Opinion : Letter to the Editor: Energy - now what?

Der Editor:

Here I go again:

We are in a crossroads as to what we will use for our energy. Energy utilized by all brought people from poverty to the middle class. It was 1947 before my Father and Mother were able to retire the kerosene lamps used to provide light after the sun went down to our rural home also when Mom was able to retire the corn cob burning kitchen stove and the brass bucket used for weekly baths along with the Maytag washing machine [powered by a one cylinder gasoline motor]. The REC [rural electric cooperative] came to our home with wires that contained AC [alternating current] electricity to our home along with indoor potties and potable water. What an improvement - I no longer had to defecate or other - on a one hole out house -quickly because in winter it was cold.

So now we are at another crossroads. Do we adopt the "new green deal" or is there another option? We have been directed to windmills and solar. Windmills provided power to our rural home for many decades; it not only provided potable water to us humans, but also to our livestock, our cattle and hogs. With a "supply tank" we stored water when the wind did not produce power needed to turn the fan blades. But now we have other options; hydrocarbons, hydropower, and nuclear - plus the "new green deal" debacle. Digest this fact: AC power can not be stored - DC power can be stored. That is the battery in your auto, which lasts 4-5 years before replacement. So we are being steered to electric vehicles - what is the range before recharging, how long will it take, and what is the life of these batteries? I have been told, 7 years - replacement $7,000 plus. I have also been told it doesn't matter the mileage driven or the number of recycles sooner or later they will fail.

Is there another answer to our electric needs? I suggest MODULAR NUCLEAR POWER SYSTEMS. This solution to household needs is off the table why? - Green New Deal. How do we solve our transport, farm, maritime needs? Can we harvest our crops with wind power or solar, can we continue our maritime shipments by going back to four mast wind clippers, can our locomotives and truck transports utilize wind or solar power? The answer -NO: Not until new technology utilizing Hydrogen Cells, or nuclear power or some other innovation - so far years if not decades away.

In the meantime with present thinking in Washington DC and our Present Administration - we are going to pay more for the energy we need. Inflation is just beginning. Way to go JOE! Remember November.

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