Renewables not just a green fantasy
To the editor:
In response to your Sunday editorial on Sen. Harry Reid’s opposition to coal-fired power plants:
As usual, the Review-Journal editorial writers feel that libertarian philosophy trumps the overwhelming evidence that the Earth’s climate is undergoing a dramatic warming and that human-produced greenhouse gases are playing a role in the warming trend.
Instead of castigating Sen. Reid for opposing a 50-year commitment to coal-fired power in Nevada, your editorial writers might better serve your readers by taking a hard look at the science behind global warming and what the expected impact of a 50 to 100 percent increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is likely to have on our climate.
Because Las Vegas is located in the driest desert in North America, it is likely to see some of the greatest average temperature increases. There is so little water here to moderate temperature swings.
Sen. Reid is entirely correct to take a stance against “business as usual” and urge us to look at and invest in carbon-neutral energy sources for the future.
John E. Hiatt
LAS VEGAS
THE WRITER IS CONSERVATION CHAIR OF THE RED ROCK AUDUBON SOCIETY.
Power play
To the editor:
Your editorial favoring new nuclear and coal power plants picks marketplace losers over winners.
Today, a sixth of the world’s electricity and a third of the world’s new electricity comes from “micropower” — distributed renewables and low-carbon, two-thirds gas-fired co-generation. Micropower now provides from one-sixth to more than half of all electricity in 13 industrialized countries. Though it’s less subsidized than coal and nuclear, micropower wins more than $100 billion a year in private risk capital.
No new nuclear project on earth is so financed; they’re bought only by central planners because they cost far too much to compete. Coal plants, too, suffer from runaway cost escalation and fading prospects. Smart money shuns such prohibitive costs and financial risks.
In consequence, big nuclear, coal-fired, and gas-fired plants plus big hydro dams have less than half the world’s market for new electrical services. The majority come instead from micropower plus savings through smarter end-use technologies. Moreover, variable renewables (sun and wind) need less backup than do big thermal stations.
Nevada has among the world’s richest resources of both renewables and correctable waste of electricity. As a consultant to the state in 1985, I found that better design of typical new Las Vegas homes could save up to 90 percent of their peak load and half their annual energy bills with better comfort and comparable construction costs. Since then, efficiency technology has improved more than the houses. This is not a green fantasy but a market reality. The energy revolution has happened. Sorry you missed it.
Amory B. Lovins
OLD SNOWMASS, COLO.
THE WRITER IS CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF SCIENTIST FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE.
Two jobs
To the editor:
The decision by City Councilman Steve Ross to take a job as head of a union trades council is baffling (Tuesday Review-Journal). Perhaps it shouldn’t be, in an era of questionable political ethics — even though he received advice from counsel.
It’s all in the perception of those you represent, Mr. Ross, and abstaining and recusing yourself on important regional issues is not representing us.
Mike Peterson
LAS VEGAS
On the plate
To the editor:
To the “single unidentified motorist” who, fearing a drug reference, complained about Stacy Moore’s license plate, XSTACY (Tuesday Review-Journal), and got it revoked: Get a life.
This is another sad example of hysterical sensitivity breeding censorship. What is it about the world today that anybody who gets bothered by anything gets to impose their will on others? Why does indignation constitute an airtight argument? And why do some people insist on assuming the worst and then proceed full throttle as if that assumption is infallible?
The next time someone tells you that something offends them, just say, “OK” — and stare at them.
I hope Ms. Moore gets to keep her clever plate. As for the aggrieved anonymous complainer, I checked the DMV’s Web site, and the following plates are all available: IAMDUMB, IMALOSR and NOHUMOR.
Too bad “NARROW-MINDED BUSYBODY” doesn’t fit on a license plate.
Jamie Huston
NORTH LAS VEGAS
