A Little More On Energy

I've been hard at work bashing the fossil fuels industry lately.  See previous posts here and here.  I'm beginning to wonder why I didn't get my degree in a field related to energy production.  But I know why; it's because I really enjoy my work in chemical and biological sensor development.  And being an advocate for alternative energy while working in the energy sector has got to be one of the most frustrating situations ever.  Besides, I can always apply my current expertise to the energy production industry to try to help aid the development of alternative energy sources in a more indirect way.

Since I've been on a tear about fossil fuels, I thought I'd better share Paul Krugman's latest column, which is also devoted to the energy production industry.  It's a great glimpse into the present and future state of solar energy from the viewpoint of a Nobel prize-winning economist, whose opinion I deeply respect.  He also addresses some of the major issues with fossil fuel extraction, with a particular emphasis on the burgeoning and highly destructive fracking technique.  I should note that he also has a brief follow-up blog post in which he clarifies a couple of ideas that he didn't have space to address effectively.

I also thought I'd share a few thoughts while I'm on this subject.  First of all, I would like to reiterate that I am not an expert in the field of energy production.  I don't do a very good job of keeping up with the latest research or technology in this area, mainly because I have no vested interest in it beyond wanting mankind to be more responsible citizens of our planet.  On the other hand, I'm a relatively intelligent person.  I'm also pretty good at reading data.  So what I've done in previous posts - such as this one and this one - is look at the actual data in the references that the authors cite and make sure that the studies were sound and that the data matches the authors' claims.  After all, I don't have to be an expert to spot bullshit.

As of right now, I'm not sure if I'll continue to take the hatchet to the ACCCE's ridiculously idiotic website or not.  But either way, there will definitely be more on these issues to come.