Fake "Green" Work
Eric Gisin
http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2009/12/29/fake-%E2%80%9Cgreen%E2%80%9D-work/
December 29, 2009 11:45 AM EST by John Stossel
USA Today reports that "green" energy is the popular new field at universities around the country:
Nationwide, more than 100 majors, minors or certificates were created this year in energy and
sustainability-focused programs at colleges ... Students want the courses, and employers want the
trained students ...
Oh yes, students are obsessed with "sustainability." When I speak at colleges, there's always a
fuss about it. What's not taught is that private businesses like factory farms are most concerned
about sustainability. Their livelihood depends on it. If they use too much pesticide or fertilizer,
or deplete the soil, they're out of work. But students think "sustainability" has something to do
with Michelle Obama's White House garden.
It's another reason that the politicians' push to get more kids to attend college is a giant
mistake. College is a rip-off for many students. A recent survey asked thousands of students: Would
you go to your college again? About 40 percent said no. Silly government-subsidized
"sustainability" courses don't help students find lasting work that will allow them to pay off
their huge college loans.
The "green" jobs that await students are mostly government-funded make-work.
Illinois State University in Normal, Ill... has 65 majors in renewable energy, a program started in
2008 with help from a $1 million Department of Energy grant. The program has "more students wanting
in than we can handle," says Richard Boser, chair of the Department of Technology. Nearby
employers, including those in wind energy, hope to hire future graduates, Boser says.
So he says. But Minnesota Public Radio reported this month that one stimulus-funded weatherization
training program in Minneapolis graduated 130 students -- but only 19 have found jobs.
Even if USA Today is right, and the green energy graduates will find work. It's not necessarily a
good thing, because the jobs will be mostly funded by the taxpayer -- and won't really contribute
to society's wealth. Creating "green jobs" may be a mantra on the left. But when government creates
the jobs, they're little better than welfare.
One provision in the stimulus bill promises that the government will fund 30 percent of the cost of
new wind farms. According to the EIA, wind energy receives 13 times more in subsidies per unit of
energy produced than traditional fossil fuel suppliers.
Then there are the hydrogen fuel experiments. Cash-strapped California recently bought hydrogen
busses that cost 30 times more than regular busses to operate.
I got a free golf cart thanks to government using your tax dollars to subsidize "electric vehicles".
The subsidy increases sales, so Golf car companies will hire some extra employees, yet Americans
will be poorer than if we had been allowed to spend our tax money on the items we really wanted.
matt sykes
> Has anyone seen a working hydrogen bus? Vancouver plans to use some for the Olympics.
>
Nice aeroport has quite a few biofuel busses.
I M @ good guy
wrote:
>Has anyone seen a working hydrogen bus? Vancouver plans to use some for the Olympics.
>
>http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2009/12/29/fake-%E2%80%9Cgreen%E2%80%9D-work/
I am pretty sure one runs on a nearby route, paid
for by a government grant to the city, the top looks
cluttered up with protrusions, and I think it cost about
five times what a regular bus would cost.
I don't know how they would fill the tanks,
at 5000 PSI the tank is restricted to about 12
or 15 inches in diameter due to material "belt"
strength.
Maybe each big city can afford one to
satisfy the grapevine.
$27 TRILLION to pay for Kyoto
> Has anyone seen a working hydrogen bus? Vancouver plans to use some for the Olympics.
>
>
> December 29, 2009 11:45 AM EST by John Stossel
>
> USA Today reports that "green" energy is the popular new field at universities around the country:
>
The only green energy worth pursuing is nuclear.
Poetic Justice
> On Jan 2, 12:56 pm, "Eric Gisin" <er...@nospammail.net> wrote:
>> Has anyone seen a working hydrogen bus? Vancouver plans to use some for the Olympics.
>>
>> http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2009/12/29/fake-%E2%80%9Cgreen%E...
>>
>> December 29, 2009 11:45 AM EST by John Stossel
>>
>> USA Today reports that "green" energy is the popular new field at universities around the country:
Are they teaching how impractical it is.
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