The debate over whether or not global warming is true is getting tiresome. I fail to see how anyone questions an entire field of climate scientists, all of whom agree that global warming is not only real but caused by human activity.
That said, it’s time to focus on practical solutions. Minnesota is in the top tier of states investing early in renewable energy, ranking sixth in wind-power production and 25th in installed solar production. There is already a large renewable energy job sector in Minnesota and it continues to grow, benefiting our economy and our climate.
There is enormous room for growth in renewable energy, and with new technologies and better policies we are seeing more installations of renewable-energy technology around the state. The next step is to limit carbon pollution from power plants, the largest source of global-warming pollution. Fortunately, President Obama has promised to limit carbon pollution from power plants and continue to invest in renewable energy as part of his Climate Action Plan.
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Time for real measures, not pipe dreams
If you are really worried about CO2 and global warming, support something hard and unpopular like a gasoline tax.
Despite many billions in subsidies and ‘must take’ laws, wind and solar combined provide a little over 1% of our total energy use. And they are too variable to replace base load electric power. Try running a hospital or our traffic signals on a quiet night.
And making moonshine from corn and soybeans is an inefficient joke which uses as much fossil energy as it provides.