ronwagn’s Recent Comments

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  Nuclear Safety vs Wind and Solar Safety.

  I will trust wind and solar to not destroy the world's environment. Not the nuclear industry. The dangers are inherently far too great as Chernobyl demonstrated clearly. The possibility of attacks on nuclear plants is reason enough. The fact that we still have poorly guarded waste all over the country is another. Nuclear waste stolen and spread with dirty bombs could lay waste to cities.
  The economic damage would be worse than anything we are now undergoing. The public must refuse to insure nuclear plants. That will put an end to them.

  If nuclear plants were safe everyone would be for them. They are not safe or economical. They also encourage monopolies. Distributed energy sources are the way to lower prices. Competition not monopolies.

  I have heard thorium nuclear plant proponents say that they are safe, but recently read that thorium is very rare. You have to prove safety, not just say something is safe.On The flawed economics of nuclear power posted 1 year ago 106 Responses

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  Subsidies

  Eliminating all old and new subsidies is probably the best solution. Unfortunately that is unlikely to happen. What will happen is that our political leaders will dole out subsidies to their corporate supporters, and make energy decisions based on who is the strongest supporter.

  For that reason, I will probably be voting for Obama since he has a much better grasp of the energy field than McCain, and I see this as the most important issue we face. Energy independence, health and economic growth will all be greatly benefited by alternative energy technologies, and a cleaner environment.On Marketplace commentary gives a misleading picture of government's role in energy use posted 1 year, 3 months ago 12 Responses

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  Approvals for Solar Power

  We need fast track approvals of solar and wind power now. Not in two years. The same stands for any other reasonable power producing proposals.
  If we delay cleaner approaches because we are too pure, we will lose the battle for cleaner ways to go. We will then end up with nuclear power,and all the thousands of years of dangers that go with that. Of course we might not survive it at all.

  Green extremism can lead to big oil and big nuclear and coal perpetuating their monopolies.On BLM reverses stance on solar-project moratorium posted 1 year, 4 months ago 37 Responses

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  Ride Sharing

  Where a lot of people live, public transportation is very under used. And so not very efficient. Another possibility is ride sharing. Of course that demands a lot of willing and motivated people. Today we have websites which could greatly facilitate that. Gasoline prices should supply the motivation, double that or more in wear and tear on the vehicles. If you drive on fifth your car lasts up to five times longer.

  Another problem is that people are not allowed to make a living of giving rides. Reduced problems with licensing would be a great help. Also the ability of people to sign a waiver so as not to bankrupt the driver if something happens. On The next generation of infrastructure should help more Americans go carless posted 1 year, 8 months ago 14 Responses

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  Small farms

  What ever happened to entrepreneurs in agriculture. Why can't these dairymen, farmers, and hog raisers sell a finished product? We need real farmers markets.

  I heard about Chino California dairymen closing up because they didn't want to clean up their dung. They could have easily built a methane digester, and produced their own electricity.

  When I was in California recently, I bought fresh produce from a local stand, including flowers. I also visited an ostrich farm. They charged admission, sold us the food to feed their ostriches, sold ostrich meat, empty eggshells, and even charged a quarter for a chip of a broken egg! As we were leaving, I commented that they didn't charge for parking, yet.

  Farmers here in Illinois don't bother with anything except corn and soybeans. Maybe a few hogs or cattle. Nobody bothers to sell pork or beef direct.

  Ron Wagner On How food processing got into the hands of a few giant companies posted 2 years, 7 months ago 16 Responses