless plastics, polymers, electronic components, wax and packaging materials, perfume, jet fuel, paint, insect repellent, tires, sulfur, safety glass, pharmaceuticals, lubrications, asphalt, propane, diesel, soaps, computers, flooring like linoleum, tiles, and carpets, insecticides, shampoo, fertilizers, hand lotion and creams, electrodes, cosmetics, fibers and materials like polyester and nylon, elastomer materials, solvents, synthetics, heating oil, numerous chemicals, solid fuels, hydrogen, carbon, and kerosene… over 4,000 petrochemical products, AND the rest is gasoline. So go ahead, try to build an automobile, a television, or a computer without oil. From the carpet under our feet, to the roofs over ours heads, and the clothes on many of our backs… you will find oil plays a major part. I’m not saying there are not alternatives, just that we need a better plan than just, us and them.

I believe coal has remained cheap because society has not forced mining operations and power companies to internalize the costs of the environmental, economic, and health damage associated with coal into the price. Coal continues to dominate simply because the market doesn't reflect social costs. This is going to change. Solar Power is already competitive with coal even before these realizations will begin to drive up the cost of coal. Construction cost estimates for new coal-fired power plants have increased significantly in recent years. There have been staggering increases in recent costs. The estimated costs of building new coal plants have reached $3,500 per kW, without financing costs, and are expected to increase further. A cost of well over $2 billion for a new 600 MW coal plant. Solar anyone?

I’m one-hundred percent for Renewable Energy, and I believe Solar Power is the most promising choice. That said, without both coal and oil, at this moment in time, our society would crumble. Frankly, we wouldn’t survive. I’m not aware of anyone that could give up the use of oil or its by-products. Or shutting down half the power plants in the country, and giving up on coal. So, let’s put our collective minds together and find solutions, not arguments. We need the coal, we need the oil, we need the jobs, and we need Solar Power to emerge and evolve into the solution it can be for our future.